Tips & Tricks Of Old School Reefing

[Flippers4pups]

Wow, well where to start? As @jsker stated, there's been a lot of advancements in the hobby since I started. The resource of the internet is to me the biggest. With that said, on to the "old school" stuff........

Reliance on automation is a double edge sword. It is useful and can aid in management of a system, but there's something to be said about "hands on". (Not "hands in the tank"!) Automation has it's flaws and it's total reliance can "bite" you when you thought it had your back. Never trust completely.

Daily "eyes" on a system is truly needed in this hobby. I personally, each day, look at every aspect of my system. From live stock health, to equipment performance, to a simple walk around and look under to inspect for potential issues.

A complete daily visual inspection is needed in my book. Vacations and long duration absence is covered by family and friends educated on what to do if there's a issue.

"Set it and forget it." In other words, little adjustments to any aspect of a system. Water, lights, corals....... Any thing and everything related to the system is done in small moves. Big changes can result in "big" problems. Research before changes, before acting, before purchases.

Reef tanks DON'T LIKE BIG CHANGES!

"Test on a regular basis and be consistent." Wether its every other day, it's weekly, semi weekly...... consistent tells the tale, act accordingly.

"Basics for success"

Quality lighting with proper spectrum

Quality test kits, within expiration dates.

RO/DI unit, maintained as required.

Refractometer, calibrated.

ATO, helps in stability.

Live rock for bio diversity and filtration

Sump for water volume and equipment

Back up equipment, when a piece of critical equipment is serviced or fails.

Medicines and treatment equipment, QT/hospital tank.

Heaters, powerheads/wave makers......etc

I started out back in 93 with the "Berlin method" and pretty much do that still today.

 

[Abhishek]

View attachment 640212

;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious

 

[jsker]

Wow, well where to start? As @jsker stated, there's been a lot of advancements in the hobby since I started. The resource of the internet is to me the biggest. With that said, on to the "old school" stuff........

Reliance on automation is a double edge sword. It is useful and can aid in management of a system, but there's something to be said about "hands on". (Not "hands in the tank"!) Automation has it's flaws and it's total reliance can "bite" you when you thought it had your back. Never trust completely.

Daily "eyes" on a system is truly needed in this hobby. I personally, each day, look at every aspect of my system. From live stock health, to equipment performance, to a simple walk around and look under to inspect for potential issues.

A complete daily visual inspection is needed in my book. Vacations and long duration absence is covered by family and friends educated on what to do if there's a issue.

"Set it and forget it." In other words, little adjustments to any aspect of a system. Water, lights, corals....... Any thing and everything related to the system is done in small moves. Big changes can result in "big" problems. Research before changes, before acting, before purchases.

Reef tanks DON'T LIKE BIG CHANGES!

"Test on a regular basis and be consistent." Wether its every other day, it's weekly, semi weekly...... consistent tells the tale, act accordingly.

"Basics for success"

Quality lighting with proper spectrum

Quality test kits, within expiration dates.

RO/DI unit, maintained as required.

Refractometer, calibrated.

ATO, helps in stability.

Live rock for bio diversity and filtration

Sump for water volume and equipment

Back up equipment, when a piece of critical equipment is serviced or fails.

Medicines and treatment equipment, QT/hospital tank.

Heaters, powerheads/wave makers......etc

I started out back in 93 with the "Berlin method" and pretty much do that still today.

Great feed back, and list!

 

[jsker]

Here is another one, make a change and wait two weeks. Make another change wait another two weeks.

 

[Abhishek]

Not an advice but I loved this saying from old days in another forum :-

"Come on over and I'll show you my Bare Bottom" ;Hilarious

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[Flippers4pups]

Here is another one, make a change and wait two weeks. Make another change wait another two weeks.

Back then and still said today

" Nothing good in this hobby happens fast"

True back then and still today (and tomorrow and next year and a decade from now.......so on and so on!



Tip: kalkwasser in ATO. (Calcium hydroxide, "pickling lime". )

 

[brandon429]

advice on sandbed keeping in todays reef tank (display tank sandbeds, what you do remotely in a bucket prefiltered of fish waste doesn't apply)


do opposite of what old 90s articles said to do with display tank sandbeds, don't be hands off.


I think the 90s took oceanic studies and upscaled them into reefing but it didn't work.

Many of the old articles were discussions about marine substrata and zones, no harm no foul there my beef was only with all the waste storage/hands off reefing and then all the nitrate offsets that had to boon afterwards.

 

[jsker]

Back then and still said today

" Nothing good in this hobby happens fast"

True back then and still today (and tomorrow and next year and a decade from now.......so on and so on!



Tip: kalkwasser in ATO. (Calcium hydroxide, "pickling lime". )

Another good one

 

[Flippers4pups]

Berlin method:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Method

View attachment 640226

 

[jsker]

Berlin method:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Method

The principle of my system.

 

[Flippers4pups]

 

[GoVols]

I'd say...

1) Stability
2) Stabilty
3) Stabilty

And only make one move at a time, so if something gets off, you know exactly what you did.

+1... on the ole Berlin method

 

[brandon429]

if 20 people set up a Berlin system, how many require nitrate offsets (ats, carbon dosing, no pox, vsv, bio pellets, going bare bottom in droves, reactors, denitrators, plant refugia in addition to Berlin area, huge water changes, sand bed stirring as a preventative sink) by month 60?

My system is berlin too, minus the skimmer so this is not mean...its just nano reefs have access to all the whole waste particles a live rock and live sand method stores.

 

[GoVols]

if 20 people set up a Berlin system, how many require nitrate offsets (ats, carbon dosing, no pox, vsv, bio pellets, reactors, denitrators, plant refugia in addition to Berlin area, huge water changes, sand bed stirring as a preventative sink) by month 60?

My system is berlin too, minus the skimmer so this is not mean...its just nano reefs have access to all the whole waste particles a live rock and live sand method stores.

I run Berlin and have no need to bacteria or carbon dose, but I do run a GFO reactor for phos. and Purigen reactor that works with my protein skimmer and I still make weekly water changes

Many ways to skin a cat and what works for one, may not work for the other.

 

[brandon429]

agreed that's why I think it has to be expressed across a group trial to have more than one data set to analyze. It will attain natural nitrate reduction for many given right conditions, a real test is coming up on month 60 tho and if I had to guess, 2 out of 20 are offset free at that stage. maybe 4 just going off posts about nitrate offsets, they're huge for us nowadays.

one thing is certain

when Berlin ruled the roost, nobody ever thought they'd need offsets at all... nor that they'd be in the majority using offsets (or having mass algae invasions) at five year's fish waste impacting into a display.

remote sand beds also require special consideration, that's like a parted out Berlin method ha

if we just leave out the constant fish poop part, I think NNR via sandbeds and rock goes up massively, where at mo 60 more would be getting benefits prescribed, without offsets.

 

[GoVols]

You don't need all the bells & whistles !

...

;Singing ;Singing ;Singing

 

[Paul B]

Read everything, then forget all of that and use common sense.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Don't forget, " if you fail the first time, try, try, again." Cultured pearls took 20+ years to perfect.

 

[brandon429]

I was just going to say, there are no 45 yr old berlin systems.


edit*
of home gallonage. perhaps a five hundred thousand gallon full ocean water exchange zoo exhibit might not req back flushing


most home systems wont be around that long, so perhaps the usable range of Berlin covers many.

 

[revhtree]

Don't make any changes just before a vacation.

I live by this one!