What would you do?

Hi folks,

As some of you know I have setup a 400ltr marine system that is running a few months problem free. In it there are the usual janitor crews and some tough fish like Damsels etc. I was planning a reef setup, and Im at the stage now where I can add corals and some of the more demanding fish. However, due to recent changes at work I am now much busier than I was when I began this project and soon I will be required to be away from home quite a bit. Im now thinking about mabey moving on the smaller fish and not going reef at all, but rather go for a predator setup that may not be as demanding timewise as a reef system would be. So what do you salty keepers think? Would it be fair even to large predators like Puffers to be away for weeks at a time? I have someone who can feed my fish and do basic water changes on a marine system while Im away but doubt I could expect them to look after a reef for me. After reading over this Im wondering if mabey I should break down the system altogether and mabey take up salty keeping when things settle a bit but thats not gonna be anytime soon and I have already invested a considerable sum of money as it is. Opinions anyone?

Jay

Viperbot wrote:

Hi folks,

As some of you know I have setup a 400ltr marine system that is running a few months problem free. In it there are the usual janitor crews and some tough fish like Damsels etc. I was planning a reef setup, and Im at the stage now where I can add corals and some of the more demanding fish. However, due to recent changes at work I am now much busier than I was when I began this project and soon I will be required to be away from home quite a bit. Im now thinking about mabey moving on the smaller fish and not going reef at all, but rather go for a predator setup that may not be as demanding timewise as a reef system would be. So what do you salty keepers think? Would it be fair even to large predators like Puffers to be away for weeks at a time? I have someone who can feed my fish and do basic water changes on a marine system while Im away but doubt I could expect them to look after a reef for me. After reading over this Im wondering if mabey I should break down the system altogether and mabey take up salty keeping when things settle a bit but thats not gonna be anytime soon and I have already invested a considerable sum of money as it is. Opinions anyone?

Jay

A difficult position to be in Jay.. As you're seeing there is a lot of work in maintaining a marine tank. Even just keeping on top of cleaning the glass is a daily affair in a normal tank.

I was in a similar position and decided on the latter, broke down my system and will do it again when I've more time.

The resale cost of the gear is bad though, I got 500 quid back for what I spent about 2k on.

If you gotta break it down mate keep all the hardware at least, store it away, least then you just gotta restock it when you got more time.

The other option would be someone performing maint on it like Andy probably for a fee.


Mark

If you have a stable system it will stay pretty stable as long as you are around to check on it every 2-3 days.

Once things hit that point all you need to be do is empty the skim cup and feed the fish and corals.

After all you have invested in it, it would be a shame to break it down. As you have it set up, the difference between reef and fowlr or fo is negligible as you still need to salt water to do water changes. If you don't have time for RO water and the 24 hours to make it salty maybe you can buy the saltwater from one of the LFS?

I agree with Mark about holding onto the equipment. The depreciation on livestock and equipment is horrendous. It's pretty disheartening.

I wonder if Seahorse could keep the live stuff for you, a lot of space there, something like that with a storage\care fee would be cool in such circumstances, especially if ye had been a few years down the salty road and many Ks worth of livestock, the losses on selling are indeed depressing. hope you get somethin sorted matey



Mark

How long is the tank up and running? How often do you do water changes? You got two choices ether a reef tank no fish (low nutrient setup) or a FOWLR (lightly-med stocked).If you can't do the work involved you can't have both.

The reef tank option simply keep up on water changes once a month and dose once a week with reef snow not hard at all.Just means your corals will grow slower.Depending on what corals you have now.Any anemones or sun corals id give away (basically anything that needs to be feed regularly) xenia zoas mushrooms are all good and easy to keep.

The FOWLR tank option well this is the option I would go for not only because you wont get the awkward question of where are the fish? Theres none in there But an inexperienced person will notice a problem with a fish before corals IMO. If you have a lightly stocked tank you can get away with a once a month water change easily you could even extend this to once every 6 months if you like but you would need a really good skimmer something around 3 times the size suitable for your tank and a refugium. Since you won't be keeping corals nitrate is not really a major problem fish can tolerate nitrate up to aprox 150 but they need to be eased into it so basically water change once a week for the first 3 months then once every 2 weeks for 2 months then once a month. There are allot of people on reef central that do not do regular water changes some have even gone up to 12 years without one crazy I know but it can be done. The key is lightly stock big skimmer and a refugium.

Also I must state both these systems need an ATO system.

Interesting stuff Tetra, and there is truth to what you say but the idea of doing water changes one a month and just topping off the water is very foreign to me and just dont think I could do it. The reef setup I had in mind was to contain reef safe fish and not just corals so I would be contending with both. The tank is running about 4 months and I do wc's every 2 weeks (between 25 and 50 percent) depending on test results. The tank is a 400ltr and the skimmer is the Deltec MC 500 which is excellent and suitable up to 700ltrs. I dont have a refugium and its filtered with a Tetratec EX1200 canister and not a sump so I kinda have a bit more work when it comes to maintanence so you see the bind Im in. Thats is crazy that some reef keepers can get away not doing wc's at all...totally contrary to everything I have researched, but hey, if it works, it works. An ATO is a handy device Im yet to install as I was on a tight budget and just did it myself but may get one if I decide not to break down the system. To be honest, Im leaning towards a FOWLR setup with large predators as the idea of breaking it down doesnt appeal at all. Equipment these days is like collectable toys, once opened the value drops to nout...forget selling. Thanks to you all for your input, its much appreciated.

Jay