MR18 SPS Nano build

[BSD]

Hey everyone I have been out of the hobby for a few years now and am thinking of getting back into it with a nano. My main goal is to keep a small amount of SPS with only a couple small fish.

So far this is what I am thinking:

- pico aquariums MR18 (display volume 10.5 gal) 18" long 9" high
- ecoxotic par48
- 2x Hydor Koralia Evolution Circulation Pump/Powerhead 750 gph (on a wave maker alternating 30 seconds each)

I am not sure about the water flow though do you think that is too much? I am pretty sure that will be too much flow for sand but that is ok. I used to have a 90 gal tall BB tank so from what I remember is that you can never have too much flow.

What do you guys think?

 

[frugalreefer]

sounds good. You may not be happy with the aesthetics and amount of space two Hydor will take up. I have a standard ten ( 20" x 9") and used a Hydor Nano and thought it stuck out to much so I bought a vortech mp10.

Plan on how your going to dose your alk/cal supplements to. IME, in time, water changes wont be enough to keep those params where you want them.

and don't forget to post pics....nano community love pics

 

[ange062]

sounds good. You may not be happy with the aesthetics and amount of space two Hydor will take up. I have a standard ten ( 20" x 9") and used a Hydor Nano and thought it stuck out to much so I bought a vortech mp10.

Plan on how your going to dose your alk/cal supplements to. IME, in time, water changes wont be enough to keep those params where you want them.

and don't forget to post pics....nano community love pics

+1 on this, display space is obviously at a premium in a nano and wasting it with powerheads is no fun. 1 MP10 will keep your SPS very happy with minimal in-tank footprint.

 

[BSD]

The vortech looks pretty nice, but it is pretty pricey (I know you get what you pay for) it just seems like the Koralia is a bigger bang for the buck. I really liked how I got a pretty good alternating current with the closed loop and OM on my old 90 gal.

I guess I will need to get a good look at them in person before I decide.

As far as dosing goes, I am not sure how I want to go about it. I used to run a calcium reactor but that seems like it would be over kill on something this small. Plus once everything is said and done they are pretty costly, but are more set and forget.

I was thinking of dosing kalc with the auto top off but I don't have much experience dosing kalc.

 

[PhilsAquatics]

i dose with brightwell aquatics reef builder basic essentials the bottle was 15 bucks my latest tank has been running 7-8 weeks now and i still almost have a full bottle, it keeps my params where i want or close too, however i am completely unaware of the pros and cons of this product.

 

[BSD]

i dose with brightwell aquatics reef builder basic essentials the bottle was 15 bucks my latest tank has been running 7-8 weeks now and i still almost have a full bottle, it keeps my params where i want or close too, however i am completely unaware of the pros and cons of this product.

I think regular water changes will probably be fine to replace trace elements it is just the Calcium and Alkalinity levels that will need to be maintained regularly with SPS.

 

[PhilsAquatics]

thats what i use the brightwell for calcium 140,000 ppm it also increases my alk and stablizes my ph as well

 

[PhilsAquatics]

the bottle says liquid reef has twice the calcium relative to carbonates as compared to natural aragonite. well that what it says so far so good for me, but again dont know the pros and cons.