Bio Load and SPS

[ERICinFL]

Just curious to know what evryone's fish load is in your SPS tank and how often you feed them. I've got three Tangs, two Wrasses, a Maroon Clown, a Royal Gramma and a Mandrin in my 112. I feed twice a day, but I'm thinking of cutting back to one time a day to help get my Nitrates down (from a constant 20) so I can get SPS to live.

 

[RichConley]

Get much more flow, and your nitrates,etc should come down. You dont have enough flow in that tank to keep stuff from settling, so stuff is rotting. Thats driving your nitrates up. Mod those two 1200s, and you'll see a huge difference.

 

[ERICinFL]

So no one has fish in their SPS tanks?

 

[samsfishnchips]

ERICinFL,

yes most people have fish on their sps tanks,

you are considered heavy load, tangs are poo machines,

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=528181&highlight

here is a link with more info on that, basically more fish and sps = better equipment to keep water nice and clean and sps happy,

sam

 

[ERICinFL]

Thanks for the link. I certainly need to up the flow in my tank.

 

[jjjimmy]

180 SPS reef...

1 Achillies/Gold rim Hybrid tang
1 Tomini bristletooth tang
1 Purple tang
1 male lyretail anthias
1 female lyretail anthias
1 pair of black saddleback clownfish
1 yellow coris wrasse
1 melanures wrasse
2 helfrichi firefish soon to be 3

 

[Wiskey]

Forgot a fish, thought I cought it in time, but now i have 2 posts See below for list.

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

125G

1 Springeri dottyback
1 orchid dottyback
1 sailfin tang
1 yellow tang
1 christmas wrasse
1 Chalk bass
2 green chromas
1 rainsfords golby
1 Chrub angel (not a picker, yet at least)

Whiskey

 

[RichConley]

58 gallon
Purple Tang
Flame Angel
Melanurus Wrasse
2x Occellaris Clowns
Lantern Bass
Iridis Wrasse

Will be adding (Falco Hawk, 2xMeleagris leopard)

 

[Amphiprion]

I think there are many ends of the spectrum. Heavy and light bioloads are possible if you plan accordingly.

In my 75:

(Until a few months ago)
1 Amphiprion ocellaris

(now)
Mated pair ocellaris
1 Centropyge potteri

I am not making plans to get more fish at this point. I am content with a few fish that do extraordinarily well. For me, understocking fish is one way to ensure success and a better life expectancy. I felt kind of weird buying the new fish a while back, seeing as how my last fish purchase was over 8 years ago.

 

[miwoodar]

65 w/ yellow tang, hippo tang, 6-line, and large diamond watchman.

Nitrates are nondetect. Once a day feeding on the fish. Twice a week for the corals. RO water changes of ~10% per month. Aggressive skimming with twice a week cup cleaning. 45x turnover. 1" sand bed.

 

[clkwrk]

180g bb sps feed once a day . 1 sheet nori 3 cubes formula 1, 1 cube another frozen food, 1x1 piece of PE mysis and some artic pods.

13 3" lubbucks wrasses ( will be 20+ eventually)
1 5" bicolor anthias
1 3" bicolor anthias
2 3" PJ cardinals
1 4" yellow streak wrass
1 5" rubyhead wrasse
1 6" 3/4inch wide PBT
1 9" 1inch wide Bluespot unicorn


on the other hand my 90BB softie tank has

4" tomini tang
6"maroon
2" maroon
3" solerensis wrasse .

 

[panic]

WOW that is alot of food. Do you drop in a little at a time CLkwrk?

 

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7995027#post7995027 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by panic
WOW that is alot of food. Do you drop in a little at a time CLkwrk?

Yep that is alot of food, but if you can feed that much and keep your nutrients down....your stuff will grow like weeds. I am quickly finding that out. I have been starving my tank for the past year thinking that i needed to do that to keep nutrients low. Well as a result... most of my SPS have grown slowly and colors are extremely light on some corals. Greens especially have faded to yellow. As a result, I have dramatically increased my feedings. I went from 1/2 cube to 2 cubes + 2 pinches of flake. I spread that out over atleast 2 feedings. In just 2 weeks I have already noticed some differences in my colors. My OR Tort is getting its green back and my green slimer is starting to move more towards green rather than yellow.

I also plan on adding to my fish....Currently:

1 - false percula - one went carpet surfing
1 - Royal Gramma
1 - Coral Beauty
1 - Engineer Goby
1 - Six Line Wrasse
1 - Yellow Tang

 

[clkwrk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7995027#post7995027 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by panic
WOW that is alot of food. Do you drop in a little at a time CLkwrk?

Thats one feeding I keep adding until my fish stop swarming .

The nori sheet goes in mid day and the big blue spot can eat like a horse.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7997692#post7997692 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clkwrk
Thats one feeding I keep adding until my fish stop swarming .

The nori sheet goes in mid day and the big blue spot can eat like a horse.

I've got a friend with a 72, with SPS that look good, who feeds 7-10 cubes a day. I dont think what you're feeding is a lot.

Somewhere along the line, people got the idea that you can't feed an SPS tank. We need to get people away from that.


CWLRK, tank looks great in the other thread, BTW.

 

[clkwrk]

Thanks.

I agree its not alot since my Blue spot can eat 1/2 of it if he is quick enough.

Also JBNY is a perfect example and has been my guide in ways . He used to feed his 180 a good deal of food and we all know how his tank looked

The only bleaching or lightening probs he had IIRC was due to phosban or rowa

 

[Eric Boerner]

180G BB with 40G of sump/refugium

1 Lunare Wrasse that is getting evicted this week
1 Kole Tang
1 Sailfin Tang
3 Yellow Tang
2 Fire Clowns
1 Purple Dotty
1 Lawnmower Blenny
2 Coral Banded shrimp that are spawning
200 Zebra Hermits
100 Pacific Nerite Snails
100 Mud Whelks
9 Rose BTA
1 Sabae
1 Green LTA
Intending on picking up 15 Vanderbilt Chromis soon


Anemone are fed every 3 days with around 4 oz of krill or clam or scallop
Fish get 4 large piches of Spectrum grow in the morning, Formula 1 in the evening and broccoli / cabbage floats all week.
Cyclopese every other day, Reefsnow opposite day. Phyto twice a week.

Skim out semi-wet with a beckett modded EV-240. 10% change monthly with a 30% change every 3rd month.

No issues with my SPS. My BTA's are all insanely healthy as well.

 

[MiddletonMark]

58g:
Sunburst Anthias
Male/Female pair of Exquisite Wrasse
Tail-spot Blenny
Pair of Masked Gobies
Green Clown Goby

About as heavily stocked as I've run my SPS tank so far. I prefer light stocking of fish, but also go along with the `feed as much as you can export ... and export a ton!' thought that is mentioned above.

IME, Acropora loves great water quality, demands it sometimes ... but also look best when well fed.