Keys to Keeping an SPS Tank

[Patrick Cox]

Hello,
I have been in the Saltwater hobby for about 2 years and I am now starting up my first SPS focused tank. I am planing a mixed tank but again with SPS at the core. My question is, what are the keys to maintaining a thriving SPS tank? Here is what I am currently putting in place, so what am I missing?


75G rimless aquarium with external overflow
36 x 24 x 20(h)
Sump - roughly 12 gallons of water volume
Refugium - roughly 7 gallons of water volume - chaeto and live rock
Roughly 40 lbs of live rock in tank
Bare bottom at first, may add sand later.
Reef Octopus SRO 1000LSS Protein skimmer
BRS reactor with GFO and GAC as needed
Tunze return pump pushing roughly 300 ghp after head loss
Vortech MP40 and MP10 circulation pumps
ATI 6x39w Sunpower dimmable with ATI bulbs
APEX controller

I don't have a fish plan but I do already have a pair of Percula clowns and a BTA that I will move over to this tank.

So, what am I missing? I assume I need to supplement calcium, alk and mg but not certain if I need to right out of the gate and if so, what is an easy method to start? Am I missing any other critical elements for SPS?

Thanks!
Pat

[scar79]

Plenty of random flow, aggressive skimming, quality lighting, and active phosphate removal are all very important and you seem to have them covered. The most important aspect, IMO, is stability. Not necessarily keeping those perfect target numbers, but making sure alk and calcium stay put. Have your apex do the dosing for you and test regularly until you find your dosages. Lastly, you'll need some fish to feed. Most people here will cite "fish poop" as their primary coral food. Oh, and regular water changes!

[westreef]

I think you have almost everything you need. Just like Scar79 says -- stability is the king, especially for Alk. Eventually you might need dosers for Alk and Cal if you don't want to do it manually.
Auto water Top Off would be nice to have.

[Patrick Cox]

I think you have almost everything you need. Just like Scar79 says -- stability is the king, especially for Alk. Eventually you might need dosers for Alk and Cal if you don't want to do it manually.
Auto water Top Off would be nice to have.

Thanks! I forgot to mention that I also have an ATO. And on the dosing, I guess I just need to keep measuring Alk and Cal until it starts to drop, then I know I need to dose?

[scar79]

Dose daily (or more frequently). Same amount every day. I suggest BRS dosing pumps on your apex. Start with a low dosage and see where alkalinity settles. Add a few minutes to your timers if you want to bump alk up a bit, see where it settles. Repeat every few weeks until your alk sits in your desired range. You'll need to increase time/dosage as your corals grow and the system's demand for alk/cal increases

[fishmanstan]

Calcium reactors also work great.

[SDReefer44]

i found that really intense water-flow really kicked up my growth as well as stabilizing calcium. HOWEVER..

you are entirely missing the key element of picking out only the sweetest sps frags :beer:

goodluck!

[westreef]

i found that really intense water-flow really kicked up my growth as well as stabilizing calcium. HOWEVER..

you are entirely missing the key element of picking out only the sweetest sps frags :beer:

goodluck!

lol. Very good point. I am in a process of replacing some dull SPS with vibrant and colorful ones.:rollface:

[jpacker1508]

I love my Kalk stirrer on my ATO. I used to dose 2 part daily and it worked good but I love the Kalk. System has gotten super steady. Ph stays at 7.9 night, 8.2 day. Alk 10, and Calcium 460. when it changes it is time to add Kalk.

[dahenley]

Understanding concepts and how things work. #1 haha
Stability #2

Know the effects of dosing and reactors.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Never dose full strength anything.....
i kept SPS alive since 2008 and never had a problem.
Saturday i decided to dose some chemiclean and accidentally overdosed it....
the pictures speak for them selves..

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-17698-1358794592144.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3637-1358811652291.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3539-1358874968787.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3408-1358962825484.jpg

[Sisterlimonpot]

ahhh! that is sad!! That would make me take a break from the hobby.

[scar79]

Major bummer dahenley! Every crash is a new beginning, though, and one of the things I love most about this hobby is that local reefers will always help a fellow reefer get back into it with frag donations. Best of luck to you

[reefinsomnia]

WOW! so it pretty much wiped out everything?

Understanding concepts and how things work. #1 haha
Stability #2

Know the effects of dosing and reactors.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Never dose full strength anything.....
i kept SPS alive since 2008 and never had a problem.
Saturday i decided to dose some chemiclean and accidentally overdosed it....
the pictures speak for them selves..

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-17698-1358794592144.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3637-1358811652291.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3539-1358874968787.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3408-1358962825484.jpg

[Patrick Cox]

I love my Kalk stirrer on my ATO. I used to dose 2 part daily and it worked good but I love the Kalk. System has gotten super steady. Ph stays at 7.9 night, 8.2 day. Alk 10, and Calcium 460. when it changes it is time to add Kalk.

Thanks. What is a "Kalk Stirrer?"

[Patrick Cox]

Understanding concepts and how things work. #1 haha
Stability #2

Know the effects of dosing and reactors.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Never dose full strength anything.....
i kept SPS alive since 2008 and never had a problem.
Saturday i decided to dose some chemiclean and accidentally overdosed it....
the pictures speak for them selves..

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-17698-1358794592144.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3637-1358811652291.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3539-1358874968787.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/james1307oak/photobucket-3408-1358962825484.jpg

Wow, too bad. Hang in there and use this opportunity to make some improvements that you might have otherwise not considered with an established tank. Good luck!

[this is me]

Proper ALK, CA, and MG level. Keep up with the water change and the maintenance including your equipment. But most important of all, stability.

[dahenley]

WOW! so it pretty much wiped out everything?

i lost 100% of my SPS
100% of my Clams (5, 3 of which were HUGE)
Zoas are still closed.... so i have no count right now.....
and LPS i lost about 80+% of them.....
i would give 85-90% overall death rate in corals....


but 100% of the fish are still alive! :celeb2: :beer:

[Saltwaternooby]

i lost 100% of my SPS
100% of my Clams (5, 3 of which were HUGE)
Zoas are still closed.... so i have no count right now.....
and LPS i lost about 80+% of them.....
i would give 85-90% overall death rate in corals....


but 100% of the fish are still alive! :celeb2: :beer:

Jeez sorry to hear that, i went with an under dose of cemiclean and ended up killing 3 fish, no corals were harmed, and i ran air stones as well.

[REEF SMAC]

Lot's of good advice here so far.

Set yourself up a small QT tank and use it.
Don't infect your tank with something you can't get rid of.

And stay away from chemiclean. Ouch!:(

[dahenley]

QT is a great idea. (it only takes 1 oops...)

also, Dip EVERYTHING!!!
i don't/wouldn't accept corals from family/friends/ or even the president of the US without dipping and using a magnified glass to give a once over before going in the tank.

Tell everyone this, and they wont get upset because your not putting their corals in your tank. I even take free corals to people and tell them to dip them (i don't have pests) but it gets them in the habit if doing it with everything.

[westreef]

QT is a great idea. (it only takes 1 oops...)

also, Dip EVERYTHING!!!
i don't/wouldn't accept corals from family/friends/ or even the president of the US without dipping and using a magnified glass to give a once over before going in the tank.

Tell everyone this, and they wont get upset because your not putting their corals in your tank. I even take free corals to people and tell them to dip them (i don't have pests) but it gets them in the habit if doing it with everything.

So sorry to hear your accident. Hope your local reefers will help you out. lol, I just got rid of my chemiclean.
Well said --Dipping your coral before going in the tank is very important. I am now using the Bayer Insecticide for the dip.

[h2hiero]

Keep everything as easy as possible. Buy reactors buy apex buy anything that will help make it easier. Get a long hose so you can drain the water straight from your tank to the drain. Got external ocean runner 6500 just for water changes. Regular water changes and keeping your water perfect. Do not go to frag swaps or put anything in your tank without coral dipping it first. Keeping everything easy and not having to carry water everywhere makes you keep up on regular water changes.

[Bratyboy2]

What Are the exact parameters to aim for with the sps?

alk 10?
calcium 460?
ph 8.4?
mag?

[tuawcxs]

You have been in the hobby for 2yrs but how old is the new SPS tank? Are you trnsfering any rock ,coral or fish from another tank you have or is the SPS tank brand new?

[dahenley]

What Are the exact parameters to aim for with the sps?

alk 10?
calcium 460?
ph 8.4?
mag?

No such thing!!
Alk between 7-11
Calcium above 375
Mag above 1350 to keep Alk and Cal stable and in saturation
Ph. This is just a indication of the oxygen content in your water.
If ph is low, it needs more fresh air. You can run skimmer intake outside for fresh air. Or if your running a calcium reactor, run the effluent through a second chamber to buffer the water.

Its going to do what it wants. Just watch the levels and keep them stable. That's the key

[dahenley]

Another ph solution is to open a window or door in your house every now and then to allow more o2 in your house which will make it into your tank

[Patrick Cox]

You have been in the hobby for 2yrs but how old is the new SPS tank? Are you trnsfering any rock ,coral or fish from another tank you have or is the SPS tank brand new?

Hi, thanks for your reply. I am starting a new tank with new rock. The rock in my old tank had aiptasia and flatworms and I didn't want to take a chance on bringing them over to my new tank. So this tank will mainly be new corals, plus my two percula clown fish and small bubble tip anemone. I have a couple of LPS I may bring over as well.

Thanks!