Unbelievable Secrets to Having a Low Maintenance Reef Tank!

[@arthurslittleadventure2699]

For a second there, I thought there was a giant clownfish swimming across the tank 😂😂😂

[@BillysReefRx]

Lol too funny

[@Steve-514]

A Water change every couple of weeks is cheaper than an ICP test and more effective than adding all those trace elements to get back up. That's the main purpose of a water change unless there's another major problem

[@A.R.C.77]

Is your water change for free 😂

[@Steve-514]

@@A.R.C.77 if you want free things then your in the wrong hobby. Water change is the easiest and safest way to keep a tank consistent

[@A.R.C.77]

@@Steve-514 it ain't cheap tho is my point

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching

[@HNiCDuke]

​@@A.R.C.77 if your too cheap to do WC 2x a month then your in the wrong hobby

[@MrCharboula123]

Absolutely phenomenal content! I love your videos very educating and simplified. Keep doing what your doing thats amazing!

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you so much for watching! I am glad you enjoy my content.

[@Andres-resortsea]

Bad ass set up man

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you!

[@Trodai2020]

I have a 60 gallon with practically same setup. I only do 5 gallon water change once a month just because I like to clean the refugium bottom lol. I do use torq 2.0 media reactor just for sea anemone

[@BillysReefRx]

I do got water changes now. 3 gallons a day in my 200 gallon tank.

[@MrCharboula123]

Hey man amazing video! very educational !

[@BillysReefRx]

Glad you liked it! Thank you for watching

[@Coral-reef.]

Hey my friend what lights are you using and at what intensity?

[@BillysReefRx]

I have a hybrid lighting system of T5 and led. I used hydra ai’s 26’s HD for the led

[@mememe84]

Sorry if I missed it, what do you do about nitrate build up? does the refugium take care of that?

[@BillysReefRx]

Yes I use the fuge and roller mat to catch waste before it breaks down.

[@benmrgamw681]

Super nice tank man! You have a lot of skill and I hope to be close to that level one day🤞 I am about to enter the saltwater world and I want to start off with an 8ft tank as I know eventually I will want to upgrade. Is this a bad idea and would I be able to run it with similar to your filtration or need more for that size? Also where can I get some of those shelves you have on the inside of your tank? Guessing glued with no magnet?

[@BillysReefRx]

Thanks for watching. The bigger the better, same with filtration. Which shelves are you referring to?

[@roydekoekkoek388]

Thank you 4 the info! After how long after starting/running this tank you stop the waterchanges?

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching! I want to say around 6 months or so. This was a tank transfer, so it really didn’t go through much of a cycle.

[@MikeLemming]

Good info bro. The tank is looking really nice!

[@BillysReefRx]

Thanks man, always appreciate your support!

[@bigdeltaguy4572]

Awesome video 👍 keep up the good work 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching

[@KentuckyReef]

What is cheaper than losing corals, trace elements and regular ICP tests, water changes. That is until you get into bigger tanks.

[@BillysReefRx]

I don’t have the time to do regular water changes. BRS did a investigates video on the cost of water changes vs trace elements and testing, and I believe the cost was similar.

[@KeelOvisioN]

How do you maintain Salinty in this style of reef tank

[@BillysReefRx]

I have an auto top off

[@justindonflorendo7478]

Thanks for the vid!

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching!

[@gospelofrye6881]

Here in Australia it's just too easy to get fresh salt water, we have guys who are licensed to collect it from national parks and beaches that are far away from cities. We have companies that will deliver it to your door in 1000L lots (264 gal). It's a good weekly ritual because it makes you "disrupt" the tank and look at it. You can see which fish act weird under mild stress, it makes you notice stuff about corals as the water level drops. It reminds you to check all the equipment over, see if lines are clogged or skimmer is too wet/dry etc. It reminds you that your filter media needs to be changed sometimes. And so on.

[@BillysReefRx]

It's amazing how easy it is for you to access fresh salt water! Those weekly rituals definitely keep you in tune with your tank and its inhabitants.

[@docforestal]

very nice tank - i would argue diluting any build up of bad stuff (often from our prepared foods) by regular water changes prevents disasters, but different routes to success - cheers

[@BillysReefRx]

I agree, and luckily I just moved and have the ability to have a auto water change system hooked up. Check out my latest video for the update.

[@mayconoliveira8855]

There's one thing you forgot to mention about reduce nutrients. All for reef use a type of carbon source, calcium formate, so you are "dosing" carbon in your tank that helps bacteria to drop nutrient. Btw, I use all for reef too and I'm without water changes for about 7 months, all corals are doing great.

[@BillysReefRx]

You are correct, I did not mention that. Thank you for watching!

[@rhombifer566]

I strongly disagree. Water changes is my secret to success been keeping salt water for probably close to 30 years.

[@BillysReefRx]

I’m not saying that this is a recommended method for everyone. Each reef keeper has their own success story. Nothing wrong with water changes.

[@Jaydub-on1zc]

I like the idea of low maintenance, but I don't see the rationale of waiting until there is an obvious problem to do a water change. The issues that are causing corals to fail may have begun days to weeks earlier, so by the time you do a change you could already be well behind the curve. I use an AWC to change 3.5 gallons/day on a 200+ gallon system, which I think is a less risky version of low maintenance.

[@BillysReefRx]

I’m moving in a few weeks and plan to setup a water change system, just don’t have the idea setup at the moment.

[@insanity4224]

Water changes would have avoided the drop in potassium by a lot. Is the goal of less water changes just to avoid maintenance?

[@BillysReefRx]

Yes it would have. Thank you for watching

[@hurricaneaquatics]

To each their own. Not doing water changes is a huge mistake in my opinion. You're putting yourself in a razor thin line situation. One little thing off and you'll get what happened to you. You wouldn't have had potassium issues with regular water changes. All for Reef, I use it occasionally, doesn't have enough trace element levels to replace elements like a water change. I have an 80 gallon full Acropora system with many colonies. I only use 20ml daily if I am using All for Reef. I have to be careful too as sometimes it goes too high and I'll need to skip days. The Red Sea ReefMat is the best piece of equipment they ever made, I love mine. If you'll adjust your fleece advance length, you can pull your phosphates to the level you want them no matter how much you feed. I have mine set to 1.4 to 1.6 inches of advance. I keep my phosphates around 0.03 to 0.10. I find that setting on the Reefmat keeps that perfect.

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching and your detailed comment with lots of info. Once I move and get mixing stations setup, I plan to do regular water changes as it will be much easier. Glad to hear you are loving the reefmat too, I got to give it to Red Sea for this one! Its going to be tough for someone else to have a better product with more features. Honestly, I can think of anything more I would want out of a filter fleece roller.

[@davidleach4689]

Every week I do a water change I take no chances 15 percent iodine is vital,potassium,minor trace elements,iron and strontium is vital for sps.

[@BillysReefRx]

You can’t go wrong with a weekly water change!

[@SteveLuckhurst]

Nice vid , one thing frag the dying coral don't let them just die. Make sure you frag only good flesh .You can still save the bird nest and get a few good frags from it

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching! That is in the to do list this weekend. I ordered another frag rack as I don’t have any more room, and will be fragging those out.

[@andrew5762]

Dude your a top guy , but your asking for trouble with no water changes , it’s the best way. To replenish trace elements, 340 lte mixed reef wall to wall doing 20% every week Icp all good 👍 trust me 😃👍

[@BillysReefRx]

I finally moved and have an auto water change system hooked up. Check out my latest video for the update

[@success.says.and.qoutes]

Nice

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching! Check out my latest video.

[@HCBCHEMISTRY]

The reason why potassium is low is because most salt brands level of potassium is off and usually the hobbiest has to correct it.

[@BillysReefRx]

I’ve heard this is an issue as well

[@marchohl562]

Dont wait unit problems happen.. just make the 10% change weekly

[@apple-ej4zt]

be quiet

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching!

[@tcmarineaddiction6609]

How to build wealth save your money and build an investment portfolio live cheap and retire comfortable

[@BillysReefRx]

Absolutely

[@jonathanstone4878]

Problem is, you have no clue what is accumulating in your tank month after month. Replacing elements isn’t enough. ICP doesn’t test for everything nor can it. Do your water changes guys. It’s cheap. It’s easy. And it’s proven.

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching!

[@GwonkReefkeeping]

AFR 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching!

[@jesseberg6183]

i also strongly disagree, refuge removes mostly nitrates and very little phos.

[@BillysReefRx]

Thank you for watching!

[@TekKnowLLC]

Doesn't sound like low maintenance to me!

[@BillysReefRx]

I can see how it might not seem low maintenance from the outside! It's all about perspective, I guess!

[@Maximo21akuma]

I hate reeders bragging about this. The top guys in the hobby will tell you this is a bad idea. Congrats if you accomplish it. But I would steer people away from the idea.

[@benmrgamw681]

Usually the top guys in the hobby have skin in the game and want you to buy their equipment or that of their sponsors.. how about everyone coming together to find the best and easiest way to do no water changes? Also there are people that do a lot of water changes and don't have a tank close to this.. why not learn instead of unwarranted criticism.

[@BillysReefRx]

Thanks for watching

[@lynn-fr6hm]

That’s a nasty sand bed to bed talking about maintenance..regular cleaning maintenance.

[@BillysReefRx]

Thanks for watching!