Keeping SPS in 2010

[olkeller]

I dont know if this thread will go anywhere. I have been reefing for like 6 years now. There has been alot of discussions on methodology. I havent been on reefcentral much over the last couple years and have missed alot.

I was wondering what people are doing these days. What people have learned now that they have been running tanks a certain way what are the best and worst things about different methods. What parameters and setups are found to work best with what methods.

I know there isnt a general consensus on most things but some things people do for the most part follow. A lot of this is found in the many threads here on RC I was just wondering rather than read through post after post, if you could help me out and give me a run down of whats happening these days.

I have always like the idea behind BB and am intrigued and expirmenting with vodka dosing as we speak. So I would like to know now that the "Bomber" style BB has aged a bit what is going on with these tanks, and what is the required routien with the vodka. I have been reading all night, while interesting a better understanding of what people know today rather than 3 or so years ago would be helpful.

 

[josh holt]

i dont have any long term data for you as i havent had a reef tank for a couple of years. i just set up a 40gal for sps and im taking a minimalist approach. bb, live rock, 175 watt halides, large sump with a big skimmer and dosing 2 part. im going to stock with a handfull of corals, some fish and let them grow.

 

[olkeller]

Your like in the same place as me hopefully some more people chime in.

 

[josh holt]

this time im not looking for the LE stuff either. ill probably stock my tank entirely from a friends. if i like it ill get it. i will end up with a few rare pieces just because i really like them and they are ones i gave away so a frag of them wont cost me anything.

 

[pondwater]

The economy is hurting the hobby. Less money less purchases. I think you will continue to see DIY, frag swaps etc take off.

 

[LifeAquatic]

I use the KISS approach to keeping SPS. All the fancy equpiment and additives in the world wont help if your fundamentals need polishing. Start with this. Keep your Cal, Alk, Mag levels consistant. Use a good skimmer. Get some strong lighting. More water volume the better. Stay on top of water changes. If you are worried about nitrates Vodka dosing might help. I prefer to use a refugium with Cheato over vodka dosing. But its all up to you. If you can keep your corals alive and the tank is stable.. work on colors next, if needed. Its easy

 

[elite401]

I think LEDs and carbon dosing are the biggest new trends that have hit in the last few years. I really like the carbon dosing, I've been using it successfully for a few months. I would recommend reading up on the carbon dosing.

 

[Haeun]

Actually, more recent than carbon dosing is bacteria dosing. Brightwell's MicroBacter7 product is a bacteria additive that can be used alone, or with carbon dosing, to help lower your nutrients and foster better water quality. I've have much better success with this, even better than vodka dosing, which has potential for deadly mishaps and nuisances like cyano.

 

[Jabrams]

Having taken a step back from Reef Keeping for several years I amazed that people are only keeping one species of Macro Algae for export purposes. Cheato is neat but its not the only one you should carry IMO. Different species of macro algae will remove nutrients at different rates.

My last tank was a 20 gallon Hex with a 400w Radium, I didnt use a skimmer for several years and when I did add one I didn't notice much difference. Although, I didnt keep many fish.

Here are some pictures of it from back in the day:

 

[platax88]

Hey olkeller, let me see if i can help or at least start some dialogue...

Here are the trends from the last few years that i have bought into with some great results.

1. Bare bottom

2. Minimal rock on pillars or islands with as little bottom glass contact as possible. Make sure there is good spacing between all glass walls and the rock to allow for good flow, currents and easy maintenance.

3. Tons and tons of flow. I personally like a mix of different types of flow. for example, in my 180 i have 2 MP40ws for random flow, 2 Tunzes creating a 1.5" wave to keep particles in suspension in every nook and cranny and then my return on penductors for some added laminar flow.

4. Big *** skimmer... don't be cheap in this department as it will be the engine of your tank. My n03 and po4 are undetectable and i do not have any algae growing. Just a light dusting on the glass that i clean every few days with a magnet. Don't be afraid to feed you reef, the fish will be healthier and their poop will feed the corals.

5. GFO and GAC reactors to polish your water

6. Run filter socks but replace them every few days

7. alk/ca/mg dosing ... get a dosing pump setup because once your corals start to grow you will notice that "forgetting" just a day will cause a good amount of consumption.

8. I will never own another tank without the help of a controller. These have come down in price over the last few years. Even a base model like the AC JR. (which i use) is a great tool to have.

9. T5 lighting.... controversial topic but you can have success with both T5 and MH. I like T5 for color tuning and less heat, but miss the shimmer of MH. LEDs are the rage now but i don't think we are quite there yet for large tanks.

10. 5 - 10% weekly water change.

Things i have tried but not bought into:

1. Refugiums -- I don't think they are a good approach to nutrient export and will cause more harm than good in the long run (specially in an sps system) you need LOTS of macro-algea for it to make a dent so unless you can setup a large refugium of at least 30%-40% of the display volume i would highly discourage you from it.... plus, it's another thing to maintain.

2. Carbon/bacteria dosing -- again controversial but it seems like people always have problems with cyano and bacteria blooms. Also, it leaves very little room for error and can cause a tank to crash if you are not careful. Not worth it in my opinion. Do your research and you will see that for every success story you will find a few failures of using this approach... long term.

3. DSB -- don't think it is necessary if you have lots of flow and a great skimmer.

Bottom line - stable alk/ca/mg. Very low to undectable nutrients and good lighting. This IMHO is the recipe for success.

These are just my observations and what works for me at the moment. You will have to experiment and come up with your preffered approach. My biggest piece of advice is buy quality equipment from the start. Even if this means delaying the build as you piecemeal the equipment list. Even if you buy used just do your research and try not to skimp in this department. You will regret it and end up spending more money in the long run.

 

[cham]

Hey olkeller, let me see if i can help or at least start some dialogue...

Here are the trends from the last few years that i have bought into with some great results.

1. Bare bottom

2. Minimal rock on pillars or islands with as little bottom glass contact as possible. Make sure there is good spacing between all glass walls and the rock to allow for good flow, currents and easy maintenance.

3. Tons and tons of flow. I personally like a mix of different types of flow. for example, in my 180 i have 2 MP40ws for random flow, 2 Tunzes creating a 1.5" wave to keep particles in suspension in every nook and cranny and then my return on penductors for some added laminar flow.

4. Big *** skimmer... don't be cheap in this department as it will be the engine of your tank. My n03 and po4 are undetectable and i do not have any algae growing. Just a light dusting on the glass that i clean every few days with a magnet. Don't be afraid to feed you reef, the fish will be healthier and their poop will feed the corals.

5. GFO and GAC reactors to polish your water

6. Run filter socks but replace them every few days

7. alk/ca/mg dosing ... get a dosing pump setup because once your corals start to grow you will notice that "forgetting" just a day will cause a good amount of consumption.

8. I will never own another tank without the help of a controller. These have come down in price over the last few years. Even a base model like the AC JR. (which i use) is a great tool to have.

9. T5 lighting.... controversial topic but you can have success with both T5 and MH. I like T5 for color tuning and less heat, but miss the shimmer of MH. LEDs are the rage now but i don't think we are quite there yet for large tanks.

10. 5 - 10% weekly water change.

Things i have tried but not bought into:

1. Refugiums -- I don't think they are a good approach to nutrient export and will cause more harm than good in the long run (specially in an sps system) you need LOTS of macro-algea for it to make a dent so unless you can setup a large refugium of at least 30%-40% of the display volume i would highly discourage you from it.... plus, it's another thing to maintain.

2. Carbon/bacteria dosing -- again controversial but it seems like people always have problems with cyano and bacteria blooms. Also, it leaves very little room for error and can cause a tank to crash if you are not careful. Not worth it in my opinion. Do your research and you will see that for every success story you will find a few failures of using this approach... long term.

3. DSB -- don't think it is necessary if you have lots of flow and a great skimmer.

Bottom line - stable alk/ca/mg. Very low to undectable nutrients and good lighting. This IMHO is the recipe for success.

These are just my observations and what works for me at the moment. You will have to experiment and come up with your preffered approach. My biggest piece of advice is buy quality equipment from the start. Even if this means delaying the build as you piecemeal the equipment list. Even if you buy used just do your research and try not to skimp in this department. You will regret it and end up spending more money in the long run.

That's a pretty good recap

 

[MikeandNicole]

I think another thing that has surfaced it feeding your corals also. I know this is still controversial but there are now products out there to specifically feed your corals. It seems to be more ancedotal at this point, but alot of people have shown success with that.

 

[ChuckG]

That's a pretty good recap

Yes all great points!

I'd add that carbon dosing has the ability to feed the coral with the bacteria that is cultivated. So there are potentially two beneficial mechanisms going on if executed correctly. Execution is critical and can be difficult to balance which is why I am really interested in the bio pellets. Their ability to contain the carbon source to a reactor which can prevent the carbon/food source from entering the display and feeding cyano there is interesting.

Personally I run a SSSB (super shallow sand bed) in the display. It is less than 1/2 inch deep and half the display is bare bottom due to the high flow pushing the sand around anyway. The sand could possibly adds some buffer mechanism to alkalinity, and additional area for bacteria to populate. Bacteria in the sand could be good or bad (cyano) so I keeping it stirred clean is important. My base rocks do not touch the glass themselves but instead sit on little 1/2" pedestals made of epoxy which allow me to stir and blow out the sand underneath them occasionally. I'd go bare bottom but I need a little sand in my tank for aesthetics.

 

[franklypre]

Great article. I agree with more flow, light and food. I think the "old ways" are still alive and well we just do them a little differently. I use Pappone, sparingly, I also dose Amino's, vitamin C, and feed cyclopeeze. I use 400w 20k DE over a 58 show, the biggest difference I see is that most people tend to use MORE than what was common 5 to 10 years ago.

 

[ezcompany]

cyclopeeze is too large for acroporid ingestion

 

[elijaher]

Also test kits is a must. A good reliable one.

 

[Denadai]

I agree with platax, nice words

But I´m dosing vodka with great results

I think the best thing is keep the things as simple as possible

I run my tank with a huge skimmer, T5 light, one vortech , vodka and water changes every weekend, and two parts for ca and alk.....my aproach is easy

The most important thing, keep the routine , don´t miss a water change, always clean the pumps and skimmer and etc

The key to have a good SPS tank is discipline

Discipline is the WORD

Just my two cents

Best Regards

 

[Amphiprion]

I have found that the best methods are those that you are willing to keep doing . If you have a complicated system and aren't willing to do much to it to maintain it, you have the wrong methodology. The things that have worked best for me are natural and simple. The less I have to do to it, the better off it will be.