one last shot at it

[garod82]

Ok, I'm going to try to keep SPS. I've boughten a few and some died some haven't grown too much but have lived and one has probably doubled in size but hasn't been growing lately. My LPS grows extremely fast and does very well. So what do I need.
Setup:
65 Gallon
40 Gallon sump, Urchin pro skimmer w/rio 1400, Carbon, chaeto
2x175w metal halide, 2x65w actinic's
100lbs. Live rock
LPS, Zoos, Softies
Blue Tang, 2 clowns, 2 gobies

What do I need to be able to keep SPS?

 

[818]

Tagging along

 

[Yinger]

calcium is very important and also, lots and lots of flow

 

[Sk8r]

I really hate to say this, but you really need to get the zoos and softies into another tank. They send out a chemical that inhibits other corals growing. You can mix lps and sps with no troubles at all, and there is generally no trouble with discosoma mushrooms ---I've not tried ricordias. But there's your problem, I fear. The montiporas are pretty hardy and might get along, but the acroporas are likely going to be inhibited.

 

[Yinger]

I've seen zoo's being kept with sps, but softies and leathers can cause problems. oh yeh and make sure your water quality is up there. Ricordias can be kept with them without any problem. Just keep them farther apart

 

[omeg]

Hey Garold,

I had the impression that the flow in your tank was a bit weak. Also the skimmer may not be able to keep up with removing wastes.

I think carbon will negate any chemicals from the zoas - but not 100% on this.

 

[gcarroll]

Changin carbo often will help with the chemical warfare. The main thing that you need to concentrate on is stability. Anytime tank parameters change, acros tend to go into a sort of aclimation mode and slow down growth.

Things I would consider:
1. Upgrade the skimmer. If you like AquaC, consider upgrading to a used EV120 w/ an Eheim 1260 pump, or even a EV180 w/ the Eheim 1262. You can also find some easy needle to use wheel skimmers that will work just fine at a low cost.
2. Try changing carbon bi-weekly (this will help if you are unwilling to part with the softies.)
3. keep temp fuctuations to approx 2 degrees
4. keep stable calcium and alkalinity levels with a calcium reactor or additives added daily. (I personally feel that Alk levels are far more improtant than Cal levels)
5. make sure flow is enough to eliminate dead spots in all parts of the tank.
Keeping lo phosphates is always a plus but it's not necessary to keep them alive. You can try using phosphate removers but I would not recommend that at this time until you understand the importance of other things fully. This will prevent unneccessary loos.

 

[garod82]

ok, thanks. What kind of powerhead should I be using for flow? I think the one i have in there is 600gph and another is 200 gph

 

[Yinger]

maybe two seios 820 or 1100s or a tunze 6080

 

[garod82]

are those #'s the GPH?

 

[russ49merc]

I have one seio 820 that I will trade for leather and softies or shrooms

 

[Yinger]

yup, its the model number as well as gph. The tunze is actually rated at 2250. I'm setting up a 120 and i have 2 tunze 6000s which is rated at 1850 gph each, plus the flow from my return. So the total turnover in my display will be around 35x

 

[Yinger]

i think i read that you want about 30-40x turnover in the display for sps

 

[garod82]

so if I have a 65 gallon than i would need 65X30 and that's how much total GPH in my tank I need?

 

[gcarroll]

It's not how much flow you have, it's how you use it. I average approx 17x flow in my tank. It is more important to insure that all parts of the tank get circulation. Oscilating devices such as the seaswirl and wavysea are great for that but they do add up when $ is an issue.

 

[russ49merc]

and I have a 620 they are both used but that should be enough flow for your tank

 

[Yinger]

oh, and don't put an sps right in front of the PH either to increase flow haha.

 

[Yinger]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7574119#post7574119 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gcarroll
It's not how much flow you have, it's how you use it. I average approx 17x flow in my tank. It is more important to insure that all parts of the tank get circulation. Oscilating devices such as the seaswirl and wavysea are great for that but they do add up when $ is an issue.

yeh, u probably don't need that much flow... like gcarroll said, just make sure the coral isn't in a dead spot otherwise they won't be able to feed.

 

[garod82]

gotcha, thanks.

 

[russ49merc]

i think your biggest expense would be a calcium reactor