Video by Tidal Gardens · Specs extracted by AllCorals · Watch on YouTube ↗

Tidal Gardens

Taking a look at Rico's Reef Tank - 300-gallon SPS Dominated Reef

1

Tank Featured

10

Minutes

2017

Released

Tidal Gardens tours Rico's 300-gallon Marineland Deep Dimension SPS reef, an Acropora-dominated tank grown from small frags into strikingly colored, carefully pruned colonies. The video highlights how Rico succeeds using unconventional methods: zero water changes, no carbon or GFO, a calcium reactor, weekly kalkwasser, and a blue clove polyp rock mat instead of coralline. It closes noting Rico has 20+ years in the hobby and is considering upgrading to an even larger tank.

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00:00:07Tank intro: 300-gallon SPS dominated Marineland Deep Dimension 00:01:45Non-Acropora SPS: Montipora setosa and stylophora 00:02:13Euphyllia placement and light protection 00:03:17Blue clove polyp rock mat instead of coralline 00:04:38Equipment tour and 150-gallon Rubbermaid sump 00:05:01Dedicated algae grow-out tank for scrubbing 00:05:10Reef Octopus protein skimmer 00:05:47Zero water change philosophy 00:06:11Calcium reactor with electronic CO2 regulator 00:06:48Lighting: T5 Coral Plus and Ocean Revive LEDs 00:07:24Fish stocking and pest control philosophy 00:08:16Possible future upgrade to a larger tank

The Build

Tank Specs

Every spec, brand, and livestock mention pulled from the host's narration. Click any tank tour above to compare.

Tank 01

Rico's Reef Tank - 300-gallon SPS Dominated Reef

300

Gallons

SPS dominant

Style

Marineland Deep Dimension

Brand

72" x 36" x 28"

Rico's 300-gallon Marineland Deep Dimension is an Acropora-dominated SPS reef grown entirely from small frags into tastefully pruned, bonsai-like colonies. It is run unconventionally with zero water changes, no carbon or GFO, relying on a reef octopus skimmer, a large calcium reactor, weekly kalkwasser, feeding, and a dedicated algae grow-out tank. Rockwork is carpeted in blue clove polyps rather than coralline, and a heavy fish load provides pest control.

Lighting

ATI Coral Plus T5 bulbs $24.99in stock,

Ocean Revive ×4

Skimmer

Reef Octopus Reef Octopus (via CoralVue)

Dosing

calcium reactor

Filtration

skimmer plus algae scrubbing

Water Changes

Zero water changes on the system

Feeding

Manages nutrients largely through feeding

Husbandry & Practices 8

Runs zero water changes; nutrients managed by feeding, skimmer, and algae scrubbing
Large calcium reactor with electronic CO2 regulator for controlled, uniform dosing
Adds kalkwasser about once a week; no carbon dosing, no GFO
Dedicated red algae grow-out tank harvested periodically as a form of algae scrubbing
Grows all corals from small frags, tastefully pruning colonies like bonsai to reduce warfare
Shelters Euphyllia low and shaded under a stylophora to protect from intense SPS light
Heavy fish load of wrasses and damsels for biological pest control against flatworms
Uses blue clove polyp mat over rockwork instead of coralline for a moving, living substrate

Corals

5

AcroporaMontipora setosa (orange)StylophoraEuphyllia (hammers and frogspawn)blue clove polyps

Fish

6

Clownfishwrassesdamselstangsfoxfacescoral beauty (dwarf angel)

Shop the build

Featured products from our catalogue

Equipment mentioned in this tour that we cover in our gear catalog. Click through for full specs, retailer comparison, and where-to-buy.

Mentioned as: Reef Octopus

ATI T5 Bulbs (Coral Plus / Blue Plus)

T5 Bulbs (Coral Plus / Blue Plus)

Mentioned as: ATI Coral Plus T5 bulbs

In their own words

Notable Quotes

Rico does zero water changes on the system. The only thing he's got going on to manage the filtration is that skimmer and its chaeto.

There's no carbon, there's no GFO, no water changes, nothing.

There's no coralline algae in this tank... it's covered completely in blue clove polyps.

An army of fish doing serious work... practically ensures you're not going to have any issues with flatworms.

Rico is actually considering taking this reef down and getting a bigger one.