Question for the pros :)

[Donkin]

Well I just finished putting up my new 50g reef and I am going to try for sps corals this time around. MY 5 year old 110 gallon was a lps tank and I would like to move to sps for this next tank. I was wondering what the optimal water movment rate should be. I am running a quiet one 3000 pump for my sump/refugium tank that at the indicated head should put out around 600gph. On top of that I am running a magnum 350 that should give around 120gph from the sump to the tank and an iwaski md-30rxt that puts out 19g per min for the chiller... but I lost the chart for the waterflow at the 6 feet of head it will have.. so Im guessing around 700gph. This should give me a total water turnover of 1420 gph in a 50 gallon tank or 28.5 times the water volume each hour. I will be running a 250w MH at 14k temp and also a sea clone ps. Should this setup be enought to keep some sps? and maybe a clam or 2? I am very good at keeping water peramiters optimal and test constantly. But I didn't want to jump into something tha7 may cause the death of some coral if I can help it. If the system is ok I will start to get a frag per week after 1 month of system operation. Any ideas of waterflow tweeks or suggetions on my equipment will be welcome. Thanks for any feedback.
:beer:

 

[coker98]

get a better skimmer. something like a remora pro or a corallife superskimmer. the sea clones just dont get good reviews and dont work great either you could also put a few powerheads in the tank such as some sieos. i have the 620's in my tank and they are great for movement. hope that helps.

 

[CeeGee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7972532#post7972532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by coker98
get a better skimmer. something like a remora pro or a corallife superskimmer. the sea clones just dont get good reviews and dont work great either you could also put a few powerheads in the tank such as some sieos. i have the 620's in my tank and they are great for movement. hope that helps.

get an even better skimmer than what coker recommended something like an ASM or Euroreef or better yet a H&S or Deltec and have fun melting the seaclone in the back yard.

Lose the magnum. Melt it down with the seaclone. Get as much flow going as possible and keep your lighting in good shape and you should be good to go.

One more thing keep all parameters in check and as close to NSW as possible. Especially watch your alk. Keep temp swings to a minimum I have accomplished this by buying a controller and my tank has been at 79.5-80.5 for the last week since hooking up the controller. Before I would have as much 3-4 degree swings per day which isn't good for SPS. The controller rocks.

 

[NuclearReefs]

I agree with CeeGee.. if your going to try to save a little,, a turboflotor 1000 for a skimmer at a MINIMUM... I use downdraft ETS skimmer myself.... Skimming wet...

 

[cwegescheide]

I've got a turbofloater I'll sell ya cheap. I've had it about a year.

 

[Donkin]

Ty for the advice. I took the magnum off and put a couple maxi jet 1200s in the tank. as for the protien skimmer... Im out of cash atm so that will have to wait a couple of weeks till I can sell my old 110 gallon tank. I do hace a cpr back pack in my 110 that I think I can use if I can get a new pump for it. Just running low on funds. was going to set up and wait for about 1-2 months before buying some coral frags grown in my LFS. As for temp swings.. it gets pretty hot and pretty cold in my house.. but I have a 1/2 hp chiller left from my 110 galon system tha should keep it cold and will buy a good heater before winter sets in and before I add any coral. And cwegescheide, how cheap we talking. I am intrested if its in good shape

 

[miwoodar]

I futher agree with CeeGee and NuclearReefs. Better skimmer, dump the magnum 350. What medium were you planning on using in the magnum? Mechanical filtration can create nitrate problems if it is not changed VERY often. I don't have any at all - nitrate or mech filtration. Instead I upped my turnover rates to 45x/hr (maxijet mods!). Detritus never lands but the tank is still clear. Borneman states that SPS corals can get as much as 60% of their nutrition this way. I'm hoping that is where it is all going.

Your skimmer is a key component. Any extra money you can spend on the skimmer will save you money in terms of lost corals/fish/etc later. Just one event like a coral spawn could crash the tank with an underpowered skimmer. Think of it as insurance.

Good luck! It took me many years before I decided to go SPS but I don't think I'll ever go back. I wish I had done it sooner.