MOAR PICS! "Intrest revives ones thoughts" My 17 gallon natural reef bommie

1. The system will be low nutrient, but not SUPER low (I've also heard sps turn more pale in ULNS).
2. As long as the lps/softies aren't blasted they should hold up, especially plays/zoas.
3. I tried the single mound but it's surprisingly hard to pull off in my tank dims.
4. I was gonna do a 1/2 expanding foam/rock wall in the the fuge with ledges and slopes, mainly to hide the pump/tubing. Although the sandbed will be kinda large for Star grass and other macros.
5.Maybe, trying to keep it simple as possible (KISS baby!) I was going to start with fast growing macros then slowly trim them and maybe take them out for nicer looking/pricier algae.
Thanks for the input

 

Reading you last post makes me think my why Abe Lincoln was a vampire hunter and not a reef keeper.

You can please some of the people some of the time all of the people some of the time some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time

Now apply this to you reef and what you said. Basically your goal is to provide just enough to have all your corals getting by but no ideal conditions really for all of them, or any of them.

I woul definitely say dicth the rock wall. You dimensions and capacity are already small. use live rock as much as you can.

Have you read into seagrass? Seagrass requirements vary from substrate, to bacterial, to water column requirements. Large enough quatities to give you a bio filtration effect like you want can also potentially cause a bigger PH swing during their photoperiod with may have effects on your sps. Reaad thru this.

Beyond the Refugium: Seagrass Aquaria by Sarah Lardizabal - Reefkeeping.com

I dont suggest going with 'faster growing macro first then replacing' I am assuming you mean something like calerpa. Its not as simple s just pulling it out. if any root structure remains it will grow back. Think of it like macro xenia.

 

There are a bunch of small mixed nano reefs (20-40g) that have won TOTM on NR, why is that suddenly impossible when 2 gallons is taken out and replaced by a large fuge?
Also, read up on Star Grass, most species need at least 6 inches of sandbed and get giant, Star Grass (Halophila) stay quite short and only need around 2-3in of sand, plus they don't rely on the nutrients as much, I may add some mud or root tabs if I hate to..
Not 100% sure what I'm going to do with the fuge, maybe put in floating macro first then slowly add other macros.
Also the Star Grass won't be added for at least 1-2yrs

 

never said it was impossible, nor do i hang at NR. Thought you were looking for suggestions and input, my bad. Most of the mixed reefs I have ever seen were not using just biological strictly biological filters, they were a mixed display with a traditional sump, skimmer, etc. So I can only speak of what I know, an was offering my suggestins based that.

 

Ok, the reason I went with a fuge is because it basicially does similar things to a lot of the stuff in the average sump, except in living form (Aka cheaper and prettier )

 

yes I know what a fuge is bro, no need to be so condensening. I run about 15 gallons of of my 40b sump as a DSB/rubble with flow from an ATS. My ATS is now purely for flow as I made the trasition to biopellets. I ran my 75g setup purely biological filtration when it first went up with an ATS, chaeto and ulva tumbler. I also know that when I added a combination of mechaincal and biological to it that my growth and water quality went WAY up. I'm not talking out my butt. Sounds like your already on a set and determined course with this one. good luck. im out.

 

Going to change the right (big) island tonight, any suggestions? I was thinking of getting the big kinda branchy one and change it so it comes towards the front panel.