Hello all,
It's been a long time since I've had a tank running, but after 5 years, it was time.
Got the OK from the wife for a "small tank" because "I have too many hobbies as it is." Hehe.
I'd never had an SPS tank before, so that's what I decided I wanted.
5 years ago I bought an old Aquapod 24 cube from someone on this forum, but I never ended up starting it. Dusted it off, replaced the PCs with 3 TrueLumen 12-inch LED strips (2 12k/actinic combos, 1 all actinic)
When I broke my last tank down, LEDs were just coming out but they were way too expensive for me. Now they're all over the place, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus about the specifics. I read as much as I could on the forum and other places, and these seemed to be a good value ($129 for all 3 shipped with Prime).
I ditched all the filter media that came with the tank except the sponges. I added a pouch of purigen.
I don't know what the stock pump is, but it seems to have a decent amount of flow. I had a tiny 80gph pump laying around, and added that as a powerhead to get the flow going for the SPS.
I put about 20lbs of LR and about 1.5" of LS, cycled for 24 days before adding a small, tank bred Occelaris Clown and a nice Purple firefish. I also added a CUC (5 hermits, 5 astreas, 4 nassarius), a small xenia frag, a small acan frag, and a frag of what I believe are palm tree polyps
I've been doing 5g water changes twice a week since then.
After the first livestock addition, I added a very small six liner (smallest I've ever seen), a pink bird's nest frag, a 4 headed hammer and some pieces of what I was told is a chalice coral that I got for dirt cheap from someone breaking down a tank ($30 for a happy 4 headed hammer + the chalice coral for free, pretty sweet deal)
(the chalice I have looks very similar to this https://www.google.com/search?q=chalice+coral&safe=off&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&imgil=kFORPOsorXhGPM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcSOBeiC1RtjyHfScu3s4Kw7gJibxtkWZc-aC37sPQbCqJeTjvLq%253B1000%253B665%253BWRqJjgh0hhlf-M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fhydroquatics.net%25252Finvertebrate_gallery%25252Flps_coral&source=iu&usg=__NXTONWKe08uGpd6J-HkccVtwIfg%3D&sa=X&ei=FgcaU5TmG8vxoATPxoHICw&ved=0CD0Q9QEwBA&biw=1920&bih=955#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=kFORPOsorXhGPM%253A%3BWRqJjgh0hhlf-M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhydroquatics.net%252Fyahoo_site_admin%252Fassets%252Fimages%252Fchalace.329122704_large.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhydroquatics.net%252Finvertebrate_gallery%252Flps_coral%3B1000%3B665)
I'm very happy with how everything is coming along. With the exception of the chalice coral, everything looks great. Bird's nest has a bunch of nice, sharp white tips growing out all over the place.
I recently attached the chalice pieces to some LR and moved it to a lower flow, lower light area. It seems to have stabilized, but I don't know what "happy" looks like. It's not oozing or receding (a few smaller pieces of it oozed and receded for a few days). I'll post some pics soon to get input.
I've been feeding Marine S twice a day, mysis shrimp once or twice a week, and I've been feeding the acans and hammer with Calanus 2-3 times per week. Can't believe how big and happy they get after a feeding.
Ok, so now my questions...
1) I absolutely hate/distrust my heater. I had a 100w Eheim in storage with the tank, but it didn't seem to be working, so I purchased a new 125W Eheim.
I'm using a PID controller with a k-type thermocouple to read the temp, so I know it's very accurate (+/- 1 degree F)
I've had to readjust the heater at least 4-5 times, and I have no idea why it can't/won't hold a steady temp. I have it set at 78, but I've come home to it up at 83, and also down to 74. Our house stays a steady 69-70F all day (so cal, not by a window or door), the LEDs seem to put very little heat off and I have a 50mm exhaust fan in the hood.
I'm considering ditching the Eheim, and using a 300w immersion heater plugged into the PID controller. This would be way overkill, but it would mean the heater wouldn't need to cycle on for very long to maintain temp. I would put the heater in the return chamber so that there wouldn't be any risk of heating up any livestock that was too close to it.
Is there any reason I shouldn't do this? Any tips on calibrating the Eheim?
2) I've been only running 2 of the LED strips (1 12k/actinic combo, and 1 actinic) - both at 100% for 10-12 hours a day - because I got scared by my LFS and some forum posts about bleaching coral with too much LED, or by not acclimating corals to LEDs. Am I anywhere close to the danger zone of too much/too intense LED lighting with 3 strips? All my strips are dimmable. I don't have an LED controller (yet), so the dimming is manual. Tips/Suggestions about lighting? Schedules? Acclimating new coral to LEDs?
3) I'm a little ways away from building a new cabinet to house a refugium (but I do plan to do so), and I really don't want to do 50% weekly changes to keep my nitrates down for SPS. I am pretty carefully measuring my food, so I'm fairly sure I'm not over feeding, and the highest I've seen my nitrates is 10-15, and that was right before the diatoms came and went.
Is adding some macro to the tank a good idea to keep the levels down while only doing a 20% change/week? I've never had macro in a main tank - only in a fuge. I don't think a clump of chaeto is gonna look good in the tank, so if this is a good idea, any recommendations on type?
and finally
4) Flow. As I said, I have the stock pump, and I added an 80gph pump as a powerhead. Enough flow for SPS? It seems like the consensus is you can't have too much flow for SPS, but I do have other pieces in the tank, and I want to keep my water as clear as possible (obviously).
I'll post pictures soon.
Thanks in advance for advice/tips/help.
Really excited to have a tank up and running again.
Cheers!
__________________________________
Oh, and here are my most recent params
1.025 (instant ocean with RO)
8.23 pH (I have a real pH probe - very accurate)
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
5-10 nitrates
Haven't been measuring anything else because of the 50% water weekly changes...
It's been a long time since I've had a tank running, but after 5 years, it was time.
Got the OK from the wife for a "small tank" because "I have too many hobbies as it is." Hehe.
I'd never had an SPS tank before, so that's what I decided I wanted.
5 years ago I bought an old Aquapod 24 cube from someone on this forum, but I never ended up starting it. Dusted it off, replaced the PCs with 3 TrueLumen 12-inch LED strips (2 12k/actinic combos, 1 all actinic)
When I broke my last tank down, LEDs were just coming out but they were way too expensive for me. Now they're all over the place, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus about the specifics. I read as much as I could on the forum and other places, and these seemed to be a good value ($129 for all 3 shipped with Prime).
I ditched all the filter media that came with the tank except the sponges. I added a pouch of purigen.
I don't know what the stock pump is, but it seems to have a decent amount of flow. I had a tiny 80gph pump laying around, and added that as a powerhead to get the flow going for the SPS.
I put about 20lbs of LR and about 1.5" of LS, cycled for 24 days before adding a small, tank bred Occelaris Clown and a nice Purple firefish. I also added a CUC (5 hermits, 5 astreas, 4 nassarius), a small xenia frag, a small acan frag, and a frag of what I believe are palm tree polyps
I've been doing 5g water changes twice a week since then.
After the first livestock addition, I added a very small six liner (smallest I've ever seen), a pink bird's nest frag, a 4 headed hammer and some pieces of what I was told is a chalice coral that I got for dirt cheap from someone breaking down a tank ($30 for a happy 4 headed hammer + the chalice coral for free, pretty sweet deal)
(the chalice I have looks very similar to this https://www.google.com/search?q=chalice+coral&safe=off&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&imgil=kFORPOsorXhGPM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcSOBeiC1RtjyHfScu3s4Kw7gJibxtkWZc-aC37sPQbCqJeTjvLq%253B1000%253B665%253BWRqJjgh0hhlf-M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fhydroquatics.net%25252Finvertebrate_gallery%25252Flps_coral&source=iu&usg=__NXTONWKe08uGpd6J-HkccVtwIfg%3D&sa=X&ei=FgcaU5TmG8vxoATPxoHICw&ved=0CD0Q9QEwBA&biw=1920&bih=955#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=kFORPOsorXhGPM%253A%3BWRqJjgh0hhlf-M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhydroquatics.net%252Fyahoo_site_admin%252Fassets%252Fimages%252Fchalace.329122704_large.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhydroquatics.net%252Finvertebrate_gallery%252Flps_coral%3B1000%3B665)
I'm very happy with how everything is coming along. With the exception of the chalice coral, everything looks great. Bird's nest has a bunch of nice, sharp white tips growing out all over the place.
I recently attached the chalice pieces to some LR and moved it to a lower flow, lower light area. It seems to have stabilized, but I don't know what "happy" looks like. It's not oozing or receding (a few smaller pieces of it oozed and receded for a few days). I'll post some pics soon to get input.
I've been feeding Marine S twice a day, mysis shrimp once or twice a week, and I've been feeding the acans and hammer with Calanus 2-3 times per week. Can't believe how big and happy they get after a feeding.
Ok, so now my questions...
1) I absolutely hate/distrust my heater. I had a 100w Eheim in storage with the tank, but it didn't seem to be working, so I purchased a new 125W Eheim.
I'm using a PID controller with a k-type thermocouple to read the temp, so I know it's very accurate (+/- 1 degree F)
I've had to readjust the heater at least 4-5 times, and I have no idea why it can't/won't hold a steady temp. I have it set at 78, but I've come home to it up at 83, and also down to 74. Our house stays a steady 69-70F all day (so cal, not by a window or door), the LEDs seem to put very little heat off and I have a 50mm exhaust fan in the hood.
I'm considering ditching the Eheim, and using a 300w immersion heater plugged into the PID controller. This would be way overkill, but it would mean the heater wouldn't need to cycle on for very long to maintain temp. I would put the heater in the return chamber so that there wouldn't be any risk of heating up any livestock that was too close to it.
Is there any reason I shouldn't do this? Any tips on calibrating the Eheim?
2) I've been only running 2 of the LED strips (1 12k/actinic combo, and 1 actinic) - both at 100% for 10-12 hours a day - because I got scared by my LFS and some forum posts about bleaching coral with too much LED, or by not acclimating corals to LEDs. Am I anywhere close to the danger zone of too much/too intense LED lighting with 3 strips? All my strips are dimmable. I don't have an LED controller (yet), so the dimming is manual. Tips/Suggestions about lighting? Schedules? Acclimating new coral to LEDs?
3) I'm a little ways away from building a new cabinet to house a refugium (but I do plan to do so), and I really don't want to do 50% weekly changes to keep my nitrates down for SPS. I am pretty carefully measuring my food, so I'm fairly sure I'm not over feeding, and the highest I've seen my nitrates is 10-15, and that was right before the diatoms came and went.
Is adding some macro to the tank a good idea to keep the levels down while only doing a 20% change/week? I've never had macro in a main tank - only in a fuge. I don't think a clump of chaeto is gonna look good in the tank, so if this is a good idea, any recommendations on type?
and finally
4) Flow. As I said, I have the stock pump, and I added an 80gph pump as a powerhead. Enough flow for SPS? It seems like the consensus is you can't have too much flow for SPS, but I do have other pieces in the tank, and I want to keep my water as clear as possible (obviously).
I'll post pictures soon.
Thanks in advance for advice/tips/help.
Really excited to have a tank up and running again.
Cheers!
__________________________________
Oh, and here are my most recent params
1.025 (instant ocean with RO)
8.23 pH (I have a real pH probe - very accurate)
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
5-10 nitrates
Haven't been measuring anything else because of the 50% water weekly changes...
