... ... Hello?
I know this is an old post, but I found it an interesting read and an interesting idea.
So the last post was almost a year ago. Is the custom tank still running? I am currently compiling information to do something similar. I have a 56" long tank that I want to make as low maintenance as possible. I plan to make my own reef rock with cement and crushed shells + aragonite + magnesium + the appropriate amount of trace elements. These elements would be leached into the water as it reacts with the CO2 produced by the fish. I don't think I can reproduce electrolytes, so water changes will still be necessary occasionally. Within the tank will be a refugium that will grow pods and some macro algae. I know this can be self sustaining because it has been done with those globe thingies with the plant and a shrimp in them. They live for years. This fuge would be completely enclosed except for an opening for a few pods to escape at a time. Then, here's the kicker... Sea grass! Sea grass will eat up the nitrates which will reduce nuisance algae. Also, the digger clams that live in sea grass beds are extra filtration. Everybody wins!... The two ends of the tank will be a sea grass forest with plants growing close together where the pods that don't get eaten along the way can hide and hopefully a few will survive long enough to reproduce. I think it would also be very cool to watch the fish return to the hunting grounds to catch their dinner and then swim back to their normal play area. If the forest is successful enough, I could take out the internal fuge. At that point, it would be a self sustaining echo system with the occasional need for maintenance. I think that is the best you could hope for.
I'm currently working on a nano prototype mostly to test my live rock recipe/theory and to do some field research at home. Sea grass is fairly new to the aquarium scene so there will be a lot of trial and error there.
As far as sticking to a specific biotope, I don't think it's necessary if you plot out your food chain well. ...This will also take some trial and error.
Hopefully by now you are a saltwater geneus and haven't lost interest. If its still running, I'm sure everyone would like an update. If interested, I'll keep you posted on my experiments.
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
I know this is an old post, but I found it an interesting read and an interesting idea.
So the last post was almost a year ago. Is the custom tank still running? I am currently compiling information to do something similar. I have a 56" long tank that I want to make as low maintenance as possible. I plan to make my own reef rock with cement and crushed shells + aragonite + magnesium + the appropriate amount of trace elements. These elements would be leached into the water as it reacts with the CO2 produced by the fish. I don't think I can reproduce electrolytes, so water changes will still be necessary occasionally. Within the tank will be a refugium that will grow pods and some macro algae. I know this can be self sustaining because it has been done with those globe thingies with the plant and a shrimp in them. They live for years. This fuge would be completely enclosed except for an opening for a few pods to escape at a time. Then, here's the kicker... Sea grass! Sea grass will eat up the nitrates which will reduce nuisance algae. Also, the digger clams that live in sea grass beds are extra filtration. Everybody wins!... The two ends of the tank will be a sea grass forest with plants growing close together where the pods that don't get eaten along the way can hide and hopefully a few will survive long enough to reproduce. I think it would also be very cool to watch the fish return to the hunting grounds to catch their dinner and then swim back to their normal play area. If the forest is successful enough, I could take out the internal fuge. At that point, it would be a self sustaining echo system with the occasional need for maintenance. I think that is the best you could hope for.
I'm currently working on a nano prototype mostly to test my live rock recipe/theory and to do some field research at home. Sea grass is fairly new to the aquarium scene so there will be a lot of trial and error there.
As far as sticking to a specific biotope, I don't think it's necessary if you plot out your food chain well. ...This will also take some trial and error.
Hopefully by now you are a saltwater geneus and haven't lost interest. If its still running, I'm sure everyone would like an update. If interested, I'll keep you posted on my experiments.
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
