29g SPS

V

vacuum

New member
First of all, the tank is going to be 24"Lx24"Wx12"H. I plan on a rift through the center, with two islands of live rock on each side. There will be PVC supporting each island, with a Seio 620 pumping through each of them.

Also, two 1" holes will be drilled in the tank, providing 580 gph of flow through the sump (20g AGA). An ASM G-1X will be skimming, and some chaeto will be sitting there doin' it's nutrient-sucking thing. The return will be powered by a Mag 7.

The tank will be lit by a single 14k 150w Phoenix.

The livestock will include:

2 Percula Clowns
1 Yellow Watchman Goby

In the future it will be dominated by SPS and perhaps a clam or two.

There will be only white Starboard on the bottom.

Anyone have any opinions on this? I do plan on utilizing ATO to compensate for the large evaporation rate.
 
Sounds like fun. Have you decided what your calcium supplement will be, 2-part, Kalk or Ca reactor?

Mike
 
I've been pretty wondering about that. I asked on another forum and was told that until I had a great deal of SPS, water changes with Tropic Marin Pro salt would be sufficient.
 
I don't think I will, barring an option that will allow for that under $300. Either that or a 20,000K that lasts under six months :rolleye1:
 
I wouldn't run that much flow through the sump. I targeted about 100-200 gph for my 29g system with a refugium. That should help reduce bubble and sump turbulence issues. The Seio pumps should provide quite a lot of flow by themselves.
 
Really? That totals up to about 1500 gph, 50x turnover...which I guess is enough, now that I think of it.

Should I try and downsize from the 20g Sump to a 10g, then, and 0.5" holes? That's about 175 gph.

Which then means that I would need to downsize to a, say, Mag 3.

Opinions on Calcium and Alkalinity maintenance?
 
You could go either way with the sump, if your skimmer fits. If you go 20g, you might be able to have a refugium.

Limewater works well for me, with 2-part good, too.
 
This is kind of off the subject, but does anyone have anything to say about vacation time?

Sometimes I go on vacation for a week or more...how will I be able to administer additives in that time?
 
Your tank is almost identical to mine in size and equipement-wise. That being said, I agree with other comments about not using a mag 7. I've got a mag 3 down there, and maybe might consider a mag 5, but nothing higher or you might have microbubble problems.

The two seio 620s should be enough flow, at least they are in my 29 gallon. For calcium I use a calcium reactor, but only because I got the reactor for incredibly cheap and the rest of the equipement (CO2, etc) was left over from my planted tank. Its excessive and tends to drive the ph down. I'd really just use kalkwasser in your top-off water, as you might have trouble keeping everything stable if you rely on water changes with an SPS and clam dominated tank. Just my opinion, of course. ;)
 
oh heck no, its definitely not. I use one because I had the parts already. If I didn't, I would have just used Kalkwasser in the top-off water. That should be sufficient for you. I wouldnt just use weekly water changes alone though, as your paramaters would fluctuate a lot in such a small tank.
 
That depends entirely on your calcium and alk uptake, which you need to test for. Start by measuring what it is in your tank. Write that down. A week later, before your water change, test and write it down again, and see what its down to. Do you water change to bring it back up to normal (alk 8, calcium about 400) or add two-part to do so, then test it again. Add a tablespoon of kalk to your auto-top-off vat (I use a 5 gallon bucket). Next week test again. If your prior weeks test, and that weeks one are equal, then one tablespoon is all you need. If your calcium and alkalinity have still fallen, add two tablespoons the next week and test again the week after. Keep adding until your calcium and alk don't change after a week. For me it was two tablespoons in 5 gallons, but every tank is different, depending on your bioload.

After you've figured out how much to add every week, just add it when you make up new auto-top-off water and then test every now and then to make sure everything is okay. :)
 
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

That article talks about using limewater. You might also want to add some vinegar into the mix to limit pH swings, depending on the tank's pH. I do. I dose limewater as autotopoff using a float switch and a peristaltic pump, 24x7. That removes the need for tank maintenance for 1 week vacations.

The fish list seems fine to me.
 
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