Just a few tips and tricks for those new to SPS and reefing....

[Jay6363]

I hear what ur saying ........ The radion is at 45% max for 2 hrs a day. The kessils come on for 4 hrs a day to supplement the corners. A very good portion was very dark. There are corals at the highest point love ing the light.

My problem is I'm acclimating from the bottom a few week and gradually moving up my frag tray and they are biting the dust before they even get half way up the tank.....

All my LPS are happy . All the general boring sps are growing like weeds

Frustrated


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[Softylover]

Awesome thread taking on to get updates

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[ColaAddict]

Its easy to frag SPS branches, so they don't touch other SPS. But what do you guys do when its the encrusted bases of two different SPS are about to touch?

 

[miggs76]

Just a general word of advice for buying a skimmer. I hear a lot of people say to get a skimmer that is rated 2 or 3 times higher than the volume of the tank, but you gotta be careful. If the neck size of a skimmer is too large for your tank, it really won't be skimming anything out. I had a good talk with a representative from Coralvue about this before.

 

[tweeter]

I agree 100%. When I first started up my tank, I added a fish that had ich and lost everything and had to start over. Now I quarantine everything, and it has paid off big time!

 

[ReeferJoe]

just read thru the whole thread. Learned loads. THANKS!!!

 

[tmg1286]

Sage advice. Thanks.

 

[Robink]

Good info!! Thank you... new to sps... trying to absorb everything. Have a few pieces that seem to be doing well. Have learned more on this site than 14 years of talking to LFS...

 

[Robink]

Good info, thanks.

 

[glb]

Great info. I'm new to SPS and have a nano so I know have to take special care to keep everything in balance.

 

[Harold Green]

I have a 210 with a 75 g sump. I run a skimmer rated at 400g and I find it does an excellent job. Even if it only runs 75% of the time it is oxygenating the tank water 100% of the time so I don't consider it wasteful if it's oversized for the tank. In the early days of this hobby everyone blew so much air into the tanks it caused the salt to go everywhere. Today you almost never see any air introduced to the tanks only water flow across the surface for air exchange. I think it's more important than ever before to add oxygen to your water in some manner and the skimmer seems to do a good job of it. My overflow return to the sump has it's own chamber pouring into the filter socks and also picks up air there in the turbulence.

 

[Dextereef]

Now, I know that there are many more tips out there guys/gals. Lets hear them!

I wanted to add another thing that I do:

Since I run a bacteria driven system I cannot use a phosphate remover in my system. The bacteria need to be properly fed and I don't want anything to compete or hinder the bacterial growth.

So, what I do to prevent any PO4 from getting into the tank is I run a Phosban reactor with ROWAphos in my water holding container. I run the ROWAphos for three days on any new saltwater that will be used for a water change.

This way I can put less stress on my system and prevent any excess PO4 from getting into it.

One other thing I feel that needs to be addressed is proper feeding protocol:
From what I have seen and read, people overfeed their tanks. I feed my fish every other day. My fish are fat and happy, and I have never had any issues even with the Anthais I have. If you do not keep up with a means of waste export, such as PO4 remover, Bacteria/carbon dosing, or water changes you stand the risk of having reduced corals health and an algae outbreak.

Now, how much you feed your fish is just as important as how often. Some people feed their fish five times a day and their systems look great. I suspect that they are feeding very small amounts of food, or that they are diligent about exporting waste. Unfortunately, not all reefers are as diligent and they quickly end up having issue related to elevated waste.

For those who just cant get corals to grow or color up to the desired level I suggest that you rethink what,how, and when you are feeding.

Now, I know that there are many more tips out there guys/gals. Lets hear them!

I wanted to add another thing that I do:

Since I run a bacteria driven system I cannot use a phosphate remover in my system. The bacteria need to be properly fed and I don't want anything to compete or hinder the bacterial growth.

So, what I do to prevent any PO4 from getting into the tank is I run a Phosban reactor with ROWAphos in my water holding container. I run the ROWAphos for three days on any new saltwater that will be used for a water change.

This way I can put less stress on my system and prevent any excess PO4 from getting into it.

One other thing I feel that needs to be addressed is proper feeding protocol:
From what I have seen and read, people overfeed their tanks. I feed my fish every other day. My fish are fat and happy, and I have never had any issues even with the Anthais I have. If you do not keep up with a means of waste export, such as PO4 remover, Bacteria/carbon dosing, or water changes you stand the risk of having reduced corals health and an algae outbreak.

Now, how much you feed your fish is just as important as how often. Some people feed their fish five times a day and their systems look great. I suspect that they are feeding very small amounts of food, or that they are diligent about exporting waste. Unfortunately, not all reefers are as diligent and they quickly end up having issue related to elevated waste.

For those who just cant get corals to grow or color up to the desired level I suggest that you rethink what,how, and when you are feeding.

On a bacteria driven system where you are dosing a bacteria and carbon source can you also run biopellets? Will this strip the water of too many nutrients or will they negatively clash with each other?

 

[Mattweets]

I'm finding that my calcium is going from 450- 400 in weeks time span. Should i get an auto doser? Or start using two part calcium chloride with my topoff? Im new to the SPS game and have had this setup for about 8mo.

 

[Mattweets]

 

[Homebrwr]

Great thread. Thanks for reviving it!

 

[SunnyX]

On a bacteria driven system where you are dosing a bacteria and carbon source can you also run biopellets? Will this strip the water of too many nutrients or will they negatively clash with each other?

Well, you can employ both systems but I have found that it can complicate things. I tried Biopellets for a year but eventually went back to vodka dosing. While the Biopellets worked I saw better results with vodka. When operating correctly, the Biopellets were great, but having to constantly adjust and monitor pellet tumble and reactor flow became a pain.

 

[SunnyX]

I'm finding that my calcium is going from 450- 400 in weeks time span. Should i get an auto doser? Or start using two part calcium chloride with my topoff? Im new to the SPS game and have had this setup for about 8mo.

Hello and congrats on a beautiful system. Given your weekly element swings a doser may be a good idea. I take it you are dosing a two part solution? If so, a couple of simple and cost effective dosers from Bulk Reef Supply would help maintain proper balance to your system. As I'm sure you've heard many times, stability is key when it comes to SPS.

 

[Mattweets]

Hello and congrats on a beautiful system. Given your weekly element swings a doser may be a good idea. I take it you are dosing a two part solution? If so, a couple of simple and cost effective dosers from Bulk Reef Supply would help maintain proper balance to your system. As I'm sure you've heard many times, stability is key when it comes to SPS.

I have been using kent A&B Nano every other day. Its worked great for a long time, and coupled with a weekly WC of 5gal everything has been stable. But now that everything is taking off and growing..... AB and WC aint enough!

 

[SunnyX]

I have been using kent A&B Nano every other day. Its worked great for a long time, and coupled with a weekly WC of 5gal everything has been stable. But now that everything is taking off and growing..... AB and WC aint enough!

Yes, then its time to look for a bulk two part solution which in turn will save you a good deal of money. There are other options such as Kalkwasser and/or a CA reactor but two part works just fine.

 

[SunnyX]

Hey Guys/Gals,

I have added some more tips to the opening post. In the next few days I will be adding member suggested tips to the list.

Thank you,

Sonny