Nook's Reef 470 SPS Tank!

[Nanook]

Tank is 60x60x30. Its been 9 years since I started it from a combined 375/470 on a common sump. The system ended up becoming a soft coral dominant as the SPS didn't like the softies

Now, I'm looking for some pointers in how you set your tanks up from the vets. Deep sand bed, shallow, how much rock, supplements, etc, etc.

Thanks

 

[reefmutt]

Protein skimming aside since I think they are a given necessity..
And you don't need opinions on flow..

Back in the late 90s, when the jaubert system became more known and then the concept of plenums and then dsbs to reduce algea/no3, I became a strong believer in dsbs as a backbone for reef system health and stability. More recently, though, as my sps obsession has solidified, I think I'm more of a sand less (or very shallow sand in display), filter sock, bacterial driven (or good bacterial friendly media driven) system person
When I say bacterial driven, I don't necessarily mean full carbon dosing to control nutrients, I mean small carbondosing using a media like siporax or seachem matrix as surface for large colonies of bacteria. As opposed to large amounts of live rock.. this allows for removal, manipulation of your bacterial colonies..
I have had great success using a reverse daylight refugium but have also had succes without.. recently, I stopped being able to keep macro algea alive and instead of trying to add this or that to get the cheato to grow, I simply abandoned the refugium. The coral have not really noticed.. although my nutrient may be higher because of it.. gotta deal with that...
Personally, I think n around 5ppm and p around .03-.09 ppm are ideal for sps health and colour.
I have had best succes with an alk between 6.5 and 7.5..
I'm still a believer in mh or t5 as the optimum light source for sps. But I will acknowledge that there are many beautiful sps reefs using led.. I still like mh/t5 better. I personally feel that t5mh will allow sps to develop and display truer and more natural coloration.. sticky point I know but that's my opinion...
I have always used ca reactors. Never really tried dosers, although as of the last few months I am using a doser to add ro water to my kalk stirrer..
I don't even know where to go on trace element additions.. I've tried them and I think I saw really nice growth and coloration due to their additions but because one can't really accurately test for many of them, I currently don't dose any...... but.... I'm not entirely happy with all my sps colors or growth so I am once again thinking about trying some..

Being an extreme vet yourself, I don't know if any of this is really helpful to you as it's probably not new to you but hey! There it is!

I must say I very much look forward to watching both your sps obsession and corresponding sps tank grow into total awesomeness!

 

[Breto]

Nook are you starting a build thread? I would love to follow.


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[reefmutt]

Me too!

 

[Pife]

When is this happening Dave. I'd still like to come help you with the aquascape.

 

[reefmutt]

Me too!!

 

[Pife]

Me too!!

But you don't live 15 minutes away! Come on down south out of that frozen tundra sometime. Aquascaping would be a great vacation.

 

[Nanook]

Protein skimming aside since I think they are a given necessity..
And you don't need opinions on flow..

Back in the late 90s, when the jaubert system became more known and then the concept of plenums and then dsbs to reduce algea/no3, I became a strong believer in dsbs as a backbone for reef system health and stability. More recently, though, as my sps obsession has solidified, I think I'm more of a sand less (or very shallow sand in display), filter sock, bacterial driven (or good bacterial friendly media driven) system person
When I say bacterial driven, I don't necessarily mean full carbon dosing to control nutrients, I mean small carbondosing using a media like siporax or seachem matrix as surface for large colonies of bacteria. As opposed to large amounts of live rock.. this allows for removal, manipulation of your bacterial colonies..
I have had great success using a reverse daylight refugium but have also had succes without.. recently, I stopped being able to keep macro algea alive and instead of trying to add this or that to get the cheato to grow, I simply abandoned the refugium. The coral have not really noticed.. although my nutrient may be higher because of it.. gotta deal with that...
Personally, I think n around 5ppm and p around .03-.09 ppm are ideal for sps health and colour.
I have had best succes with an alk between 6.5 and 7.5..
I'm still a believer in mh or t5 as the optimum light source for sps. But I will acknowledge that there are many beautiful sps reefs using led.. I still like mh/t5 better. I personally feel that t5mh will allow sps to develop and display truer and more natural coloration.. sticky point I know but that's my opinion...
I have always used ca reactors. Never really tried dosers, although as of the last few months I am using a doser to add ro water to my kalk stirrer..
I don't even know where to go on trace element additions.. I've tried them and I think I saw really nice growth and coloration due to their additions but because one can't really accurately test for many of them, I currently don't dose any...... but.... I'm not entirely happy with all my sps colors or growth so I am once again thinking about trying some..

Being an extreme vet yourself, I don't know if any of this is really helpful to you as it's probably not new to you but hey! There it is!

I must say I very much look forward to watching both your sps obsession and corresponding sps tank grow into total awesomeness!

Wow, my thoughts on acropora dominant tanks are very close to yours. Your ideas are very helpful and appreciated.

I do have a 12"x24" GEO calcium reactor. I also have 4 Lumen Bright reflectors and 4 110 watt VHO's. My decision is whether to run four 400 watt Radiums or four 250 watt Radiums. I have just the right ballasts for both, and the color of corals is tough to beat with the 400's.

I ran Seachem Matrix in a 12"x24" GEO reactor at varying flow rates without any noticeable results on my 1100 gallon softy system with nitrate of 50-75. My sump being built will have a large reservoir for holding live rock or other media like Matrix, just need some ideas on how best to arrange that when the time comes.

 

[Nanook]

Nook are you starting a build thread? I would love to follow.


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A lot of it is in place, but sure, why not

Me too!

Thanks!

When is this happening Dave. I'd still like to come help you with the aquascape.

It'll be a couple months realistically before I have everything in place and then the demolition of my current setup begins. I have a few items to buy still, but I'm pretty close.

 

[danfrith]

So is this the cube you were talking about turning sps? The other tank will be FW right?

 

[jda]

Berlin with 2-3 inches of sand and lots of real porous pacific live rock - this can keep NO3 at zero quite well. Two skimmers - two good to very-good skimmers will crush an elite skimmer, so get two good ones and bank the extra cash that you could have spent on a 3K skimmer. Ranco with heaters and chiller (just in case - it hardly ever comes on). CaRx with natural media. MH for 10 hours - have had VHO before, but I am all-pendant now and they don't fit (I wish that they did and I am never selling my stash of extra Super Actinics or IceCap 660s). Wavebox and a few flow pumps. Elbow grease for all of the coralline. Patience. Has worked for years and years.

I don't do any organic carbon or any of the purchased systems like zeo, AF, etc. Just water changes. I have had fuge in the past with cheato and dragons breath, but I don't have any now and don't have any extra nutrients. If my phospate gets over 5 on a hannah UL tester, then I might put a cup of GFO on the tank for a few months and that will get me by for a year or so. I will run some GAC when I want to take some photos or people are coming by to polish up the water - I don't run it all the time.

I do start to change out the sand at about 20-25% a year starting on year four. It gets filled with gunk and will stop effectively swapping out P after 6 or 8 years, so I get a head start on it.

 

[Nanook]

So is this the cube you were talking about turning sps? The other tank will be FW right?

Yes, two large reefs is more than I want to spend as I get older and closer to retirement. Freshwater tank main expense will be heating.

 

[Nanook]

Berlin with 2-3 inches of sand and lots of real porous pacific live rock - this can keep NO3 at zero quite well. Two skimmers - two good to very-good skimmers will crush an elite skimmer, so get two good ones and bank the extra cash that you could have spent on a 3K skimmer. Ranco with heaters and chiller (just in case - it hardly ever comes on). CaRx with natural media. MH for 10 hours - have had VHO before, but I am all-pendant now and they don't fit (I wish that they did and I am never selling my stash of extra Super Actinics or IceCap 660s). Wavebox and a few flow pumps. Elbow grease for all of the coralline. Patience. Has worked for years and years.

I don't do any organic carbon or any of the purchased systems like zeo, AF, etc. Just water changes. I have had fuge in the past with cheato and dragons breath, but I don't have any now and don't have any extra nutrients. If my phospate gets over 5 on a hannah UL tester, then I might put a cup of GFO on the tank for a few months and that will get me by for a year or so. I will run some GAC when I want to take some photos or people are coming by to polish up the water - I don't run it all the time.

I do start to change out the sand at about 20-25% a year starting on year four. It gets filled with gunk and will stop effectively swapping out P after 6 or 8 years, so I get a head start on it.

Thanks. I hadn't considered two skimmers and my sump should be ready for delivery today, not sure I have room for an internal. I was planning on a Lifereef 8"x48" Skimmer with an Iwaki or panworld I have laying around. My goal is to keep skimmer pump wattage controlled.

Looking for some guidance on the main pump. Tank is 470 gallons and sump is 200 gallons with a large area for live rock. I have two 1.5" returns and three 2" drains, way overkill. I don't want any more flow through the sump than needed for heating and skimming.

I'm going to order 300-400 pounds of fresh live rock wants the system is built, can't beat the real thing for myriad reasons in my experience.

 

[jda]

You won't be able to go wrong with the lifereef - they are fantastic. My comment about two versus one is more along the lines of BK or other Red Dragon skimmers since mostly people won't even consider a LR since they are venturi (which is a huge mistake in my opinion).

1000 through the sump would be enough for me. I am a big fan of submerged pumps since heat is my #1 cost - Laguna with the Askol block are my favorite since they are quieter than a mag and super reliable. I like to double up on flow and heating cost. Even when I lived in KC, heat was a huge expense 11 months of the year. If you want external, then just use the other iwaki or panworld that you don't use for the skimmer - you know how good they are.

 

[Nanook]

Hmmm, you've got me thinking now. My heaters always run a few hours at night. Maybe an internal Lifereef skimmer and internal return pump might be a great idea.

 

[sirreal63]

Did you sell off the equipment you had when you started this? What has it been, ten years ago?

I am looking forward to seeing this take shape.

 

[Piper27]

How many fish do you plan on keeping in this tank? What lighting will you run? This will determine what skimmer you use and if you want internal or external obviously. Can't go wrong with barebottom and lots of live rock or material for bacteria, or carbon sources, especially with a heavy fish load. Very easy to maintain, especially since your starting with real liverock. Great choice Imo with a big tank. Tell us more about what you wanted as an overall goal. We could sit here and say what would be nice to have all day long
I use two large skimmers on a 400 gallon system with around 60+ fish. A bubble king 300 in the sump and a 4' euro reef with mazzei injectors and ehiem needlewheels which is plumbed off the return and the skimmer exit runs into a large live rock tank filled with sponge and other critters where I dose 50ml of vodka and 50ml of vinegar to keep nutrients down from all the fish. This tank with the skimmers is all that runs the system really. It's 3 tanks on a common sump and I am like you, I want to break down into one tank....

 

[Nanook]

How many fish do you plan on keeping in this tank? What lighting will you run? This will determine what skimmer you use and if you want internal or external obviously. Can't go wrong with barebottom and lots of live rock or material for bacteria, or carbon sources, especially with a heavy fish load. Very easy to maintain, especially since your starting with real liverock. Great choice Imo with a big tank. Tell us more about what you wanted as an overall goal. We could sit here and say what would be nice to have all day long
I use two large skimmers on a 400 gallon system with around 60+ fish. A bubble king 300 in the sump and a 4' euro reef with mazzei injectors and ehiem needlewheels which is plumbed off the return and the skimmer exit runs into a large live rock tank filled with sponge and other critters where I dose 50ml of vodka and 50ml of vinegar to keep nutrients down from all the fish. This tank with the skimmers is all that runs the system really. It's 3 tanks on a common sump and I am like you, I want to break down into one tank....

I have a Reef Octopus Regal 300 external. My lighting is 4 250 watt SE Radiums in Lumenarc 3 reflectors with tempered glass covers, and 4 110 watt VHO super actinic. For filtration, I'm going with a 4" deep sand bed, went back and forth a bit, but after taking my nasty shallow sand bed out (BLECH), I'm convinced that DSB is the way to go for me. Probably get about 300 pounds of real live Pukani rock from Mitch Heindel at Livestock US! Flown in from WSI.

My fish are about 20 at present all residing in my 300 gallon stock tank. Pets I guess they are

My goal is to grow about 80 colonies of acropora

 

[Pife]

Only 80? Do you have a list you're building of corals you want?

 

[Nanook]

Only 80? Do you have a list you're building of corals you want?

I have 40 colonies at present give or take, still want about 20-30 more from a couple friends that grow them as well. I'm also getting some frags from aquavista next week, first of a trio of orders from him.