Startig a sps tank

[Hawkeye1373]

After hurricane Katrina I lost almost everything from not having power for two weeks. Well, The tank has been empty of corals for a while because I was not sure if I wanted to start over. So I am here to gather info and ask some questions because I am thinking of starting over with sps.My setup before the storm was mainly LPS and a few softies.

Basic info on system:
The system has been running for over 8 years
90 gal with 2"-3" sand bed about 200-250 lbs. live rock.
Lighting 2 175w MH 1400 bulbs (on for 91/2 to 10 hrs per day)
Sump with mag 950 for return pump
Berlin Skimmer in sump with heaters
Wave maker with 4 maxijet powerheads
I drip Kalk daily to every other day
Water temp 79-80, salinity 1.025, ammonia 0, nitrites/nitrates both 0,
I use RO water
And I have a generator that will run the entire house if the power goes out.

I hear that monti is one of the easier sps to start with. How many small frags should I star with? What is the growth rate? Are there any other sps that you would reccomend to start with? If there is any problem with the health of the sps what are things to look for and do they heal or die?
I have been reading some on the sps but I thought I would come to get your opinion and any on hands info that would help me with keeping sps healthy and happy.
I am open to any suggestions and advice on this topic.

[deklin]

Good to hear you got a generator. So many people spend thousands of dollars on their tank and won't spring for the $200-300 to get a generator that will support the tank in an emergency.

One word of advice is that I believe you have far too much live rock with 200-250lbs in a 90 gallon. All that live rock will hurt you in the long run. It will limit the amount of flow you can acheive, especially indirect linear flow. It will also trap detritus in dead spots and under/behind all the rock work and make it difficult for you to control nitrate and phosphate levels over time. And when all those coral frags grow out they won't have room to grow into and fish won't have room to swim.

I'd recommend taking the oportunity before adding corals to reaquascape your tank and try to cut the amount of live rock in half. There's some great threads in this forum that give good ideas for aquascaping. Most of the best aquascaped SPS reefs are not loaded with rock, they just put a lot of thought and work into setting it up and let the corals grow and fill out the open space as they mature over several years.

Coral growth rates will vary on the conditions like lighting, flow, water quality and food. Generally montiporas caps are fast growers, as are birdsnest corals, digitata's, green slimer and many staghorns. I'd recommend starting with a couple frags from that list and see how they do after a month or two. If they are thriving, go ahead and stock some more corals. Good luck!

[sps1-2-b]

For an sps dominated tank you may want to look into getting a calcium reactor. It'll make your life much easier and the tank more stable (alk and ca wise). Also, try to get at least 40-50 times flow in the tank; most sps prefer the high flow. As a result of the high flow, stay away from the fine grain sand. You'll get less of a sand storm with bigger grains.

[Hawkeye1373]

DELKIN
Would it be ok to put 50-75 lbs of the rock in the sump?A god bit of this rock is old florida rock. Some of the rock I could set up another small tank.
For flow would the four powerheads be enough oer should I add more powerheads?

sps1-2-b
Where would be a good place to get info on a calcium reactor? What are some good brands and models? I have been adding lime water for years and had some good results what would be the benifit be of adding a calcium reactor?

[deklin]

Yes you could put live rock in the sump, just make sure it doesn't trap too much detritus. Getting in every once in a while to clean it off with a turkey baster or powerhead should be sufficient.

Hard for me to say if your current powerheads create enough flow, a lot of it depends on powerhead placement and tank setup. If you have dead spots in your tank now with your current setup, you should upgrade your powerheads. I'd recommend the type of powerheads that move large volumes of water in a dispersed stream like Koralias, Tunze nanostreams, Tunze streams or vortechs.