All around help with SPS.

[davehead86]

So I have been keeping saltwater tanks for a few years now, my dad has had them for decades. I have surpassed him in knowledge at this point and have started to try my hand at keeping SPS corals. So i started with some other corals in the tank to get things in the right place and understand how to take care of corals. I have a RBTA, 4 head frogspawn, 1 acan, three types of Zoas in a garden, 1 mushroom, and 1 favia that wasnt ever really doing good and then died in the tank. I think I'm doing ok at this point so I decide to add a "Blue Stag" Acropora, and a "Green Slimmer" from a friends tank. Both specimens are in the tank and seem to be doing ok at this point. My ALK was far too low and that caused a slight problem that I have corrected, my lights were also running an incorrect program for SPS so that has been changed. Two weeks into those changes and things are still going well.

Ill list off my tank, and then some questions IM having ...

Tank
65 gallon tank 36" wide tank so its deep
40 gallon breeder in the basement as a sump (probably 25 gallons full)
10 gallons of this sump is a ruble rock "refugium" that does not have an Cheto in it yet. I want to use this as a pod factory for a mandarin.

Equipment
SCA 301 Skimmer pulling good amounts of gunk out of the tank.
Vectra M1 Return Pump
BRS Dual Reactor Running GFO and Carbon
2 Vortech MP10's running on reefcrest at 40% maximum
2 Hydor Korilia's running at the top of the tank to break the surface
2 Radion XR30's hung 8 inches off the water (high as possible in the canopy)
Reefkeeper running on the sump as a monitor and safety system. (PH, Temp, high water alarms, shut off pumps / heaters if needed)

Living Creatures
2 Clownfish
1 Kole Eye Tang
1 Diamond Goby
1 Yellow watchman Goby
2 Firefish
1 Shrimp
Assorted Emerald crabs and snails
RBTA
Frogspawn
Acan
Zoa's
Mushroom
2 SPS



Questions:

Right now I am trying to figure out dosing for the tank. I know that I need to keep my ALK around 9 and my calcium around 420 and mag around 1300. Right now my ALK is at 7dkh, Calcium is at 420, mag is 1250. I keep having to add Seachem Reef Fusion 2 Part every night just to maintain these numbers and am having trouble raising the ALK up to where it needs to be. I want to know how much of this i can add beyond the 5 mil of each bottle I add every night. I dont want to raise it too fast.

I also want to know how to figure out how much to dose using a doser. At this point I want to continue using two part for this process, and will probably start using the BRS two part kit when the Reef Fusion bottles run out.

I have a film on the top of the water in the DT, I cannot for the life of me ever get rid of it! I have two power heads and the return lines pointing at the surface and it is still there. HELP.

What do I need to feed these corals. I keep getting conflicting information. I have been doing rotifers once a week but Im not sure if thats even needed and if the lights will be enough.

Someone told me to start using Iodine to help with the corals too. I have it, and haven't added anything yet just because I wanted to see what the SPS guys think about it.

Im going to be getting more frags of SPS soon, how closely can i add them to the tank initially. Whats a good grow between space for them?

I dont have filter socks, and I dont really want filter socks but I have a bunch of detritus in the bottom of my sump. Is there another way to get rid of that stuff without using filter socks? Or should I really start using filter socks?

I will never stop running carbon in my tank, but have heard that GFO doesnt need to be used all the time. I had algae issues in the past and adding the GFO helped to bring those down, how would I know that I no longer need to use GFO, or should i add something extra to the tank to make up for the 0 PO4 in the tank now?

Do I need to start doing essential elements now or should I wait till I have more corals? What elements are the most beneficial to add for the SPS.

Any other thoughts or concerns?

 

[davehead86]

FTS

FTS with Blues to help see the corals.

Not the most current picture of the basement but you get the idea of the sump area of the tank.

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[Bpb]

A couple important things to note right away is I wouldn't worry about dosing things like iodine or other trace elements. A quality salt mix and regular water changes are fine for that until you are aggressively carbon dosing and have a massive coral load. Then supplements may be needed.

Gfo use should also be done not to cure algae, but to control PO4. They're not always going hand in hand. PO4 elevation can lead to poor colors and slow growth in corals. That's the only reason you should mess with gfo. Or at least the primary goal. If it takes out some algae along the way that's just a bonus. So no it doesn't have to be used 365 days a year but as long as it's keeping phosphate in range. Don't cut off a reactor and just turn it on occasionally though. It'll get loaded with hydrogen sulfide from becoming anaerobic and will poison the tank when you turn it back on. Use it as long as you need, then remove and empty it entirely


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[zsuman101]

start using a quality salt mix, if you dont have decent test kits get some, im not a fan of gfo so i dont use it. do a few water 25 % water changes in a weeks time and for sps 1.025 salinity minimum. you should test daily for alkalinity and dose accordingly to keep alk atleast 8dkh, whatever number you go with find out your daily dose of two part and dose at the same time daily if you are doing it manually. and you should be able to run those mp10s wide open on your reef, flow is king with sps if not all corals . good luck zsu

 

[abhishek@1985]

As others suggested, keeping sps is all about stability . Minimizing complications of adding trace elements and playing with iodine, fluorine, strontium, barium and other heavy metals will lead to complications.
Just tons of light, heavy indirect random flow ( and I mean way more than you think you need) , regular water changes with a good salt , and nutrients in the tank .. yes - don't let nitrates and phosphates reach 0 .
Most importantly - get the best possible Alkalinity tester you can afford and test everyday and try to minimize any Alk swings.
I tested twice a day for over 2 months - buying Hanna reagents twice a month just to stabilise my Alk within 0.3 dkh . It helped a lot ...

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[davehead86]

I cannot have my MP10's higher than they currently are without stirring the sandbed. Ill need more coral growth before I can up the flow rate.

I have to order new salt after I'm done using the current box that I have.

Im buying a couple Hanna's here over the next few months to replace my current tests.

How do I keep the Nitrates up? Would just adding food to the system and fish poop keep the nitrates up? I have an API Test Kit and the colors are hard to read but I always assume its zero with the test kit colors shown.

 

[Bpb]

Nitrate is fairly easy to keep elevated. Feed lots. Add a fish or two if you can. And just use something to remove the phosphate that will result from increased feedings. The Red Sea pro nitrate kit is fantastic. Can be used one way for ultra low range high resolution, or very high range low resolution depending on how you run it


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[davehead86]

Nitrate is fairly easy to keep elevated. Feed lots. Add a fish or two if you can. And just use something to remove the phosphate that will result from increased feedings. The Red Sea pro nitrate kit is fantastic. Can be used one way for ultra low range high resolution, or very high range low resolution depending on how you run it


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Just picked up test kits from Salifert for those and a Hanna Checker for ALK.
Got the BRS 2-Part system too and the connectors to make it a Dosing Container. Saved a ton of money that way!

Ill increase the feedings after my tank is at the right ALK level and light is done ramping to its new power level. Ill have the kits to test at that point too .