Building a successful SPS reef tank

[Ryan15236]

I am attempting a reef tank for the second time. My first tank I skipped some corners but I was still successful at keeping the corals alive and some what growing (LPS and Softies). I am really wanting to get my feet wet in SPS this time around however and I am looking for some advice and recommendations on equipment, maintenance, filtration, ETC. Here Are my tank plans along with some equipment I have acquired so far.

125 gallon tank with 55 gallon sump. I am dividing the sump into 3 sections. First will be the Skimmer section For filter socks and my Aquamaxx EM 200 will be. Second compartment will be the return. Right now I have a Mag 18 in there but I am about to replace it for a Fluval sp4 or 6. 3rd compartment will be a 20-25 gallon refugium fed by the return pump. I am going to incorporate a 3-4 outlet manifold system into the plumbing for an reactors or whatever I need to feed.

Lighting: I am going with 4 kessil A150 10k and a 72inch aquaticlife t5HO 8x39 watt fixture.

Flow: Right now I just have some Koralia powerheads. I am going to upgrade to either Vortech or Maxspect Gyre. I want to see more information and reviews on the Gyre and would like to see some upgrades on the very basic controller before I choose it over Vortech.
Tunze osmolator 3155 for ATO
150-170lbs Marco rocks
BRS RO/DI unit

I basically have everything I need to start construction the tank. I still need to get 2 kessil a150 10k, return pump, and flow upgrade. As far as reactors go I am just going to get the tank running and take that from there. I will go ahead and plumb the manifold in though for when I decide what I want. For dosing I am going to wait awhile on that too. Probably manually dose until I get more familiar and comfortable with it. See anything I should do differently or advice please chime in. Total rookie in SPS and pretty much with any corals.

 

[cugly]

What are you gonna do with maintaining your parameters. Most important for sps is stability.

 

[rovster]

Why the kessil? IMHO I would leave them out, especially the 150. You're better off getting 4 of the deep blue 150 for actinic and use the t5 as the "real light". Nothing against kessil, I ran 2 150 deep blues in combo with MH and it was insane.

Agree you'll want something to keep levels in check, dosers, reactor, but that may not be crucial at the beginning. SPS is all about strong flow, high light and staying on top of water quality. Good luck!

 

[Ryan15236]

Why the kessil? IMHO I would leave them out, especially the 150. You're better off getting 4 of the deep blue 150 for actinic and use the t5 as the "real light". Nothing against kessil, I ran 2 150 deep blues in combo with MH and it was insane.

Agree you'll want something to keep levels in check, dosers, reactor, but that may not be crucial at the beginning. SPS is all about strong flow, high light and staying on top of water quality. Good luck!

Well I love the shimmer the kessil produces and I figured the 10k would provide the most PAR in the outdated 150 light. So my thoughts were along the lines of this. I could run the kessils during the whole 10 hour photoperiod and run the t5s like 6-7 hours of the photoperiod to maximize lifespan of the bulbs and cut down on power consumption.

I could possibly cut down to 3 Kessil 150 15k and bump up the t5 to 8 hours a day or something along those lines. I really want to have some sort of Kessil light running during the photoperiod just to add in that shimmer but I don't want to invest in newer models and rely solely on them. Rather rely on a t5 fixture and supplement with some Kessil lights

As far as parameters and dosing goes I honestly have no idea what I am going to do as I have never done either. I'm kinda hoping to start testing and dosing manually till I see what my system needs. From there I would feel more confident and know what to look for in dosing pumps

 

[rovster]

Nothing wrong with manual dosing. Did it that way for a long time. Dosers just add a convenience you just have to experience to appreciate. I hear you on the kessil shimmer. Best there is. Either way it doesn't matter, your t5 can hold its own by itself, anything extra is just gravy.

In my opinion, LEDs biggest strength is the pop you get from actinics. That's why I suggested the deep blues. It's just my preference that's all. If it was me I'd run those actinics 10-12 hrs and the t5 6-9 depending on what you want.

 

[Ryan15236]

What would be better for growing sps corals

4 Kessil a150 10k 10hours along with blue plus purple plus for 10 hours with about 6-7 hours 4x39 10k too

4 Kessil a150 15k 10hours t5 4-6 10k fill in other bulbs with blue purple plus and run for 7-8 hours

Sorry just not experienced with lighting SPS as far as what's enough and what's not enough, right color combination, duration of photoperiod.

 

[rovster]

Just realized your t5 is equivalent to a 4 bulb. I was assuming it was 8 full coverage. Forget what I said, lol.

 

[Ryan15236]

Yeah essentially just 4 bulbs. Will I be able to grow any sps with my setup?

 

[rovster]

You'll be able to grow some high up and maybe less light demanding species. They may not express full color depending on what it is. With the higher powered kessils maybe but you'd spend a good chunk of change.

My advice is if you are serious about SPS, now is the time to cut your losses and get yourself a proper light. I would be looking at a full length 6 bulb minimum maybe an LED bar if you are into that look. If you are considering buying 2 more kessils, by the time you sell what you have and invest in a nice fixture, you are back to even.

The arrangement with the kessils and what you have now is very "iffy" at best, and if you are new to this, last think you want working against you is the wrong or inadequate light. You will drive yourself crazy. Get a proven performer, that way if things don't go great, you can look elsewhere. Otherwise you will have that nagging doubt in the back of your mind.

 

[Ryan15236]

Ok thanks. I will load the t5 fixture I have now with the most PAR producing bulbs I can get with a couple of the special bulbs and start saving up for the 350 or 360. I can probably do 3 of the higher powered Kessil with the t5. I want to upgrade my kessils anyways

 

[m0nkie]

I'm running ATI 8 bulb with supplemental Kessil A150. It's a perfect combination for SPS. the T5s give great par and growth, and the Kessil provides shimmer and true pop with its actinic..

but I believe the true Kessil Actinic is the 20k Deep Ocean Blue, not the skyblue

 

[cugly]

I'm running ATI 8 bulb with supplemental Kessil A150. It's a perfect combination for SPS. the T5s give great par and growth, and the Kessil provides shimmer and true pop with its actinic..

but I believe the true Kessil Actinic is the 20k Deep Ocean Blue, not the skyblue

Post a pic would like to see how well it works.

 

[Ryan15236]

I'm running ATI 8 bulb with supplemental Kessil A150. It's a perfect combination for SPS. the T5s give great par and growth, and the Kessil provides shimmer and true pop with its actinic..

but I believe the true Kessil Actinic is the 20k Deep Ocean Blue, not the skyblue

Good to hear I am somewhat in the ball park. Is your 8 bulb fixture a true 8 bulb fixture with 8 bulbs spanning the tank or like mine with 4 on each side at 36 inch and 39 watts?

Honestly I would have went probably ocean blue instead of sky blue but the par readings are apparently pretty weak on them. The sky blue seems to provide a little more PAR. I couldn't do deep ocean blue I don't believe unless I got a more serious main light

 

[Ryan15236]

What do you guys think about getting the ati sunpower 60in fixture. That will leave 6 inches on both sides without direct light. I would keep the 150s and not upgrade my kessils. Probably do the 6 bulb fixture

 

[rovster]

What do you guys think about getting the ati sunpower 60in fixture. That will leave 6 inches on both sides without direct light. I would keep the 150s and not upgrade my kessils. Probably do the 6 bulb fixture

Lol, my post did not go through earlier. Basically it said to upgrade your kessils to 360's would cost over a grand. A full length ato 8 bulb is just under $700. No brainier. Keep your kessils or not.

Since you're starting with sps get a light that is proven. That way when things are not going your way you won't have that doubt in the back of your mind. Set yourself up for success from the getgo. You're going to need all the help you can get....

 

[Ryan15236]

Alright good deal I like the looks of the ATI fixture and reviews I have read. I think I will do 6 bulb though and not use any actinic on it and run it 6 hours and do the 4 ocean blue 150s.

Now the question is gyres or vortechs??

 

[Ryan15236]

Also return pump. Mag 18 is too noisey and draws too much power. What do you think about Fluval sp4 or maybe the reef octopus 5500 if I go dc pump? I want to feed a manifold, refugium, and the two DT returns off it

 

[bobssecrtsn]

IMO feeding your fuge with your return wont be successful, I tried that and i had to plumb my drain to my fuge to start seeing growth in there.

 

[Ryan15236]

IMO feeding your fuge with your return wont be successful, I tried that and i had to plumb my drain to my fuge to start seeing growth in there.

I have thought about that but then I see people saying that it will come full of detritus and such but that doesn't sound like a bad thing to me. I can do either. Plumbing is still in the works so I still have plenty of flexibility as to how I actually set it up.

 

[Browndawg80]

125 gallon tank with 55 gallon sump. I am dividing the sump into 3 sections. First will be the Skimmer section For filter socks and my Aquamaxx EM 200 will be. Second compartment will be the return. Right now I have a Mag 18 in there but I am about to replace it for a Fluval sp4 or 6. 3rd compartment will be a 20-25 gallon refugium fed by the return pump. I am going to incorporate a 3-4 outlet manifold system into the plumbing for an reactors or whatever I need to feed. [/QUOTE]

My last setup I used a 55 gallon tank in my basement for a sump with a mag 24 in it for a return and had it divided into 3 sections with pieces of plexiglass. After a few months in I ended up removing all the sections because of cyano problems. Just seemed that no matter what I did the sections were all too small and didn't have enough flow. My advice would be to forget the sections altogether and let the water move freely.