23" Cube Reef, DIY LEDs and DIY Shelf Rock......

Very interesting theory. I love the scape and LED's 8)
What fish are you planning to get? What filtration will you use?

 

awesome rockwork!! im always trying to make shelf like rockwork. never ends up like that though. awesome!

 

Fish--- a flame angel, which I've always wanted. A Midas blenny, and a picasso clown that I already have. Not a lot, I keep light stocked tanks.


Filtration--- no skimmer, no sump, no GFO. Only mechanical filtration and activated carbon. Since this is a softy/LPS tank, a sump/skimmer isn't really needed if you are a light feeder and stick to easy-to-feed fish.

 

You sound pretty sure if these methods but im nit so sure they are fail proof. The second the nitrate and nitrite start to spike signifying the beginning of the cycle the coral will die. And that tank is too small for a dwarf angel, especially with no real filtration.

 

You yourself sound pretty sure about this, time will tell. I have done this before, have you? The trick is to cycle it lightly. There are no fish in this tank, I put a very small pinch of flake food in the tank each morning, sometimes skipping a morning. Works like a charm. It requires patience, which many people are quite incapable of exercising on their reef.

"no real filtration".

I'll consider your words about the dwarf angel and the size of the tank. But regarding the filtration, just read this thread below. This 11g tank has been going on for 9 months with no issues at all, with "no real filtration".


http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-of...leds-live-beer-bottle-129686.html#post1289061

 

a cycle is a cycle, simply put. i could put a ton of fish food in or a little bit the nitrate and nitrites will still spike to the extreme levels that are inhospitable to all corals and most fish. patience has nothing to do with it. i really like your tank im just trying to give you some advice to make it fail proof. waiting till it cycles to add anything is the best method, thats why everyone does it.

as for filtration that 11 gallon tank goes great with no real filtration 1). because its only eleven gallons and 2). because it doesnt have a dwarf angel in it! if you simply had corals and one or two fish that filtration system would work fine.

 

Patience has everything to do with it. Again, I've done this before.

You might be right about point #2 but point #1 is wrong. The size--- big or small--- has nothing to do with the situation except make it more challenging and unstable, thus if I can do it with an 11g tank, I can do it with one 4 times the size.



Seriously, I have a good plan, just sit back and watch. I'll research the dwarf angel thing, but the rest of this plan is fine.

 

i have been into aquariums since i was 10, that was nearly twenty years ago, i have alot of experience, maybe not as much as say 2in10, or corraline, but i have enough to know that you are going to end up pretty bummed out when the corals perish under the wrong conditions. i am aware that patience has everything to do with it. but thats just the thing a patient person would wait until the cycle is over to add things. thats where patience comes into play in this hobby. the main reason i was recommending you get better filtration is because you were wanting to add a dwarf angel, that dwarf angel cannot fit in the tank, and it would have enough waste to crash that poor little filter into the ground.

in my experience its best to do things slowly and correctly to have a successful tank. nuff said.

 

Give it a rest. I'm 36 and have been in aquariums since the same age as you, so don't run around tooting your credentials.


There are a few things that need to be pointed out here, and leave it at this. 1) I'm stocking the tank with WEED CORALS which, if you'd read the post carefully enough, you'd notice this in post #9. 2) I've done this before and it worked like a charm, and 3) taking risks is part of the fun of this hobby. None of the corals I'm risking are costly or sensitive. So give it a rest. Sit back and watch. You'll notice in post #9 I said that this worked before, and "I'm going to try again".



That's all I'll have to say regarding this. This is an experiment that went VERY WELL once before, and I'm just repeating it. If it bothers people, so be it.

 

im done here, ive given my advice and tried to help. but ignorance is not a good thing in this hobby. you need to be able to take constructive criticism and not just throw it away. when somebody says that that absolutely will not work you should at least take into consideration the right method.