Is "handsfree" reefing possible? ULM Tank Trials: We won and lost...

Can you have a successful reef tank with just minutes of maintenance each month? Does the ULM approach even work? Today we share the minor successes and larger failures of our BRStv Tank Trials ULM tank series!
#BRStv #UltraLowMaintenance
See how we tried the Ultra Low Maintenance reefkeeping approach !
brs.li/BRStv_U...
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[@reconnaissance7372]

I swear every time I watch a BRS episode or re-watch one I have a new epiphany.

[@peep_show8037]

My wife banned me from watching these videos. So now I watch them while at work 🤣🤣😅😅😅

[@webjr1981]

Now that you've got Thomas on board, you should take everything you've learned from the two year ULM experiment and have him do a full ULM build with best practices for beginners.

[@Justus-m]

Pls do That :)

[@jasper9890]

I bet they already are! 💯

[@NinjaSushi2]

Waiting.

[@markstover984]

How about making a video on the pruning of the softie tank? I’ve not seen the proper way to do it, and I’m sure others have the same question. I would love to see how you remove some without hurting the rest. Thanks for the great videos guys.

[@sethwilliamson]

For us, a tank crash while on vacation broke our hearts. After some years to heal, when we were debating getting back into it, we set some self-imposed hard requirements so that the tank could fit into our work and family lifestyle: (1) 7-day hands-off routine maintenance interval, (2) 14-day autonomy on occasion, and (3) Tank sitter doesn't need to touch anything unless there's some sort of failure. There were a few more non-ULM-related items on our must-have lists like auto-water-change again (been doing those since the early 2000's and swear by them), eliminating single points of failure, large reservoirs, etc, but as for how often someone _needs_ to lay hands on the system, those were our minimum standards or we just weren't going to even bother. You could say it was our version of "If we're doing this again, we're only doing it if we can do it _right_ (for us)." It's painful to recount, but the tank crash was an ATO reservoir that ran out of water. Tanksitter came in to the return sucking air. He panicked and just unplugged everything and didn't tell me!!! I blame myself for picking a non-aquarist and for not training them properly. It was an emergency trip away on very short notice. Shame on me for not having something set up ahead of time. Man, it was gut-wrenching to come home to a tank that's just off and dead. Another takeaway was learning that even in this age of Internet community, there's merit in hunting down local reefing clubs and networking with local reefers so that we can trade tanksitting.

[@BRStv]

thanks for sharing, thats tough but I think you are on the right track :)

[@karennation3580]

Best statement of all! Ryan says" Hate to see corals die but when it happens its a learning experience and we come away from it learning something!" Its been 7 months. Ive lost some fish and I have lost some corals But the good thing that comes from it is I get wiser each time and learn something from it! Like when I suffocated my poor fish because I didnt relize that filling up tank to where there was no flow cut off their oxygen or when I traded my rock for someone else live rock that had been in a bucket for two weeks and lost some bacteria and cause ammonia spike and started my whole tank into a recyle that caused a tank crash and wiped out nearly all my corals! That was preceded by not calibrating my refractometer often enough then mixed water wrong and having crazy low salinty for over a week which had my corals half dead right before the recycle from the live rock! Calamity of errors and I have been nonstop watching your videos since especially setting up my new tank that is so different from a 10 gallon no skimmer! Thanks for teaching us all to be better reefkeepers!

[@baldcattle83]

I would love to see some videos focused on coral and the existing tanks around the BRS offices. Team up with WWC or TSA and do some videos on how to remove existing corals from tanks, best practices of how to frag different types of corals, tips for mounting corals, tips for removing encrusted corals on rocks inside tanks, how to and best practices to build a coral QT, show off some fragging gear, etc. BRS team makes awesome videos but must are about the equipment, help us out with what to do after 3 years of growth!

[@DJAdriano8]

I saw this videos later on, but I went from playing safe to accomplish a stable tank to a ULM tank. And without your knowledge I came to a very similar setup. I have a RSR170 and did weekly waterchanges for the first 1-2 years. After that I started a refugium and started dosing all for reef by a dosing pump. Now all I do is feed the fish daily, change out filter floss every few days and clean the skimmer cup once every 2 weeks. No waterchanges, no problems 😁

[@hdfh66]

Keep up showing your failures. It does help a lot and inspires me every time to push the limits

[@DeIicateFynn]

Omg. I've been trying to research if a low maintenance tank was possible. I should have known you guys would have already done a video for me to watch 😍😊

[@Jotto999]

I don't even do saltwater, only freshwater, but this channel is so darn good that I can't not watch it!

[@mitian]

That is why I love this show series- the honesty you guys rock... thanks for being honest and sharing the good the bad and the ugly...

[@AllegiancePressureWashing]

Great video. Thank you for the countless hours invested in educating us.

[@33walden]

Thank you for all you do. Hopefully these videos are building new and loyal customers. I am a seahorse hobbyist but look to you guys for all the latest information. BRS should be first stop shopping for all so that it may support all that you guys do to keep us updated on latest tech as well as success and failures .

[@im160bpmplus]

Man you guys are so thorough, I know its stating the obvious but you guys really have taken so much work out of my Marine fish keeping learning curve. You have certainly made an impact in my life with all your vids. Thanks heaps BRS team.

[@drewlong77]

PLEASE...RECORD THE SOFTIE TANK BEING WORKED ON. As others have mentioned here, we would all love to see a video or two on pruning, moving & removing unwanted corals. The Basics, Best Practices, Tips & Tricks. And ...SAND "The Later Years" : clumping, hardening. Outbreaks, what to ignore what to adress..ADDING MORE LATER...The WHY'S, HOW'S & WHAT TO EXPECT. Thanks!

[@richardmiller6422]

My 300 has mostly soft corals. I prune them back about every 3 months.. If you like I can send you a video of my tank if you have questions 🙂

[@coffeeguy2000]

Thx for sharing the good stuff up front. I still watched the whole thing but appreciated the tldr

[@jimgibson6142]

It's great to see a wrap up of the ULM trials! Thank you for sharing the successes and failures. You'd started the series right as I was planning my first saltwater tank and between these episodes and others on getting into the hobby that you produced, I was able to get my first tank up and running with at least a small amount of confidence that I could succeed. My tank is now 18 months old and still going. Thanks for contributing so much to this hobby!

[@spoudaois4535]

Are you using sand? Are you going for lps or soft?

[@atfinthehouse8631]

So much info. Excellent. I think the bare bottom depends on the type of rock used to start.

[@JamesThomas-wf9sl]

just a thought on the aquamesh in the sump, I created a divider out of acrylic, its dirt cheap on amazon so a low acrylic divider (2 to 4 inches high) siliconed in with aquamesh mounted on top would work really well and would protect your heater, should your feed block and the sump pump out. Much easier than cutting glass and gives you the best of both worlds with minimal effort.

[@huckilt]

I don’t mind pointing out my previous failures, jus makes my currents successes look that much more admirable.

[@robertmccreary4749]

I would like to see a video on removing the polys from the rock

[@mobilechaosyt]

10 years ago there was a discussion about Deep Sand Beds and during that discussion it was suggested to put the DSB in the Sump instead of the display that way it can be managed easier. How about doing that for any sand especially when starting out? If there is enough benefit of having sand, but also at the same time enough benefit for not having it in the display tank, then why not put it in the sump? This gives you an area where the bacteria can grow and give you the starting benefits along with an easy area to drain and pull it all out if you want to remove it later once the main display has been established long enough.

[@KoiKicks]

I've set two tanks now, 1 sand and bare bottom. I've personally not noticed a difference and would say go for preference. If you want cool CUC like Conch snail and fish like Gobies etc then sand is a must. SPS and new tanks are just money pits with higher loss

[@davidtranmedia5112]

Man im so freaking hands on. Im always cleaning and maintenancing and adding new equipment. I jever stop lol

[@MrFildur]

Had been awesome with a new project "ULM" and do it as good you can with your new experience and record it like once/2 weeks or so. Had been great and inspiring :-) Thanks for this!

[@kimberlyworkman619]

I'm planning on ordering a ro di system from you next week. I hope my tank will eventually look like yours! Thanks for the helpful videos

[@brandonreidy6989]

Auto top off your ATO container. Worst case is it over flows your ATO container. example: avast barrel tender or diy solution

[@wolfmanjack3451]

Looking like success to me guys..all that hard work paid off, beautiful healthy corals are a joy to behold.

[@richardbunt2278]

One of the nicest Tanks eye seen .they tanks would be a Lot of time .to look after

[@payno6643]

Ive always been curious if you guys are reading off of telprompters? Youre flow is pretty amazing and the language is rich with content. Really pretty amazing if u guys are just riffing off another

[@BRStv]

Usually go into it with some rough notes, but most of it just works itself out like having a regular conversation 😄

[@hdfh66]

I had the best experience with the "Tunze LED eco chic refugium" a small led light that you can put inside the fuge and achieves amazing grow. You guys should test it out

[@rustyshackleford7288]

Great channel and videos

[@TONEScott]

Great video guys.... another winner.

[@John_Benson]

I was wondering what hole Zack disappeared into! That man has the Midas touch when it comes to growing SPS!

[@randya2308]

I have a 55g (standard tank) with a HOB filter and have not done a water change in 4 months. Corals are doing great, rBTA is doing great as well as fish and inverts. There are ways to run a reef tank with little to no real effort put in.

[@bradsbirds8502]

Sure would love to see a schematic of how you plumbed two COR 20's for my next build. I've been thinking about this hard and the only way I can think to make this work is with multiple check valves.

[@paulcolombo8127]

Would like to see that also. Without check valves, when one pump craps out, all the other would do is pump back thru the dead pump and very little, if and water, would get to the tank. Great video!

[@TheChantrau]

Can you list out all equipment for the lps tank? i got lost with all the details

[@dancoulter2377]

What about fully automated saltwater mixing where it auto adds salt mix and rodi and mixes to proper salinity. I’ve got a few ideas that could do that.

[@anchor4346]

I am going to be setting up a bare bottom ULM style cube myself. I have a lot of established rock BUT.. one thing I am or have been getting started is using a couple of media reactors and establishing some aragonite sand in them. I will be putting about an inch of bottom of the tank sand in them and running them as a rapid sand bed in the sump for 6 months or more till the system gets established. I plan to put some cheap sticks in this tank from the start. such as purple stylo and pink birdsnets. then adding something I really want at about the 6 month mark. I will also be connecting this via sump to an already established bare bottom 40B. Any comments on this method are appreciated.

[@jaggillarintefisk]

If i ever go with bare bottom, I will spray the underside of the tank white

[@PaulFraser4]

Hey guys, great video. Is there a transcript somewhere I could download?

[@Matt-dc8lp]

Regarding need for crush coral due to black bottom contrast, have you seen/tried white painted (or white stick on vinyl) to the underside of the tank? I can't remember where I saw it (probably reef builders, reef dork or uk reefer) but it looked nice. It at least reduces that contrast.

[@rustyshackleford7288]

Not trying to be rude. But low maintenance sounds sustainable. I didnt want to use that word. I like water changes and not so much equipment that breaks or goes wrong. But sometimes tons of equipment is good with less water changes.

[@nmquetzalcoatl6103]

Great topic and helpful information. Not ever having had a tank. A question that I have, as I watch this video and consider a set up. the light while nice reflects from above the tank and water. Is it not a good idea to use some sort of dome dome light diffuser/cover (like what’s used in camera lighting)?

[@BRStv]

We haven't seen that used too much with LED fixtures, but in many ways, that's how metal halides and T5s are so effective. That said, it's less about redirecting the light from the water surface and more about redirecting the light from the bulb into the aquarium in those cases.

[@Name-ot3xw]

Oh for sure, they sell these really neato bongs now. Wait... what were we talking about again?

[@bernardchristensen9705]

The proof of the pudding is in the eating!

[@donward2466]

how about showing a diagram of how you plumbed Randy's new tank

[@theideaofclips5481]

Did you do any icp test on these tanks ? I have high zinc on my last icp and I know AFR has zinc in it.

[@fishwhistler7224]

Good sell on the controllers

[@pragneshshrimali923]

I have no dosing pump how I can does

[@ReeferDave]

1. There needs to be a series on the rest of the BRS teams tanks. Start with Zachs sps tank. 2. I know you only carry the products you use and believe in but check out Tropic Eden sand. Their Reeflakes is the perfect size like you are describing. 3. Keep up the good work 😁

[@luisherediaphoto]

Hello from Tijuana

[@saml8119]

Love these lessons learned vids!

[@bxlawless100]

Ahhhh, the acronyms! I don’t understand anything!!!! 24:50.

[@ausreefguy5362]

Just throw your synergy overflow in drill some holes .. “sees plumbing” .. hmm that’s really ulm .. 8:09 lol

[@whokilledmercy1497]

AusReef Guy it really is

[@matthewschwartz9266]

The bare bottom is easy. The trick is to start with sand for 6 months. Then when you do a 10% biweekly water change take out 5% of the sand.

[@Richfxx]

How did u connect the dos to the apex so far away

[@damnthetorpedos1691]

Why not start with live sand and slowly vacuum it out as the year goes on.

[@RockerGraphics]

@Brstv why didnt you guys use DSR reefing? with monitoring?

[@alfst5546]

Hi guys, interesting video as always, I did use All For Reef, dosing at the recommended dose in my 70gal reef tank, but I found I was getting calcium spots ( not sure how else to describe it ) on my glass and power heads etc. So I had to stop using it, can you think why that may have been happening ? Since I have stopped using it, these spots have slowly faded away.

[@chrisadams9808]

"Hopefully 10,000 people will see this" ... 76K views later...

[@TheCheapReefer]

run my fuge 24/7 on a 60w 6500K COB LED

[@PaintflowException]

The auto water changes having two separate pumps scares me. Can you get one with one motor and axle that both tubes get turned with?

[@BRStv]

Not as of this moment, but I can understand the concern. That said, failure rate on these are extremely low. If you were ultra nervous, you could also put high and low float switches so that you could be alerted if anything went wrong.

[@chriskates4043]

Are they using BOTH a Kalk stirrer with dosing pump AND adding the Tropic Marin All-For-Reef? Or only using ONE or the other?

[@BRStv]

Each tank is on a slightly different dosing method. For example, the softie tank is just using the All-For-Reef.

[@nogascansable]

How much additional heat (on average/pump design) did the extra return pump add? How were they plumbed to prevent back-flow?

[@BRStv]

Most of the pumps we use don't add any noticeable amount of heat, especially the higher quality DC pumps like the Varios or Cor. We installed check valves on each return to help prevent any extra water back siphoning into the sump when the return pumps are off.

[@Trickmanii]

Damn how many heaters?

[@BRStv]

Most of our tanks these days have two heaters for redundancy.

[@xXPinkPunisherXx]

Moral of the story seems to be, LOW maintenance, not NO maintenance!

[@GenePlotkin]

Is there a video outlining how you setup the E170 in terms of equipment and maintenance? Can’t seem to find any details on it.

[@BRStv]

Equipment was discussed as a part of the BRS/WWC hybrid series. We've not done a video on maintenance, but would be happy to answer any questions you might have on the topic.

[@GenePlotkin]

Bulk Reef Supply Thank you! I went through the whole series and see how you selected equipment for each tank at the end of each episode. Interesting that all it’s running is the stock skimmer and carbon for mechanical filtration. Just goes to show you that people tend to over complicate things.

[@orcawhale18]

BRS can you agree with the response from below?

[@michaelsinko1163]

what are the corals @2:10 at the top right and left. The one with the pink bottom and green tentacles? and the other that is all pink to the left.

[@BRStv]

That's a torch coral. Even though this is a softie dominated tank, that particular coral is in the LPS category.

[@GTS_Fanatic]

What kind of blennies are in the SPS tank?

[@BRStv]

Those are striped blennies (a type of fang blenny). Super awesome fish with a unique personality 🙂

[@orcawhale18]

If my rodi water tests at 0 ammonia, does that mean chances are there isn’t any chloramine in it? Thanks

[@Matt-dc8lp]

Yes. Chloramine tests positive for ammonia.

[@orcawhale18]

BRS, can you second this?

[@BRStv]

@@orcawhale18 likely no chloramines but i'd check this out.kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHSsaYGkqrhnrLs

[@Matt-dc8lp]

@@BRStv many ammonia test kits use the oxidation reaction of ammonia to to monochloroamine followed by reaction with salicylate. So yes, chloramine is detected by said test kits because its already part of the reaction. Perhaps it depends on the test kit reaction. If it's a metal complex reaction then it may not work. stuff.iorodeo.com/docs/colorimeter/lab_3.html

[@ClaytonDeeringC3D]

Heard you’re looking for a IoT programmer that’s also a reefer? Let me know.

[@inventoryking]

What brand is the auto feeder?

[@BRStv]

Ryan's favorite has been the IntelliFeed feeder or if you have an Apex, the AFS. To be honest, they're almost identical as you'll probably notice by looking at them side by side. If you ask me, the Eheim Everyday Fish Feeder is a great choice for those that don't have an Apex. A great balance of cost/performance/ease of use.

[@ms.reeferfoxx9172]

The whole sand concept from BRS perspective is very confusing, even in terms of ULM. Allowing a tank to mature could possibly mean less maintenance and less interactivity. Having sand always results in stirring, hands in, syphoning, etc. But the point of dry rock and going bare bottom for ~9 months, could be said for dry rock and sand. So that's my opinion and why I'm confused.

[@meatrocket1]

I wish I knew what these guys were talking about ?

[@BRStv]

This video is in regard to our ultra low maintenance (ULM) series. Here is a link to the full playlist if you're interested 🙂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn3WkmupmLKboKs

[@Rsthelen]

Where or what is the name of the "grass" in the first tank on the left (looking at them) thank you (and how can I get some?)

[@BRStv]

That is GSP or Green Star Polyps. Around most places they seem to be pretty easy to find. ;)

[@Rsthelen]

@@BRStv thank you

[@GolfWisdom1]

What size tang are these?

[@BRStv]

The tangs in these tanks are relatively small. I would guess 3-4" or so. The Gem tang in the center tank is a bit larger and will be rehomed to Ryan's 360 gallon system in the near future 🙂

[@scottwilson4203]

Guys how do you plumb dual return pumps

[@BRStv]

Basically, for these tanks we drilled two return lines so each pump pushes water independently. We've discussed at length how to plumb two pumps into a single return line, but the fluid dynamics and lack of bandwidth to run testing has slowed the conversation. It may be doable, but we still need to figure out how and if it is possible.

[@cav3man360]

Now do a smaller size tank ULM

[@BRStv]

60 cubes are pretty small for what we're trying to achieve here. That said, many of the same concepts here can be applied to a smaller or larger system.

[@alexXx911922]

Is there a summary video by chance?

[@BRStv]

This one was sort of a wrap up for the entire series, but Ryan also did a similar follow up at the end of the series at this link here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4rRqYd-lK6cqsU

[@Udeus5]

@@BRStv do you have a written summary of the final equipment choices?

[@lisafoster4468]

No bare bottom for me. I like my pants on. XD LOL! Jokes aside, I enjoy having sand, so I'll keep doing that.

[@Eggboy64]

Where can you buy aqua mesh?

[@AJ-bi6ns]

Eggboy64 They have it on their website

[@whymelaugh]

anyone know what the striped fish are at 25:00 ?

[@BRStv]

They are stripped blennies :)

[@whymelaugh]

@@BRStv thank you!

[@orcawhale18]

I have an aquatic life 4stage rodi unit and it says it doesn’t filter chloramines. Should I use a conditioner in the rodi water? (Edit) I just checked the city’s water and they have 0.007mg/L chloramine on average. Should I still use a conditioner? One last thought, if my rodi water is 0tds, then that means there is 0 chloramine in it?

[@BRStv]

The fix for chloramines is actually super simple. All you need is an additional carbon block, preferably one that is specifically designed for chloramines (like our BRS Universal Carbon Block). This video is a bit geeky/data heavy, but if you want to know how efficient regular "chlorine" carbon blocks compare to the BRS Universal...check out the performance we tested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZnHZ4dobJhsprs

[@BRStv]

As to your second question, chloramines do not register as TDS in the water. The best way to test that you are removing them properly is to check the waste water line for any chlorine breakthrough. Easy to use chlorine test strips like these are the way recommend testing carbon block's performance. www.bulkreefsupply.com/insta-test-free-total-chlorine-strips-lamotte.html www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-universal-carbon-block-filter-1-micron.html

[@dazinkeys]

Why don’t you guys use B-Ionic it is superior to all the others

[@ngocong1149]

.

[@muffemod]

First!

[@dazinkeys]

Check out AquaSeduction.com they have a controller system that is super easy to use and very compact

[@sambow7005]

What not... whatever....man.... what not.... what ever... huhhhh...man.... what not.... huhhhh. What ever

[@mjminino]

what?

[@drewmoore115]

this sucked