New with SPS need INFO

[WhiteTang]

Hi!

So Im new with SPS. I recently added 5 frags. That seem to be doing good. I have good poly extension except for on blue stag horn that is not blue at all.
The other frags are looking OK. I have only 2 small fish in the tank which I feed every other day just a little. I make sure no food sinks uneaten. If some gets away my cleaner shrimp finds it EVERY single time. So I have very little (if at all) leftover food decaying.

I have read a lot about the 3 big... KH Mg & Ca.
So EVERYBODY says that stability is key.
Personaly I find it extremely hard to keep the numbers stable. Especially KH.
It might drop 1dKH per day. So I dose.

The thing that I need to know is: What do you guys mean by stability?

1) It is acceptable to have swings within a certain range? like today 8dKH and a couple days later 6,8dKH? And then bring is back to 8,0 by dosing?

or

2) dKH 8,2 with a change of 0,2 the next day and bringing it up to 8,2 again by dosing as soon as possible?

(Im using alkalinity just as an example, this applies to Ca &Mg as well obviously)



My guess would be that having alk swings like 8dKH and then 5dKH and after dosing 9dKH would be a major problem or are even those small swings a problem for SPSs?

 

[Bpb]

Most people mean no detectable change from day to day. Specifically for alk. Most people either use kalkwasser as their topoff water run by an auto topoff, 2-part dosers that drip dose a tiny bit all throughout the day, or a calcium reactor that has a constant drip and is ph controlled to have zero swing in alk. A 1 dKH a day swing, if doesn't kill your sps, will stress them quite a bit and I'll be surprised if you get much growth. It's nearly impossible to have the kind of stability you need on an sps tank by doing it all manually

 

[WhiteTang]

Most people mean no detectable change from day to day. Specifically for alk. Most people either use kalkwasser as their topoff water run by an auto topoff, 2-part dosers that drip dose a tiny bit all throughout the day, or a calcium reactor that has a constant drip and is ph controlled to have zero swing in alk. A 1 dKH a day swing, if doesn't kill your sps, will stress them quite a bit and I'll be surprised if you get much growth. It's nearly impossible to have the kind of stability you need on an sps tank by doing it all manually

Aha alright.. So that is somewhat unsettling.
I researched a little and it seems that I will need smoking of a aquarium controller and a dosing system. Any recommendations? Something REALLY REALLY small?

 

[ormet]

I think standard is 3 channel dosing pump and balling, since you are euro. Or as previously stated CA-reactor. But i remember that you have a small tank and CA-reactors are usually only used on bigger tanks.

There are lots of 3 channel dosing pumps out there from very cheap chinese Jebao to very very expensive Vertex.

I use a cheap Bubble Magus 3 chan dosing pump from fish-street. I dose Alk 6 times per 24h day.

I'd say that 0.2 Ak variation a day is very acceptable, 1.0 not so much.

Also, with your minimal bio load you might need to feed your sps or they will starve.

 

[JB NY]

By stability we mean that the parameters should pretty much test out the same everyday for weeks or months on end. If you are testing once a day try to test round the same time everyday. Dose once a day if you have to maybe like 12 hrs before you test.

Part of getting the tank stable is understanding the amount you have to dose, so it can take a little while to get everything dialed in correctly.

 

[WhiteTang]

Thanks for the help guys!

Hmm SPS looks like a lot of work.. That would take out the fun factor of keeping an aquarium (at least for me). I guess I will go on with LPS that are much easier, at least for now
Thanks again for the help!

 

[Bpb]

If you have an affinity for understanding chemistry, sps tanks are really no more work than any other type. Just additional expense up front to get ca and alk supplementation automated. My daily work on the tank is pretty much limited to fish feeding. Every few months I'll replace my ca and alk reservoirs for the dosers. Test params once a week.

 

[WhiteTang]

If you have an affinity for understanding chemistry, sps tanks are really no more work than any other type. Just additional expense up front to get ca and alk supplementation automated. My daily work on the tank is pretty much limited to fish feeding. Every few months I'll replace my ca and alk reservoirs for the dosers. Test params once a week.

I do get it actually. But the back of my nano (16g) is already cluttered. I wouldn't want another ugly piece of equipment. Maybe if I move to bigger tank (very possible) I could consider adding the extra hardware. As it stands now I am very satisfied with my tank.
This is my first saltwater tank and it has been a "university" for me. Next time I set up a tank I will know beforehand how much space is needed for the extras and will have a much better plan to stack up / tidy the hardware.
This tank was mistake after mistake and surprise after surprise.
SPS can wait for now

thanks again for the feedback