NEW SPS Tank, need advice, TIA

[enlighten]

I will try and be as detailed as possible but feel free to ask more questions. I want to do this tank right. With over a score of knowledge in the community, I am hoping to get the advice needed to make year 1 and beyond as successful as possible.

The plan: 32 gal EXT by Fiji cube , complete with 12g sump. I have a year old reef tank growing sps but ready for the upgrade.

Lighting will be a radion xr15 with 2 12" ai blade grows.

Stocking will be 2 clownfish, royal gramma, scooter blenny and maybe a court jester goby in the futuee.

Need help deciding between sand or not. Rock is currently cycling in a bucket.

Dosing, i have 3 kamoer f1 dosers and a DOS. I currently do b ionics and fw stop. I do want to start kalk and really considering moonshiners.

Coral: i only want to grow 5-8 solid acropora varieties that cover the rainbow, but also have been in the hobby for years or even decades. Since its a small tank, i know i cannot do alot so vibrant bright color and somewhat compact growth are going to be helpful but not necessary. Some ideas are green slimer or frogskin for green. Red planet or jf flame for red, asd rainbow mille for yellow, cali tort for blue. I have these so plan to frag and start them on a plug for ez transplant about 6-8 months down the line. Recommendations please!

I can also run a refugium or a skimmer but would rather not run both. Flow wise i wanted to do 2 mp10s on the back middle range of the tank, one on each side of the weir.

My main goals are good, consistent growth, color, amd health of all my livestock. I prefer to feed frozen and broadcast. But would take rex for feeding both fish and coral. THANK YOU FOR READING!

 

[shcrimps]

run larger grain sand/ almost gravel
there are plenty of things that can stir it up still
& your pod population will be super high

 

[enlighten]

run larger grain sand/ almost gravel
there are plenty of things that can stir it up still
& your pod population will be super high

I have a 20lb bag of special grade aragonite, too fine?

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

LIght and flow are the key. I run a XR30 plus two blades on the 40 cube. One gyre and a MP40 and a MP10. I do have sand it is a non issue. Frag tank no sand. You can pack in more corals just have to get creative. You will need a frag tank, because if you are successful, you will be fragging every week. I have no need for a fuge because I have low nutrients. I think a skimmer is a must to help with PH. My best advice with coral selection is go for slow growers, beginner SPS corals can quickly become pests, but in truth they sometimes really help establish a tank. So tough choice on that one.

 

[Red_Beard]

Sounds like a fun tank! Sounds like you have light and flow under control. I prefer sand because bare bottoms always look dirty and unnatural, but For sure get large grain sand. BC shockwave is a really awesome purple, if you are looking for one. Broadcast feeding is fine, watch your nutrient levels and they will tell you if that is not the case. Skimmer over fuge, your large grain sand will be your fuge.

 

[enlighten]

LIght and flow are the key. I run a XR30 plus two blades on the 40 cube. One gyre and a MP40 and a MP10. I do have sand it is a non issue. Frag tank no sand. You can pack in more corals just have to get creative. You will need a frag tank, because if you are successful, you will be fragging every week. I have no need for a fuge because I have low nutrients. I think a skimmer is a must to help with PH. My best advice with coral selection is go for slow growers, beginner SPS corals can quickly become pests, but in truth they sometimes really help establish a tank. So tough choice on that one.

I dont plan to hard mount anything to the rock, i kind of want to do a mount or rod on a plate for easy removal as needed so i dont have to commit to any colony forever xD

 

[enlighten]

Sounds like a fun tank! Sounds like you have light and flow under control. I prefer sand because bare bottoms always look dirty and unnatural, but For sure get large grain sand. BC shockwave is a really awesome purple, if you are looking for one. Broadcast feeding is fine, watch your nutrient levels and they will tell you if that is not the case. Skimmer over fuge, your large grain sand will be your fuge.

Thanks for the input, ill have to see if I can find that acro!

 

[Red_Beard]

Thanks for the input, ill have to see if I can find that acro!

https://battlecorals.com/products/shockwave?_pos=1&_sid=2b6784b1e&_ss=rBattlecorals sps are fantastic, i can enthusiastically recommend getting it right from there.

 

[enlighten]

https://battlecorals.com/products/shockwave?_pos=1&_sid=2b6784b1e&_ss=rBattlecorals sps are fantastic, i can enthusiastically recommend getting it right from there.

I got this garf acropora from ASD. I wonder if it will end up more purple.

 

[enlighten]

So i have come to the conclusion that there are a ton of "OG" corals, so maybe lets get some recommendations on those with good color, fast growth, and high resilience. Bonus is you mention the growth habit.
RED -
ORANGE -
YELLOW -
GREEN -
BLUE -
PURPLE -
PINK -

 

[enlighten]

I also like seeing sps varities posted as must have! Reef bum has an article on ORA Pearlberrry and i am going to add that to my list.

RED - Red Planet, JF Fox flame, or Strawberry shortcake
ORANGE - ASD Rainbow Mille
YELLOW - UC Pikachu, Pink Floyd?, Pink Lemonade?
GREEN - Green Slimer, Frogskin
BLUE - Cali Tort, Garf Bonsai
PURPLE - ORA Pearlberry
PINK - Pink Cadillac

I have other random sps growing in my tank too. Not sure on the name. My local guys with sps had some good stuff. I have one called care bears, heartbreaker, asd rainbow show time tenuis, random milles, asd pink mille, Kendari, and idk what this is below.