My path towards SPS

[stephj03]

Don't feel the need to reply, I just want to throw a couple posts down for you as my scotch kicks in for you to think about and maybe bounce off of others.

 

[Crustaceon]

I think the most important tidbit of advice I can lend is to prepare yourself to walk past your tank and not be tempted to do anything to it unless absolutely necessary and if so, in VERY small amounts.

 

[stephj03]

Going back to your ATO, if you are plumbed directly to the RODI, I would strongly consider having it autofill a resevior and having a Tunze osmolator or Apex ATK transfer from the resevior.

It looks like you have some room to the left of your sump for this.JMO

 

[stephj03]

I think the most important tidbit of advice I can lend is to prepare yourself to walk past your tank and not be tempted to do anything to it unless absolutely necessary and if so, in VERY small amounts.

100% this.

 

[stephj03]

Testing is a hot button issue IME, but there's wide use of the low range phosphorous unit by Hannah.

I also use their alk to keep my trident honest but salifert/elos/nyos are all good options for Alk/CA/MG/No3

You seem to be good on those but invest in a low range phosphorous unit.

 

[stephj03]

I don't see this in your current build but you also need to think about your SPS dipping and QT strategy.

Search:. Bayer dip, interceptor, CoralRx, Melafix marine, lugols.

Plan to gather dedicated supplies for a frag dipping workspace.

Optimally find room for a separate smaller QT tank with light and flow to house frags. This isn't realistic for most but if you can make it happen you'll be way ahead.


Assume Red bugs/AEFW are on every frag you buy and treat accordingly or you will find them in you display.

 

[stephj03]

Beyond keep you hands out of the tank and focusing on stability, the biggest advice anyone could give you is key off of the Coralline algae in your tank. It's way old school but Coralline almost never tells lies. If it is growing the system is ready for SPS. If it isn't or isn't anymore, check for issues.

Best of luck!!!!!

 

[StatelineReefer]

My LFS guy is installing the dosing system this week... one of the things I have been putting off is learning more about my RODI system. He and I are going to chat at length about it when he does the install. A few people have mention Kalk... I’ve been googling it. I am almost positive (if I am not already using it) I will by soon.

Dude, I do not know the math for gallons per hour... I can’t answer that yet

The math for milliliters per hour for Kalk will depend on how fast it's taken up... Testing, again, will tell you your drop per day so you can set your doser to dose that amount over a complete 24 hours.

Most people progress from water changes, to 2 part, to Kalk and supplements. Skip 2 part if you can... most of the time, water changes are more beneficial to restore trace, until the point that kalkwasser is required

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

You've already done the most helpful thing you can do to have a good experience with SPS.

You started with a large tank.

In the long run that's going to make stability that much easier to maintain with sticks in the water.

I hate to sound anal but something that might be helpful is if you could post your gear listing by categor (or link to it if it's in a build thread). This will make it a lot easier to get clear and efficient input.

Tank:
-dimensions
-overflow/drain configuration and pipe size -sump size (gallons/dims), return pump
-auto tipoff unit and resevior size/config
Filtration:
-skimmer model
-media reactors and type
-amount of live rock in lbs
-syntgetic media types (like your marine pure blocks)

Flow/circulation:.
-approx gph of flow coming via return pump with position and size of return lines
-qty, brand/model of powerheads and their position in the tank.


Lighting
-qty/brand model of lights with position and height above water
-lighting schedule of LEDs or bulb combo for T5/MJ

Livestock:
-current number and species of fish

Testing:
-kit or device brand/model and typical reading for
All, CA, Mg, No3, Po4

I just added most of this to my build thread : ) ....still working on answer several of your questions on this thread. : )

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Don't feel the need to reply, I just want to throw a couple posts down for you as my scotch kicks in for you to think about and maybe bounce off of others.

As your scotch kicks in... I love that btw! Imma Speiside guy myself : )

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I don't see this in your current build but you also need to think about your SPS dipping and QT strategy.

Search:. Bayer dip, interceptor, CoralRx, Melafix marine, lugols.

Plan to gather dedicated supplies for a frag dipping workspace.

Optimally find room for a separate smaller QT tank with light and flow to house frags. This isn't realistic for most but if you can make it happen you'll be way ahead.


Assume Red bugs/AEFW are on every frag you buy and treat accordingly or you will find them in you display.

Yes, I am way behind on this. I will be setting up a QT soon.... sort of... since I don’t plan on any new livestock in the near future, this doesn’t have a priority for me right now. I definitely need a plan for dipping... I’m not there yet.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

New question... after reading back thru all of this a few times, there is a point I missed. My rate of water evaporation. I e noticed most of the pics I see of SPS tanks, they are always open on top. I have glass covers/lids on my tank. Should I be leaving the top open to increase the rate of evaporation?

 

[Hydrored]

Increase evaporation no, mostly its for oxygen exchange and heat. Where in Texas are you from?

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Increase evaporation no, mostly its for oxygen exchange and heat. Where in Texas are you from?

I am in Pearland.... lived most of my life in and around Houston. And you?

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I have made a decision. I am going with the Neptune controller and the Trident dosing system. I’ll post more about it as it all comes in and I get it set up. I am also adding Kalk to my RODI.

soooooooo excited!

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

New question : ) I just bought an Apex Neptune controller and a Trident dosing system. None of it is here yet. And my tank is full of fish and softies : )

I am about to start measuring ...and dosing for SPS...

On the numbers that end up low... or high (not expecting that, but...) how slowly should I bring those number up?

 

[AJsReef]

New question : ) I just bought an Apex Neptune controller and a Trident dosing system. None of it is here yet. And my tank is full of fish and softies : )

I am about to start measuring ...and dosing for SPS...

On the numbers that end up low... or high (not expecting that, but...) how slowly should I bring those number up?

Congrats on your new toys. Apex has been one of the favorite additions for my system and I find myself using it constantly. Personally, I wouldn’t use the Trident just yet as your consumption is likely so low it isn’t necessary. The biggest downfall of it is that you can’t run less than 4 tests a day and reagents are hard to find right now.

As far as adjusting parameters. I’m a big believer in working with what your salt mixes at and what your tank natural sits at to avoid forced changes. The reality is, tanks do better with natural stability over chasing numbers. I may have missed it but what are your parameters?

Alk
Ca
Mg
Nitrate
Phosphate
pH

And what salt mix do you use?

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Congrats on your new toys. Apex has been one of the favorite additions for my system and I find myself using it constantly. Personally, I wouldn’t use the Trident just yet as your consumption is likely so low it isn’t necessary. The biggest downfall of it is that you can’t run less than 4 tests a day and reagents are hard to find right now.

As far as adjusting parameters. I’m a big believer in working with what your salt mixes at and what your tank natural sits at to avoid forced changes. The reality is, tanks do better with natural stability over chasing numbers. I may have missed it but what are your parameters?

Alk
Ca
Mg
Nitrate
Phosphate
pH

And what salt mix do you use?

I can give you my targets on parameters... or I can give you where my water is now I was expecting to keep my dosing extremely low at first : ) ...it’s my equipment I am trying to get right first. My LFS has agreed to biy back some of my softies. Salt? I am using Fritz Pro Auqua, RPM reef pro mix

 

[AJsReef]

You would want to base your target parameters based on where you’re at. Where are you at currently?

 

[ReefnFG]

There is a couple of points I would like to add here. I worked at my local fish store for about 7 years through high school and college (which I still frequent and talk with customers I used to help) and dealing with a variety of situations I have some advice I'd like to offer to you.

1. Maintaining equipment- I know you have said it a bunch that you like your tech, which is great and can be super powerful but like anything else they are only as good as you program them to be (which requires a certain skill set). The tech is great but it never hurts to run a manual test to confirm your pumps/testers are performing how they should (I recently found out my reagent for my Hanna alkalinity tester was no good and it was measuring 1dkh high, which for a sps tank isn’t good).

2. With kalk you will find some people that swear by it and others that want nothing to do with it. Personally, I do not like using Kalk for a few reasons but mostly the fact that I live in PA and my evaporation varies depending on the season makes it really hard to maintain a constant dose level. So in the winter when the heat is running my ato will be running more, adding more freshwater (and in this case more Kalk, where my system might not need it causing a spike in CA & KH). Kalk is also hard on the pumps and requires more upkeep in clearing the lines and the storage containers (it does settle out so it needs to be mixed often to maintain the solution). Also for your setup, I'm not sure if I missed it or not but I didn't see any way for you to dose it. Most people have a top-off container where they mix the kalk into solution and an ato pumps it to the tank as part of the top-off procedure.

3. Unlimited RO water access for top-off
I have dealt with a few cases where people hook their tanks directly up to the RO system and a float switches fails & pumps endless amounts of freshwater into the tank and the floor, or a drain clogs and your return pump keeps pumping into the display drains the sump and the ro unit pushes water to the tank, again turning your tank into a freshwater tank. Lastly when a ro unit has sat idle for any amount of time before you begin using the water it is making you should purge the membrane (ex. run the water coming from the membrane into the drain for a minute or two). Doing this will also preserve your DI resin as it does not have to work as hard removing what settled in the membrane. A DI canister (attached to your ro unit) and an inline TDS meter is the next thing I would invest in which will cost you approximately $150. These are your first line of defense when it comes to battling nitrates and phosphates coming in from the tap water. Back to my point of unlimited access to water, I would consider a separate container (~20-30 gals) to store your freshwater that you can turn the ro on fill the container then turn the ro off. This separates your tank from a direct line to water but then you will need to purchase an ato. Maybe even look into mixing station, there are lots of threads on here of people sharing their setups and advice.

4. Each tank is different and responds differently to any changes you make. So keep this in mind what works for some may not work for your tank. You have to make adjustments based on what your tank is telling you visually (there are somethings that you can't test for) and from testing parameters. This is all part of the learning curve and the fun of the hobby.


Sorry for the dissertation but I hope this offers you some advice. Good luck with your build. Feel free to message me with any questions!