Mhucasey's SPS obsession

[DiscusHeckel]

Do you think someone can have a successful SPS only or semi-mixed reef with only the rocks & plugs the corals came on & no other rock work.

Yup is the short answer (please refer to Tony's TOTM article, the 4th paragraph in "System Setup").

 

[mhucasey]

Oh man, I love the fact that you use mostly resin, as it makes your tank even more impressive. I would imagine you see the typical growth on the resin as you do on rocks; the tube worms, feather dusters, barnacles (small white dots), coralline algae of sorts, & maybe some sponges?

I always saw my rock as a nitrate factory, as they would just get loaded with detritus & I would have to turkey blast & suction them out when doing a water change. Years ago I did a little side tank with minimal rock & a medium sand bed & it worked out just fine, although the tank had only 4 small fish & sparingly fed & no skimmer and always wanted to take it to the extreme. I got that idea from a fish only guy that I met at a LFS in 2001, who told me he found the secret to keeping salt water fish & that he fed them very well. He kept nothing in the tank at all & no sump either. He vacuumed out the bottom easily & it made for easy maintenance, although it made for a very bland landscape. But he did his weekly water changes though.

1) Now lets push the envelope on the minimalistic mark. Do you think someone can have a successful SPS only or semi-mixed reef with only the rocks & plugs the corals came on & no other rock work. So nutrient export would be with the following:

-Water column
-Rocks & plugs corals came on (with bacteria & fauna) & whatever grown on the glass walls & pipes.
-The corals themselves, as they filter the water & absorb nutrients
-Over rated skimmer
-Carbon & phosphate remover if/as needed

2) Have you seen evidence of reefs that push this envelope of minimalistic to the extreme? Any links?

3) If you were breaking down your system would you wash the resin rocks with 1:1 vinegar:water or maybe Clorox & water...do you know what others have done?

Yep, coralline, tube worms, stationary snails, etc on the "rock". Up close you would be hard pressed to identify it as resin and not regular live rock.

No, you have to have some live rock or similar like ceramic media. The ammonia and nitrite will build up quickly if you don't have somewhere with extensive surface area to colonize bacteria. With zero fish or critters other than corals you might get away with it for a while but the corals need the fish waste in my experience. You can always stage live rock or media in the sump or a connected container.

Dendai and Leo have gone pretty minimal before with success. I probably wouldn't wash the resin at all. If I need to remove algae from live rock I've soaked the rock in Hydrogen Peroxide to kill algae and spores. I don't mess with bleach.

 

[mhucasey]

Yup is the short answer (please refer to Tony's TOTM article, the 4th paragraph in "System Setup").

Yes but the DSB is essentially interchangeable with live rock as far as function. Barebottom and no rock would be playing with fire.

 

[mhucasey]

2) What are those darker spots on the glass of the last pic...coralline algae, that green algae that grows on glass walls, or cyano?

I was taking pics tonight and got them for you:

Ive been lazy about removing it lately...

 

[mhucasey]

Here are some more coral porn pics, mostly ones that weren't in the last batch:

Surf and Turf:

Pink Tabling Coral:

Sapphire Millie:

Other Red Dragon:

Purple and Green noname:

Teal Dragon:

Rainbow Dragon:

And once again the SSC, looking amazing:

 

[mhucasey]

I did a little rearranging on the left side(From the Kitchen Side). My initial placement had the Red Planet up front and the big blue tort behind it, as the corals have grown it results in the Red Planet blocking the Tort. I moved the Tort to the exact center of the reef and moved the Red planet back:

It results in being able to see the corals better and leaves me a place up front to put a smaller SPS later. Here is the full tank:

 

[reefmutt]

Oh man... That pink tabler is bloody amazing!!! (that was said with an Aussie accent)
And the rainbow dragon looks like it's got a huge growth spurt going on.
Very nice
That fts is looking really dense. The new arrangement really fills in the reef.
Getting a mature look to it.

 

[nemodan]

I did a little rearranging on the left side(From the Kitchen Side). My initial placement had the Red Planet up front and the big blue tort behind it, as the corals have grown it results in the Red Planet blocking the Tort. I moved the Tort to the exact center of the reef and moved the Red planet back:

It results in being able to see the corals better and leaves me a place up front to put a smaller SPS later. Here is the full tank:

That is REALLY AN AMAZING SPS TANK !!!!

Daniel

 

[afernandez]

:eek1: Drool!!! Looking great !

 

[mhucasey]

Oh man... That pink tabler is bloody amazing!!! (that was said with an Aussie accent)
And the rainbow dragon looks like it's got a huge growth spurt going on.
Very nice
That fts is looking really dense. The new arrangement really fills in the reef.
Getting a mature look to it.

Thanks! It's filling in nicely, I'm running out of places for acros actually, but I have lots of open tank floor for islands

 

[mhucasey]

That is REALLY AN AMAZING SPS TANK !!!!

Daniel

Thanks very much!

 

[mhucasey]

:eek1: Drool!!! Looking great !

I'm getting super excited about the color that is developing, it's making me drool a bit too!

 

[sporazoa]

Oh man, I can't wait for my SPS's now as yours are inspiring. How big were the frags when you got them & how long ago?

The blue tort is the coral under the 2 damsels (1st pic) & the most greenest coral is the green stag?

Is the read planet in the middle above the head of the damsel & looks more purple?

What is the aquablue coral underneath the damsel on the left & the most pinkish coral far left?

Those I listed are my favs!!!

 

[nemodan]

Hi Matt .... With what frequency you change your T5 ? Every how many months ?

Thanks !
Daniel

 

[afernandez]

Hi Matt .... With what frequency you change your T5 ? Every how many months ?

Thanks !
Daniel

And what combo are you using

 

[sporazoa]

Why not just 2x 400W MH bulbs over the T5's, too much on electrical bill?
You gotta miss the shimmer?

I had the Tek T5 when I first got into the hobby & man did I feel left out without the shimmer.

 

[mhucasey]

Oh man, I can't wait for my SPS's now as yours are inspiring. How big were the frags when you got them & how long ago?

Most of the corals I have were purchased as 1-2" standard frags, here and there over the last 3+ years. Patience pays off in this hobby

The blue tort is the coral under the 2 damsels (1st pic) & the most greenest coral is the green stag?

The one below the damsels is probably a tort, its an aussie piece that was very light blue when i first got it. The one I was talking about moving is the one above those same damsels.

Is the read planet in the middle above the head of the damsel & looks more purple?

Yep, thats the Red Planet.

What is the aquablue coral underneath the damsel on the left & the most pinkish coral far left?

Those I listed are my favs!!!

The first coral is an Acropora Gomezi and the the Pinkish coral on the left is a Red Dragon.

 

[mhucasey]

Hi Matt .... With what frequency you change your T5 ? Every how many months ?

Thanks !
Daniel

Realistically I probably get 8-10 months from each bulb, I try to keep track of usage on the bulb with a sharpie(mark install and remove date) but sometimes I forget. I buy bulbs in bulk when they go on sale

 

[mhucasey]

And what combo are you using

I've been using 6 Blue plus, 2 Giesemann Super Actinic, and 4Fiji Purple. The Blue and actinic bulbs(8 of them) are on for 10.5 hours and the Fiji Purple for 6.5 hours. This is kind of an experiment though, with the long blue photoperiod.

 

[mhucasey]

Why not just 2x 400W MH bulbs over the T5's, too much on electrical bill?
You gotta miss the shimmer?

I had the Tek T5 when I first got into the hobby & man did I feel left out without the shimmer.

The best Acropora tanks I saw across the world ran T5s, that made my decision for me. Plus, they use less electricity, cover better, and a allow more tweaking of color. I'm not an especially big fan of shimmer actually - in fact the more extreme the shimmer, the better the indication that your coverage is bad.

If I was to use MH on this tank I would have to use 4 250watt radiums for the coverage i desire....and I would still need T5s for dawn and dusk.