How Did the BRS160 Survive Our Mistakes?! Lessons Learned from Our Failures. | 52 Weeks of Reefing

Don't worry, the BRS160 is fine, but we did FAIL along the way! Here's the biggest mistakes we made in the last almost 5-years of the BRS160. Trust us, you don't want to make the same mistakes we did!
#BRStv #BRS160
Start the BRS160 Journey from the beginning, right here!
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[@cgirl111]

Way back in the day we put a void under the substrate using egg crate and screens and the discussion was how much void do you need and how much substrate to use above it. Some even advocated for a drain in the middle of the tank so you could drain out the void water once or twice a year. Thinking about it I think the only thing that has remained constant in the hobby has been kalkwasser.

[@martinward7239]

I remember that well. I knew it as 'The Jeubert system'. 1" void. Undergravel filter plates. Mesh on top then 4" of coarse sand. The idea was the void would be void of oxygen and that would be a way of producing nitrate eating friendlies. I ran a customers tank for 2yrs and it certainly produced nitrogen bubbles. Not sure it did anything else except take up 6" of the bottom and make rockwork collapse.

[@drewlong77]

Aptasia X works great for me... it's just a very specific process.. 1. You have to shake it and make sure its thick. 2. NO flow or fish by it for 15 to 20 minutes after. 3. Surgeon like precision coming in at a direct angle into the mouth..1 mm away without hitting any feelers. 4. Start quickly to get it in the mouth before it closes...but then Instantly switch to Slowly continue burying it in a thick mound of aptasia X. 5. Again....Make sure that mound is not interfered with and sits for at least 15 min. I have gotten rid of aptasia and also 200 mojos that had taken over tank from neglect because of beginner knowledge of thinking they were a type of zoanthid.

[@waynewayne9693]

I am new to saltwater and it’s refreshing to see the mistakes made by professionals actually pointed out and the solutions. I haven’t ordered anything from you yet but when I do upgrade I intend to purchase from y’all. Thank you for the information.

[@megadeth1763]

Heya guys Thank you all at BRS and everything you share with the world ! I believe most people will admit to the thought of how easy it is to turn on the TV and simply leave you on the whole day pretty much all day, FoxNews use to be on all day, but now it's BRS videos. Again I want to say thank you guys!

[@tyronemanzaleke]

Anything is better than Fix news; however, these guys are awesome.

[@GlassBoxAquatics]

The blotched anthias are massive now!! Been cool watching them grow over the years!!

[@aquapuncture]

This was really informative, guys! I look forward to when you come out with that quarantine method visit & video.

[@Dani004able]

I actually have such a lid on all of my tanks for years. Mainly to cover the sand, the silicon seam, the pad and the transition to the stand. Most of the time i took aluminium for this and after the first time with tape I now use Silicon to glue it in place and make it waterproof so most of the water from the tank don't drip on the stand. Works fantastic and I don't wanna miss it!

[@AnimeReef]

When Ryan said "we might as well have bred the aptasia" 🤣🤣 I lost it 😂

[@danbodily499]

I added a marble countertops under my tank before the wood stand to stop water from getting on the wood. It worked and looked great

[@birdzy]

I am so happy to hear you are going to do a video on proper QT methods. Not enough people do it and its soooooo important. THANK_YOU!

[@andygustafson1]

Thanks for posting lessons learned and not hiding it. Lean the most from recaps like these.

[@MrShishi]

Haha - I did everything the same regarding aiptasia.. Adding them through Cheato, Went threw multiple rounds of aiptasia X with the big re-fill, got a bunch of peppermint (too much flow), adding bergia (they never did anything). and I still have them.. This makes me feel some what happy knowing honestly the best way is just a natural predator cause these things are very annoying

[@13turtledrew]

Thank you for taking the time to make a video that is transparent and discusses points of failure and improvement!

[@jamessii0912]

Hi guys. Yep. Me too. Aiptasia X... Went from a few to a million. I'm sure I did it wrong but hey... Peppermint shrimp, nope. Berghia, probably not enough. Filefish... 2 of them. nothing. nothing. 2 months later, 90% gone. Then the Zoa garden disappeared then the frogspawn and hammers. So... Did the filefish enjoy my Zoa's and LPS as well?? I caught them nipping at my RBTA too. Oh the joy. Thank you for all your video's!!!

[@iPhoneGottaHaves]

What a great and honest follow up to the legendary 160! I feel like “WE” came a long way in this 5year journey! LOL!! I would love more info on how you would have improved on the UV plumbing and what you would have done differently!

[@glennrudolph]

I love that Ryan said “Wwwc” as if it was a website. I would love more information on the UV plumbing. I have a very similar set up to the 160 (waterbox 220 plumbed into a fish room) and a 50w pentair on a manifold :/ My thought is use it like a carbon reactor, and have the return go to the pump’s chamber. The only way to get all the water to pass through is by going in line with the return. Is that recommended? That’s a lot of flow.

[@devachapman6315]

haha I noticed that too. all in good fun!

[@philetdd8599]

Alright guys! now I want a video how to properly plumb a UV sterilizer!! haha that was an awesome Live. thank you boys!

[@sugershakify]

The perfect tank height is the distance from your arm put to middle of your hand. If you cant reach the bottom of you tank with your hand your tank maintenance become exponentially harder.

[@aldoveranzo2837]

Great honesty on this.

[@saml8119]

Excellent!! And yes...killed off all of my really nice acro colonies doing the same thing. Moved a tank and when I reset it up threw out the sand. Baaaaaad move.

[@kevinwolfe3631]

I really enjoy the content you guys put out. You guys have a lot of humility when it comes to your tanks and mistakes. Cheers. Love your website as well

[@dancoulter2377]

Wander about doing a course sand bottom and encapsulate in epoxy for a smooth bottom. Give the visual of sand but the effects of a bare bottom. (Note a small gap between epoxy and glass walls) Could incorporate flat base rock before encapsulation for a good visual transition from the fake sand water to the actual water. Just an idea.

[@Thazin-Mae2345]

I love your content is the best. Thsnk u guys

[@arthurmorgan7729]

Glue over the aptasia is a new idea - I’ll give it a shot!

[@truereefkeeping6022]

This is what I do with new frags that have it on them, it seems to be working so it should work for you

[@zsxking]

I think it's not that you have to clean the sand when you have it, there are so many successful tanks as evidence. It's that you have to clean the sand if you want to remove it. Siphon clean it every week till there are no dense detritus out, then you're safe to remove it.

[@chrischristensen9038]

I used the aptasia eating nudibranchs. They destroyed all of them. Then I got a peppermint shrimp and he ate any that re-appeared. Haven't see any in a year. I only bought 4 or 5. They bred into many many more and will scale up to any size tank. Took 3 or 4 months for them to get them all.

[@GolfMotionAcademy]

Thanks guys!

[@commandocarebear]

You guys are amazing I can't wait for episode 3!

[@northwestfpwl3454]

the guy on the left always looks high lol

[@gregfarr7000]

51:15 as a new reefer, I'd really appreciate if you could post a picture of that clipboard lol

[@davidbanaszak562]

Great video, I don't feel bad now about my personal struggles with some of the things mentioned.

[@samiam9059]

That's some fine sand...pretty dense. My 180 with powerheads would stir it up all over the rock. You did great on that.

[@GolfWisdom1]

Its arag alive special grade

[@kyle1895]

If you put airline under the sand when you start the tank ..... kinda like in floor heating in people’s houses ...... do you think that if you agitate the sand once a week or so it would help with keeping sand clean in the long run?

[@markymark1693]

Saved this on my playlist. Great video.

[@radsdad1]

Klein's Butterfly ate all my aptasia.

[@WillHain]

Chaeto from a fish shop brought me aptaisia, and fire red bristleworms. Yay \s

[@jakef1977]

Awesome episode guys! It's super big of you guys to showcase your mistakes. I've learned a lot from you guys. thank you BRS!👍👍

[@Cjx0r]

17:32 holy hell

[@michaeltopping8610]

This episode seemed a little more like a “drunk history” complete with Ryan’s slurred speech and rambling of sh!t that went wrong than the usual over perky excitement of product. Enjoyed this video. Thanks for the laughs.

[@alpinevistalandscapesinc.8987]

Thanks for the video! In regards to the heater, do you just use the separate controller and plug that into a separate powerbar that is not an Apex one? The video mentioned that an outlet was burned out using one way but was not clear about how you would do it differently to avoid that.

[@p.shinapuuc3420]

Dudes. The Regal Angel can be a potential fail in the near future. There is a good chance they could start picking at corals. I wouldn't recommend putting that in a reef tank.

[@jl6948]

What is on WWC’s Daily Check list???

[@Elliott23232323]

Raccoon butterfly ate all the aiptasia my 900g mixed reef, worth a try IMO

[@Ghost-Ghost-Ghost]

What's that big plating coral in the middle right with the spikes? Some sort of Monti? I love it!

[@Ghost-Ghost-Ghost]

@@randyr.8115 Thanks!

[@rockylanelord]

Excellent!

[@damonbehnke5817]

The guy on right reminds me of Wayne's world

[@davidmichael3137]

I just don't understand bare bottom tanks...bare bottom = half stepping it to me. Fish love sand, hermits love sand, and I love sand :)

[@rakhu1963]

Great update

[@jaksmith6465]

can you do a video on how to remove, or rearrange corals , transplant corals? especially older ones or encrusting corals

[@BRStv]

Encrusting corals are almost impossible to remove. The best way to remove them is unfortunately going to be to either remove the rock they're on or cut part of that rock off.

[@mikeo9070]

Burned out an Apex? Wonder what types of relays they use.....

[@Slide-Loc]

Taller tank or a deeper tank... if you're not going cube or 300 gallon what do you go with in a perfect world? (obviously a loaded question bus as it relates to the 160)

[@BRStv]

Ryan Snodgrass 180 would be a realistic alternative

[@Stayavid]

I saw a uv style Lazer pointer that is said to work well! Product review?

[@diltsman]

Do you have the checklist of what the maintainer for the tank does and looks for every day?

[@BRStv]

That's getting changed around a little bit right now, but generally speaking, the glass gets cleaned daily. We test for alkalinity, calcium, phosphates, and nitrates once per week. Magnesium gets tested bi-weekly. Pumps/powerheads get cleaned when they visually look dirty. And of course, there are some odds and ends like periodically refilling the calcium reactor, cleaning the skimmer, harvesting chaeto, etc.

[@gregoryhines7]

How else would you do the UV light? Wouldn't its own pump still basically be doing the same thing?

[@BRStv]

Ideally we'd put it on it's own pump and then have the output plumbed directly to one of the two returns. Currently, the UV's output just gets dumped back into the sump.

[@gregoryhines7]

@@BRStv ok I understand. Thanks!

[@rjs451]

I want to see a quarantine setup video. I just lost my fish to ich.

[@daniellebrougher6105]

I see that the filtration in the sump changes throughout the video. Do you guys recommend using bricks over a fuge?

[@BRStv]

The BRS160 has been a test tank of sorts, so the filtration system has changed a bit throughout the years. For us, the fuge has been the most effective method of filtration, so for the average setup, the fuge is what we'd suggest :)

[@intox69]

22:58 Why "countertop" was invented lol silicone a piece of flat countertop to that sucker :P

[@aldoveranzo2837]

Why we have flashing on exterior of any house where water meets wood! It rains alot (like Pacific Northwest).

[@ericjohnson8727]

A few years back I remember people using lasers to kill aiptasia. Is that still a thing? I know that there was some concern regarding eye damage but, there were glasses provided. Anyone have info on that?

[@BRStv]

Unfortunately we've found that while it works initially, the aiptasia almost always come back. That combined with the potential health (eye) issues make us stay away from that as a possible solution.

[@MrDavidt116]

hi if you get a fresh water fish called a gold skat it will live in salt water and eat aiptasia and not eat corals

[@theboxingjunkie8205]

I am dosing sugar and have no alkalinity help!

[@devachapman6315]

@Bulkreefsupply I am excited about you QT video. so curious to see what you guy come up with for the average reefer. is it going to be QT everything wet? or dip corals and QT fish??

[@BRStv]

Probably a little bit of both. Dipping corals followed by a QT process is best practice for sure.

[@Slide-Loc]

Gotta watch out for those TTD's... Tank Transmitted Diseases.

[@drewjanes307]

had the same issue with aptasia x, peppermint shrimp got em

[@marconisarliese]

Peppermint shrimp worked for me.

[@gonefishing5536]

Curious how to actually sterilize chaeto your conversation about clean chaeto has me curious. In Aus we dont have a clean macro algae source so is there a way to make it clean or would u just grab like one or two strands or something?

[@northeastcorals]

gone fishing I’ve not done it my self but I’d say to guarantee its 100% pest free you could set up a QT tank for a small amount. Obviously clean it before you put it in there then light the tank & possibly feed some liquid NO3 & PO4 if needed but don’t add anything that would feed pests. I’d guess you’d have to observe it for anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks before deciding its safe.

[@solo636]

Hi guys great work once again, not shying away from your mistakes makes us better reefer. Can you use a double union ball valve instead of unions?

[@solo636]

Thanks

[@BRStv]

Yep! Essentially the same thing, but with the added feature of being able to stop flow in that location :)

[@solo636]

I think that's the direction I'll go in then.

[@solo636]

Thanks once again

[@tomasvala5562]

Hi guys! I am able to make my new reef tank only 21x60 inch and probably 24 inch high. Do i better have to sell my house, or it will be fine?🤔🤔😀 Thank you for your videos!

[@BRStv]

We'd suggest selling your house so that you can go bigger! In all seriousness, you should be able to create a stunning tank with those dimensions. Just be sure not to build up your rock work too high if you're going to be adding in any branching corals like acropora.

[@NickSLZT]

There's not much information out there in the way of deep sand beds. I completely agree with you guys with cleaning the sand bed if it's shallow but I would be interested in learning more about deep sand beds. The only page I've found with good info about it is the youtuber newyorksteelo

[@atheplummer]

I've been doing a remote deep sand bed (RDS) for three years. PH consistent 8.4 zero ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. No water changes... Period... Only add Reef Essentials, when I notice the color on the Yellow tang start to fade. Did have trouble growing chaeto though, so phosphate was a little bit of an issue, so I just reduced amount feeding. Make your own out of a new plastic 5 gal bucket and lid. Put 80 Lbs. of aragonite sand, not too fine, as the filter gets really turbulant and the sand can wind up in your sump. Drill two holes in the lid, on opposite sides of each other, and install bulkheads. On the intake side, on the inside of the lid, glue a 90 degree bend to the bulkhead pointing to the center of the bucket lid, then glue a T fitting on the 90. Make sure when you connect it to your system, you at least use some type of pre filter to keep food from getting caught in the filter. And that's it... Just watch your PH stabilize and your nitrates drop to zero... Now, because you've added a whole bunch of sand, you can increase your fish load, till you get a nitrate reading... If you already have too many fish, just add another bucket filter in line in a daisy chain fashion. Ohh, one thing further... The bucket lid may not be able to handle the 'head pressure' and may start to leak or actually blow off. So, you may have to put the bucket on blocks to raise it high enough to reduce the head pressure to prevent leaks... then just let it be.

[@miguelroldao6939]

Hey, what is the pink shelving coral between Ryan and Randy called? Haven't seen it before, newbie here.

[@xXPinkPunisherXx]

Its a type of tabling efflo acropora, its a sps coral.

[@ReefDudes]

Why do you think it is that corals were not happy for the first few months?

[@BRStv]

There's just something about the "maturity" of a new tank with dry rock that doesn't seem to sit well with those more sensitive corals like Acros. We experienced the same with the SPS ULM tank as well. Also part of the reason Ryan mentions dry rock and short cycling as part of a failure, whereas in the 750XXL with a 4-month or longer cycle we didn't see as much (if hardly any) mortality.

[@ExopMan]

45:11 'Quarantining was one of those secrets that most people didn't know back then' Ehhhh, bs. I'm young but I've been reefing for 12 years...quarantining was around and heavily discussed five years ago.

[@marzocchi92]

drip lip... sounds good to me ,

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

34:14 lmaoooo hilarious... sheer will power is the only way to win! this was a great video i enjoyed it! hard lessons learned and a few i have done when i first started like the cheato and aptasia #keepdoingwhatyallDO

[@aceshot72]

sand bomb of death finally got me. Ill clean my sand every waterchange on my new 120XL Elos

[@t.regnerus301]

Bare bottom if you can deal with it.

[@aceshot72]

Ted I like the look of sand too much so I just do what they said and siphon parts of it each wc and stir it up with a stick each week

[@rohankrishna95]

Ryan must be "High",,, he is way too chilled. Aaaaaaaaa youuuu know, aaaaaaaaaa Like toooooooo taaaaake aaaaa hit once in aaaaaa waaaa-hile.

[@NorCalDubber]

Why did you change out zeovit?

[@BRStv]

The BRS160 was set up with our motto of "experimenting on our tanks, so that you don't have to experiment on your own." To that end, we've used multiple "systems" on this tank from Zeovit, to Triton, to BRS/WWC hybrid, and more 🙂

[@eddiediederich7244]

I have to ask, where the heck did you/they buy that siphon @19:36

[@BRStv]

I believe this is the Python "small tall" vac. You can find that on our website at the link below :) www.bulkreefsupply.com/pro-clean-gravel-wash-python.html

[@brandonwynn3965]

hurry up on the quarantine video!

[@retroreefs7986]

Are those the Ora file fish in the 160?

[@BRStv]

Yep :)

[@Uncle_Diesel]

Do you need live rock in ur saltwater aquarium

[@BRStv]

Short answer is no, but you need some sort of surface for good bacteria to grow on. Long answer is... Live rock really just refers to rock that has beneficial bacteria on it. This bacteria is necessary for taking the ammonia that the fish produce and creating less toxic nitrite, then nitrate. Almost any surface can host this bacteria. We used to frequently take rock out of the ocean that already had this bacteria in place, plus had a lot of other life on it. The downside to this is that we're taking it from the ocean, it's expensive, hard to ship effectively, and has the potential to contain pest organisms. Now days, most ocean harvested rock is banned by various regulations. For that reason, rock like Reef Saver has become increasingly popular. Reef Saver rock is a rock that's mined from the ground, not taken from the ocean. It's completely dry with no living organisms on it. For that reason, it's cheaper to ship, you don't pay for water weight, and there are no pests. The downside is that it takes longer to get a tank up, running, and established. There are various bacterial boosters out there that can help kick start this process (Microbacter7, Dr. Tim's One and Only, etc.), but it's still a slower process than getting fresh rock out of the ocean. That said, for the sake of sustainability, it's probably a good change.

[@Uncle_Diesel]

@@BRStv thank you right now I have only live sand that's all thank you also the only fish I want for my 75gal with no rock is clownfish ty

[@Mike__B]

Aiptasia... yeah not a fan, I bleached all my rock, muratic acid, super complete reboot... but you need to be VERY careful to deal with any future outbreaks, and that's as soon as you see a single aiptasia remove that rock from the tank. It's at the bottom of a big structure, who cares remove it, redo your rock work, if it's in a coral break off the coral around it, and throw it away even if there's some pieces of coral/polyps, just physical removal from the tank is the best thing I've been with. You can spend $20 on aiptasia "juice" or $100+ on wands that zap them, $50+ on biological methods, or you can simply remove a piece of rock, cut/break off where the aiptasia is, cost of replacing the rock depends on the size of it but probably $20 or less and it's 100% effective since that aiptasia is literally not in the tank anymore. Now if you're overrun with aiptasia... yeah you're screwed, live with it or reboot yourself in a very aggressive manner.

[@sanderoud5740]

what species of fish is at 30:18?

[@BRStv]

Those are Twinspot (or Twospot) Gobies. Twinspot goby (Signigobius biocellatus)

[@Utubereefer]

2:00 in and i bought a heating controller from BRS...

[@bckey1440]

That blotched anthias is getting huge.

[@rayzimmermin]

wait a .5 degree change LOL not even human heater have a .5 degree swing it should be more like a 2 degree swing considering that a tropical fish likes temps between 74 to 82 degrees you can have it heat up to 76 to 77 and cool down to 74 to 75 before it kicks back in but at that point you tank heater can't do that so you would have to use you outlet the reason you destabilized your tank by removing the sand is you basically removed a lot of surface area where bacteria was growing helping with the filtration so by removing the sand you are removing a large part basically over 90% of your filtration that is your substrate