The CUTEST fish in town, Low tech, soft coral reef. Part 11.

[@Batmancontingencyplans]

Some Channels on KZbin are Bizzarely Underrated. This channel is one of them...

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you for your kind comment :)

[@philcarlino6942]

I love your experimental mind. I would like to try this experiment too someday. I’ve never kept saltwater because as a lazy fish keeper, I have been afraid of it. I like natural planted tanks that are set up easy and don’t require the slavish maintenance routine. I’ll be eagerly keeping an eye on this experiment. Take care and happy Easter to those who celebrate!

[@NamelessNancy1312]

the most expensive part of marine tanks are the filteration, so i did undergravel filters topped with landscape fabric, then dirted base with a deep sand bed. A bunch of rocks to make caves, the rocks act as filtration too. I planted mangroves and got macro algea to filter the water. That way the tank is its own filtration. And mainly the most mantinance i do is the air hose gets calcium depoit so i keep that poked clean. As long as you dont want very many fish and can do bigger than a 20 gallon tank you have decent options avaliable for stock.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks, I really enjoy just trying stuff out. The idea of an equally simple reef tank really intrigues me, so it was something I just had to try at some point. :)

[@jonisolis9645]

Your clown fish are just adorable! I have never been that interested in saltwater tanks because many of them look too unnatural to me and it all seemed to expensive and hard to do. But I really like the look for this tank of yours as it does look natural and healthy.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you :)

[@johncatsoulis]

This has been a really great series of videos. I'd love to see an update on how your marine aquarium is going.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you so much :) Unfortunately due to family health issues the tank was neglected last summer. Subsequently it's a bit of a mess right now. Clowns are still super happy though :) When I have some spare time I try and continue this little series warts and all lol. :)

[@johncatsoulis]

Family is most important. Take your time, and best wishes to you and your family. Your channel is an inspiration, and looking forward to seeing updates when you have the time.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you, much appreciated.

[@chongli297]

Really lovely clownfish pair. They are just so incredibly endearing, like aquatic puppies! Looking forward to seeing you learn and make progress. I know very little about saltwater aquariums despite keeping one many years ago!

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you, I'm really enjoying this learning curve, so will continue to make the occasional video about it.

[@kenrooke9047]

Nice to see an update on this project. It’s a good presentation on what to expect if you are interested but not wanting to lay out great amounts of money for a bigger and more elaborate system. While i miss my saltwater days it sure is nice to know this is viable. Just love your clowns. Thanks again for the coverage.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks once again Ken. Still a very long way to go with this little tank, but its definitely got me hooked, especially now I've finally got my clowns :)

[@frankvermeulen4621]

Lovely set of Clownfish! A reef aquarium of any kind is not in the cards for me, for the foreseeable future, but never say never... 🙂

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks, I put this project off for years, but curiosity got me in the end lol

[@SuperSonfish]

I really think macro algae will not only benefit the tank but also make it look wonderful!

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks for your comment. I've always loved the look of old style reef tanks with lots of macro algae, so it's definitely my plan B. :) But I want to fully explore plan A first :).

[@SuperSonfish]

@@aquaticsbynature You are welcome and also I really like how much you put into experimentations of different tanks and even exploring stuff out of your comfort zone. Great content as always keep it up!

[@neilvee451]

Great video again 🎉😅

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you :)

[@NamelessNancy1312]

im so happy for a saltwater tank update. I think your clowns are beautiful. The corals are looking nice. My low tech marine tank (also 2 clownfish) is a 60 gallon and i did mileralized soil in media bags, a layer of inert clay, a layer of sand, a layer of black blasting sand, and shells with live sand/rock at top layer. Im on a waiting list for the specific magnificant anemone Ive always wanted. Its only 5 months old but its also got 3 mangrove saplings and macro algea. I really took the freshwater equivalents quite litterally. Its playlists like this one that helped me see that saltwater doesnt have to take up a whole room and cost a year salary

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks you for your comments :) Wow, you were certainly braver than me with your reef! Experiments like this are just a wonderful way to learn and observe stuff. Good luck with your anemone :)

[@Coruptshun]

need an update!

[@aquaticsbynature]

Hopefully later in the autumn :)

[@jonisolis9645]

What about adding a few saltwater shrimp if they eat algae?

[@aquaticsbynature]

From what I can tell marine shrimps seem to be less likely to eat algae and more likely to be destructive to the ecosystem, so fish seem more appropriate. But I'm not that familiar with marine critters yet.

[@paradoxicalocus3761]

I have followed this whole series and eagerly await each update. For the larger setup, would you transfer this media or just start anew knowing what you have learned this past year+? Do you think doing say a 5gallon low tech nano cube coral tank is feasible?

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks for watching :) I think I'd probably start completely fresh, and then once its mature transfer over the current corals etc. From what I've learnt from this tank I personally wouldn't attempt anything smaller than this current 15 gallon. I think it would be difficult to get enough diversity in a very small tank to be able to run it as a very simple natural system.

[@fabiansfish]

Is it just me or have some corals disappeared since the last video? Also the playlist is backwards 😅 PS: are you doing TDS tests on this aquarium too? What sort of water did you use? Self mixed?

[@aquaticsbynature]

The only corals which have not done well so far are Zoes, but some were closed up at the time of filming, so look smaller. But that's pretty normal for soft corals. They open and close pretty randomly. I don't test TDS on this tank as it would be off the scale anyway for my meter. The water is just marine salt mixed with RO water. I've been trying to alter the order of the playlists, both the categories and actual lists. But I can't find the setting to do it.? Any help most appreciated :)

[@ShepherdComputer-f5q]

love your tanks i have a question about the walstead method . i have a 24 year old 75 gal gravel sub with 30 tetras and a 17 pleco 3 kulie loachs .if i used the water and gravel debris could i use the walstead method and introduce the fish quicker. i am a one tank wonder the fish would be in buckets

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you for your comments :) As your tank is already so established it's likely that the substrate has already built up it own natural soil. This is very like my 28 year old tank which is gravel like yours but has no soil. There is however a very simple way of turning an existing tank into a Walstad tank with out having to empty everything out. Simply put some moist garden soil into an ice cube tray and freeze it. You can then push these frozen cubes under your existing gravel. And hey presto you have a Walstad tank :) Depending on the size and type of plecos you have you may find their bioload is too great to run the tank with out water changes like my 28 year old tank. Plus they may limit the species of plants you can grow, so you may want to think about removing them from the equation.

[@ShepherdComputer-f5q]

@@aquaticsbynature thank you very much for replying back i appreciate it . i am the one tank wonder with the 24 year old 75 gal tank with 30 tetras. i miss wrote last time. i have one pleco that is 17 inches and 17 years old. spot is part of the family. i am very frustrated on my natural tank journey. i got sucked in to a channel he told me it was easy and inexspensive . i wrote him what i wrote you and he told me to cap it with 75 pounds of sand i had some more questions he told me to go to a discord channel i have never seen a big pleco in a walstead tank. i had no idea how exspensive plants are .now i have about 30 percent plants in my tank and 100 pounds of pool sand in my living room. i have 5 inches of gravel.i talk to my local fish store not a chain store he said i should take half of my gravel out first then put 3\4 inch filter pad down so the plants have something to root to then to cap it with sand he said i should not have more than 4 inches of substrate. if i dont take any gravel out i will have 8 inches of substrate . that is why i was going to dismantle my tank. what do you think

[@aquaticsbynature]

Hi again :) In all honestly, with a 17inch place I don't really think a Walstad style tank is likely to be very practical. In my experience Walstad tanks work best with the kind of small fish and very dense planting I have in my tanks. Certainly you would always need to do water changes in your situation. And I think if you did decide to add soil to the tank there's a good chance the pleco would simply dig it up anyway, making a right old mess. In any case I doubt you ever be able to grow enough of a range of plants to make the tank balance properly. Plecos are just too destructive at that size. Sorry to disappoint. As far as the substrate is concerned it's probably most practical to simply go with three or four inches of either fine gravel or sand. But it really doesn't matter if it's a mixture of the two. Then you can just run the tank conventionally with hardy plants and a little liquid fertiliser occasionally, regular water changes. This should work fine, but you may have to keep the light intensity quite low.

[@aquaticsbynature]

In all honestly I don't think a 17 inch pleco is going to allow you to run the tank as a Walstad tank. It represents too big a bioload, is likely to dig up the substrate soil and damage plants too much. Sorry to disappoint. A more conventional set up with 3-4 inches of fine gravel or sand (can be a mixture) regular water changes, hardy plants, a little liquid fertiliser should work fine, providing the light levels are moderate and not very high.