Fish Only Tank Maintenance

[lutz123]

I know there are some that do just fish only without the live rock and was wondering what your maintenance is like.  Rarely when you see the massive tanks in restaurants and public aquariums do you see live rock, worms, and snails, etc.  Typically it's artificial corals and large fish.  While I love all the critters and variation that comes with live rock in a smaller tank, I think if we eventually set up a large fish only tank I would prefer it to have less variables to deal with.

[Coral Hind]

I'm not sure what you are looking for since I didn't really see a question asked. You can still have live rock with pods, worms, and bacteria on and in it. Those things all compliment the fish only system.

 

I have 600g fish only system with fake corals and the build thread is located below.

 

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/53669-coral-hinds-600g-fowlr/

 

 

http://wamas.org/totm_previous.php?prev=totm-2014-08

[Happyfeet]

I agree with Coral Hind, I don't really see a question. I think what you are asking is what is required maintenance in the absence of all the live rock and clean up crews?

I don't really consider myself an authority on the subject and most of what I'll tell you is anecdotal. 

Firstly, all the fake coral and fake rock will work exactly like Live Rock in regards to filtration. Both of them act to increase surface area and in turn increase the active area where bacteria can grow and provide filtration within the nitrogen cycle. So Nothing really changes in that regard except maybe that live rock may be better at it due to all the nooks and crannies providing even more surface area, but that would come down to the material use to create the fake rock and the pattern/mold used to produce it.

Second, from my experience, hermit crabs and snails are still used in FO only tanks (Except in predator tanks where they would be eaten), the absence of the critters really only puts more demand on the external filtration, and in the absence of corals aren't required. 
 

Third, emphasis on external filtration seems to be the focus. Most of the tanks I've seen which are fish only have a good skimmer and run a media reactor with GFO and Carbon to reduce algal growth. I've seen a couple that had Algal Scrubbers in an effort to promote filtration via Algal means only in desired locations, whether or not that works, I don't know, seemed to for them.

Overall there is less demand on perfect parameters, due to the absence of coral, but for a nice appearance to the tank, mechanical filtration seems to be preferred. This coupled with the regular water changes seems to be enough for FO tanks.

Again this is mostly anecdotal and I'm not an authority on the subject.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Happyfeet

[lutz123]

Thanks - I guess that's what I was looking for. Back many years ago when I had my first saltwater tank all I remember doing was essentially take a freshwater tank system and add salt. Yes, there was bacteria, etc, but having all of the extra critters wasn't really a thing yet. It was mostly reliant on mechanical filtration. Since taking the hobby back up in the last 10 years or so everything is much more natural. You really don't see the transition to natural tanks nearly as much in freshwater tanks now so I didn't know if there was more to it. Are there different additives or algae control methods? Are water changes more or less frequent? It seems that problems would be potentially easier to tackle since there isn't as diverse of a habitat. Pipe dream?

[Coral Hind]

I agree with everything Happyfeet said above but would caution on the use of carbon. I prefer not to run it except for emergencies because of the effects on tangs and angels. I run ozone in my skimmer a couple times a month instead of using carbon.

[Happyfeet]

 Are there different additives or algae control methods? Are water changes more or less frequent? It seems that problems would be potentially easier to tackle since there isn't as diverse of a habitat. Pipe dream?

There is a myriad of algae control methods. I've known people who let it grow and let their herbivore tank inhabitants go nuts on it. Algal scrubbers are another method, you simply promote the growth of different algae species in an unseen location in an effort to out compete any other species trying to grow in visible locations within the tank. I'm sure their are some terrible additives you could put into your tank to kill the algae (but solutions like that rarely work out in the long run in my experience, it's a band-aid not a cure as it does nothing to solve the root problem of why you are getting algae). 

 

Water changes are done to control the NO3 and PO4 levels, so the frequency of the water changes will depend upon the algal growth and levels of the NO3 and PO4 within the tank. Only NO3 is potentially dangerous to the fish within the tank, I'm unaware of any reasonable level of PO4 being detrimental to their health.

 

I think overall yes, it would be easier to maintain a FO only tank when all the variables are considered.

 

I agree with everything Happyfeet said above but would caution on the use of carbon. I prefer not to run it except for emergencies because of the effects on tangs and angels. I run ozone in my skimmer a couple times a month instead of using carbon.

 

Ah, yes, Thanks Coral Hind, I haven't kept tangs/angels in years I forgot carbon can adversely affect their health. It's believed it contributes to HLLE correct?

[nextlevel808]

I

I agree with Coral Hind, I don't really see a question. I think what you are asking is what is required maintenance in the absence of all the live rock and clean up crews?

I don't really consider myself an authority on the subject and most of what I'll tell you is anecdotal. 

Firstly, all the fake coral and fake rock will work exactly like Live Rock in regards to filtration. Both of them act to increase surface area and in turn increase the active area where bacteria can grow and provide filtration within the nitrogen cycle. So Nothing really changes in that regard except maybe that live rock may be better at it due to all the nooks and crannies providing even more surface area, but that would come down to the material use to create the fake rock and the pattern/mold used to produce it.

Second, from my experience, hermit crabs and snails are still used in FO only tanks (Except in predator tanks where they would be eaten), the absence of the critters really only puts more demand on the external filtration, and in the absence of corals aren't required. 

 

Third, emphasis on external filtration seems to be the focus. Most of the tanks I've seen which are fish only have a good skimmer and run a media reactor with GFO and Carbon to reduce algal growth. I've seen a couple that had Algal Scrubbers in an effort to promote filtration via Algal means only in desired locations, whether or not that works, I don't know, seemed to for them.

Overall there is less demand on perfect parameters, due to the absence of coral, but for a nice appearance to the tank, mechanical filtration seems to be preferred. This coupled with the regular water changes seems to be enough for FO tanks.

Again this is mostly anecdotal and I'm not an authority on the subject.

I agree and speaking from someone that I guess my one tank would be considered at predator tank I buy turbo snails almost weekly to help with aglal growth. Main thing is to do frequent water changes but I'm not expert either but this has worked for me.

[Coral Hind]

Ah, yes, Thanks Coral Hind, I haven't kept tangs/angels in years I forgot carbon can adversely affect their health. It's believed it contributes to HLLE correct?

Yes, carbon has a direct link to HLLE. Even rinsed well, it still can cause it and I've seen it happen very quickly.

[lutz123]

Hmm...might be interesting to try. I would love a big fish only, but do not want 180 gallons of cyanobacteria on my hands - it's frustrating enough in a small tank. I guess I'm picturing something similar to when I kept a couple of freshwater Oscars in the past. I don't ever remember doing anything really other than water changes and replacing media, with the occasional scrub. I don't remember ever needing an algae scraper, etc. Could it possibly be that easy if it's understocked? Plus, with salt you have the additional benefit of a protein skimmer. I am thinking a 150 or 180 for the basement, but don't want the headache if it just becomes a huge maintenance beast.

[nextlevel808]

I agree with everything Happyfeet said above but would caution on the use of carbon. I prefer not to run it except for emergencies because of the effects on tangs and angels. I run ozone in my skimmer a couple times a month instead of using carbon.

What is the ozone you talk about running in your skimmer. I have a purple tang and never heard this before so I would like to switch and use it as well. Thanks for the good advice though.

[Coral Hind]

What is the ozone you talk about running in your skimmer. I have a purple tang and never heard this before so I would like to switch and use it as well. Thanks for the good advice though.

The link below should help to clear it up, see all parts. I only run mine at 50mg/hr, with no air dryer, and I only use it for a couple days at a time to clear up the water as needed. I don't have an air pump, I just let the suction of the skimmer pull the ozone in. I try to keep it simple that way. Every system is different, that's just how I do it. The skimmer works more efficiently when running with ozone. 

 

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/ozone-aquarium-water-clarity-part-1-3705/

[Reefer_Madness]

The link below should help to clear it up, see all parts. I only run mine at 50mg/hr, with no air dryer, and I only use it for a couple days at a time to clear up the water as needed. I don't have an air pump, I just let the suction of the skimmer pull the ozone in. I try to keep it simple that way. Every system is different, that's just how I do it. The skimmer works more efficiently when running with ozone.

 

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/ozone-aquarium-water-clarity-part-1-3705/

Thanks.