What are some of your favorite low-tech tanks in the reef hobby today?

[tbrown]

Where ya’ll buying retired lobster tanks

I got mine from a buddy.

His brother did a remodel at a Fry's or Basha's or something and they were going to just rid of it and paid him to haul it off.

 

[Arkardios]

Sad I had to take this one down. :/
Equipment was a light, heater, wavemaker, and a dosing pump for AFR. Very easy going.

 

[graziano]

Very little technology and low price, JNS CO-3 Cone Skimmer, Zeolite Reactor and Calcium Reactor both Bubble-Magus
a lot of manual work, the results are these.

 

[Paul B]

I think my tank is pretty low tech. I have no sump, no doser, rarely do water changes and hardly, if ever dose. The only electronic thing on the tank is a $7.00 timer to turn the lights on.

Most of the powerheads and heaters are from the 80s or 90s, a couple from the 70s, but I only use them sparingly to mix water or experiment on something.

The 5' venturi skimmer is HOB and home made. I feed a lot of worms that I culture and frozen clams that I buy live.

I don't have any viable test kits as they are very old.
I moved it and changed the glass 3 times since 1971 as it was to small and scratched. It runs a DIY reverse undergravel filter and a DIY algae scrubber that is suspended above the water.

I also don't have a quarantine or hospital tank.

I have about 50 fish some 34 years old.

This picture is about 2 years old.

 

[Shawnd08]

I have a IM Nuvo 30 EXT that I use as a Frag tank, macroalgae tank, and mandarin tank. Once the mandarins are big enough I will move them to my bigger tank. There is a 20 gallon sump with a refugium and mangrove. I don't run any filtration. The only thing other than a refugium in the sump is the return pump, Kessil a80, and a heater. two cheap power head in the display for flow and AI Blade Grow and Glow for light. I change 5 gallons of water every 2 weeks and have an ATO. I maybe tested ALK, Po4, and No3 3 times in the last year and a half.

 

[BadMagnificentFirefish]

This is my little low tech nano, 10g. Been going a little over two years.
Seachem Tidal 55 HOB filter (coarse sponge and Matrix), Hiparegero Aquaknight light, Cobalt NeoTherm heater on an Inkbird controller, gravity bottle ATO. I’ll manually dose a little bit of 2-part, as the monti and candy cane use them up. Water change about once a month.

The Inkbird might be considered tech, but I’ve seen the fallout from a heater malfunction, and that’s something I’d prefer to avoid if at all possible. It’s cheap insurance.

 

[kevgib67]

Biocubes are pretty low tech and easy to maintain,

 

[Devaji]

a few years ago, like 6 maybe I had a 20L macro algae tank. with a HOB filter, ato, heater ( as I live in the cold) and simple light.
I want to do that again so bad.
have a couple tanks on the stand by but need to finish out the basement man cave/ fish so I can have more tnaks.
some day.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

My favorite was my 5gallon till I tore down during move. MP10 and ai prime. That was it

My current take has ai axis 20 return pump, filter sock to protect pump, air flow and grow and heater with inkbird controller. Also have air pump in sock for added oxygen/gas exchange. Both pictures taken same day with different filters

 

[14A]

Very little technology and low price, JNS CO-3 Cone Skimmer, Zeolite Reactor and Calcium Reactor both Bubble-Magus
a lot of manual work, the results are these.

Which bulb combination are you using?

 

[graziano]

Which bulb combination are you using?

4Ati blu Plus e 4 Coral plus 39watt

 

[1979fishgeek]

I love a simple Fluval Evo (so have a few of them) all I’ve done is change lights, no skimmer and filtration is just the sponge and a few maxspect nano spheres. I’ve got a simple Aqua One 2ft cube no sump just with a hang on bubblemagus skimmer and Seachem Tidal filter with maxspect nano spheres. I did have to add Jecod wavemakers when it got overgrown to help flow.

I love soft corals and macro algae combined in a low tech tank. So cheap, so easy, so relaxing.

Weekly water changes and they pretty much look after themselves.


Zoa Garden Evo

Red Macro Algea dominated Evo.

Aqua One 2ft Cube

Macro Algae Soft Coral Evo.

 

[VintageReefer]

No need for fleece roller, socks, or skimmer over here

 

[Jennduhh]

Mine I’m the master of low tech tanks

75g
No water changes
No skimmer
No fleece, floss, rollers, or socks
Filtered tap water
Filtration is Santa Monica Surf 2 algae scrubber + cryptic zone in sump with live rock and live sponges
Don’t even have an ato on it

1.1g Pico
No water changes
No mech filtration
Pico bag of chemipire + matrix
Gravity ato

These are GORGEOUS. How did you manage to get them to this point?

 

[Jennduhh]

Biocubes are pretty low tech and easy to maintain,

I'm struggling so bad getting my tank back up & running in a biocube

 

[VintageReefer]

These are GORGEOUS. How did you manage to get them to this point?

I buy coral and grow them out

 

[Jennduhh]

I buy coral and grow them out

Lol I can see that, but is the basic ecosystem of corals how you manage to go without water changes or external filtration, etc?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I got mine from a buddy.

His brother did a remodel at a Fry's or Basha's or something and they were going to just rid of it and paid him to haul it off.

There's one for sell right now on offer up Seattle 110 gallon for 500.00. I don't have room but maybe someone in the area maybe interested

https://offerup.co/CqYhN18E5Mb

 

[VintageReefer]

Lol I can see that, but is the basic ecosystem of corals how you manage to go without water changes or external filtration, etc?

22+ years of experience lol
I learned a lot in my first 10 years and started experimenting and made my next 10 very successful. I always hated water changes and wanted to move away form them. My filtration is not the norm but I’m my opinion it’s advantageous in many ways.

I utilize an algae scrubber, cryptic zone of live rock and sponge, and I keep a medium amount of fish. I have 7 fish in a 75g. Anthias and the tang being frequent/heavy eaters

My filtration is natural from the copious algae my scrubber grows (skimmers do not remove nitrate or phosphate from the water. Algae scrubbers do), and my live rock and sponge handle other things the scrubber does not

I dose all for reef to maintain alk, ca, and trace elements

I add filtered tap water weekly to replace evaporation

 

[kevgib67]

I'm struggling so bad getting my tank back up & running in a biocube

First O-H! Second where are you located? Let me try to help you out. Tell me what you are struggling with.