Just a few tips and tricks for those new to SPS and reefing....

[panic]

Overplan your reef, take your time building it, spend the extra time and money on finding the right equipment because you will eventually redo it with the right equipment

UNIONS with ball valves - on every pump. Will save you a mess when it is time to remove it

Use a John Guest valve on your pumps with drains to save you a mess when changing them

Rock. Plan for flow under and behind your rock, use a little because it will grow when you add corals, use enough for your fish to hide.

Make one change at a time in your system so you can account for positives and negatives.

Keep a journal by your reef to ducument dates for changes of lighting, names of corals (and origin, lineage), addition of equipment

Keep your method for at least a year. Don't jump on the bandwagon of the month. Watch it, see what happens when others do it, be patient. Only bad happens fast.

Don't underestimate the importance of stability in your RO/DI, brand of salt, PH probes, and meters.

Don't put any chemical in your reef that you cannot test

 

[P.Kelly]

Panic, I love it.

Only BAD things happen fast in reefing!

 

[slow_leak]

I agree on buying right equipment the first time.

I opt for equipment with replaceable domestic parts. I also am not a fan of external pumps unless tanks size demands it. Eheim pumps in the sump are the only way to go for me.

House jacks are important too. I go with all four corners on modern construction.

 

[nchin3]

I say go big or go home. Get the best equipment you can afford otherwise you may spend a lot of your time regretting it and end up making necessary purchases.

 

[schminksbro]

To elaborate on #4...I take out every pump in my system and run in pure vinegar for 1/2 hour once a month. I then disassemble the pump and use a toothbrush to clean anything that is left. The high calcium environment of an SPS system can be hard on equipment. This measure will save you money and equipment failure.

When testing tank parameters take your time and be accurate. If something seems off re-test. If the result doesn't seem to make sense verify with another test kit before making changes. A bad test kit can cause a big problem where there was no problem to start with. Purchase quality kits and test regularly. Document results.

One of the things I am guilty of is putting my hands in the tank too often. I have been told by some very successful reefers to "Keep your hands out of the tank". I now try to keep hands in the tank to a minimum.

I am also a fan of acrylic frag racks. Eggcrate just seems to grow algae probably due to leaching of phosphates.

If a fish is questionable....DON'T put it in your tank. Fish such as pygmy angels, and clown gobies can wreek havoc in an sps tank. Once it's in it can be very diffacult to get it out.

If your married never tell your wife that this next piece of equipment or coral will complete your system. It won't. You will be a liar. lol

Keep frag plugs handy at all times. An "oops" frag of 1/4" long can become a full colony. Simply glue it too a plug and forget about it. Pretty soon those "oops" frags will be paying for a bucket of salt, piece of equipment, ect... No piece is too small to save.

When finishing your maintnance take a minute to inspect all plugs. An unplugged ATO for example can lead to disaster. Labling plugs can help make things easier as well. DRIP LOOPS, DRIP LOOPS, DRIP LOOPS... This should be the first thing a rookie learns but I think it's worth mentioning. Also make sure the plugs you are plugging your system into are high quality plugs rated for greater than the current that you plan to put though them. Not all wall plugs are the same. A loose fitting plug can burn your house down.

 

[JustinReef]

Don't know if it was mentioned but cleaning your skimmer at least weekly is very important IMO. Mostly because they get quite inefficient as they build up waste in the neck and secondly, parts of the neck or body that accumulate waste and are in contact with the water are probably not good for water quality as the waste is still technically in the tank.

I clean mine twice a week (sometimes three times) when I dump the collection cup.

 

[tfp]

don't work on your reef or put your hands in the tank...
* past 9pm
* if you are tired
* have to leave within an hour
* are wearing nice clothes

 

[roktsintst]

hahaha..... Well Said Tim!

 

[ReefEnabler]

most days I dont even start work on the tank until 11 or midnight

another alternative to keeping detritus out of the sump is a manifold off the return line, if you have the flow to spare.

I have a bleed off valve in one half of my sump but it still collects detritus in the baffles which I remove every couple weeks. I've considered putting another bleed off valve in there

 

[BrassMonkey]

umm ya, i avoid water movement in the sump. it give a place for the detritus to drop out of the water. i then vacuum it out on maintenance day.

my skimmer doesnt pull out detritus. it has to go somewhere.

 

[ReefEnabler]

my skimmer will pull out entire mysis shrimp if it gets the chance

 

[dots]

Always be sure to have at least $100 bill in your pocket when entering the LFS, and it gone upon leaving.......especially when restocking food/salt/supplements all at the same time.

 

[Dejavu]

Newbie or experienced reef, sometime we overlook and overanalyzing things and forget the basics. I too am guilty of this. Overall stability is still the key and if you are going to make a change make sure it's not to juristic.

 

[60Cubed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14733806#post14733806 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mpoletti
Another great tip that is overlooked is to always have 15%-20% premade saltwater on hand at all times. Every tank goes through its ups and downs, it is many times how the reefkeeper responds when they are tired and frustrated if the tank will respond with minimum trauma.

I always keep the last 5g of WC water on hand "just in case" you never know when ur gonna need a little water. Also this is cycled and not new. So the stress on the system is less.

 

[250G]

Excellent thread.

 

[macreefster]

great thread indeed.... wish i had read it BEFORE i implemented much of my system. now i want to re-do my lighting, plumbing and sump! sounds like a good reason to go to a larger tank while doing so..... lol.

 

[eggiel]

This is a good question on the hands in the tank

How many times in a week is too much to put your hands in the tank ?

Cause I like to maintain the front glass clean even do i use a magnet
but some times a change mi new frags to difrent places or if i see a crab in my SPS i take them out

And I do water changes every week clean all glass cause its an in wall tank

How much is to much?

 

[SunnyX]

I wanted to add another thing that I do:

Since I run a bacteria driven system I cannot use a phosphate remover in my system. The bacteria need to be properly fed and I don't want anything to compete or hinder the bacterial growth.

So, what I do to prevent any PO4 from getting into the tank is I run a Phosban reactor with ROWAphos in my water holding container. I run the ROWAphos for three days on any new saltwater that will be used for a water change.

This way I can put less stress on my system and prevent any excess PO4 from getting into it.

One other thing I feel that needs to be adressed is proper feeding protocol:
From what I have seen and read, people overfeed their tanks. I feed my fish every other day. My fish are fat and happy, and I have never had any issues even with the Anthais I have. If you do not keep up with a means of waste export, such as PO$ remover, Bacteria/carbon dosing, or water changes you stand the risk of having reduced corals health and an algae outbreak.

Now, how much you feed your fish is just as important as how often. Some people feed their fish five times a day and their systems look great. I suspect that they are feeding very small amounts of food, or that they are diligent about exporting waste. Unfortunately, not all reefers are as diligent and they quickly end up having issue related to elevated waste.

For those who just cant get corals to grow or color up to the desired level I suggest that you rethink what,how, and when you are feeding.

 

[eggiel]

I like to feed once a day and every other day and rinse the food as i use frozen brine shrimp and frozen formula

what other food is good for feeding and wont put excess amount of waste in ULN tanks

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14758226#post14758226 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eggiel
I like to feed once a day and every other day and rinse the food as i use frozen brine shrimp and frozen formula

what other food is good for feeding and wont put excess amount of waste in ULN tanks

I feed only Formula One Flake food and Spectrum pellets to my fish. I have found these to be very nutritious and the fish love them.