SPS Beginner

[rjd0521]

Hi,

I have decided to make the jump to SPS in my 185g.

Need help.

Is a controller really needed for an SPS tank?

What is the simplest way for a successful tank? I'm taking about the simplest way to keep the parameters in check such as ALK, MG, CA without the need for expensive equipments such as Calcium reactor etc.

My system is very basic right now (50g sump, reef octopus dual 6 skimmer, and a midwest aquatics sulfur denitrator). I'm in the process of getting 2x250w Halides and 2 mp40's. What else do I need?

 

[Allmost]

Hi,

I have decided to make the jump to SPS in my 185g.

Need help.

Is a controller really needed for an SPS tank?

What is the simplest way for a successful tank? I'm taking about the simplest way to keep the parameters in check such as ALK, MG, CA without the need for expensive equipments such as Calcium reactor etc.

My system is very basic right now (50g sump, reef octopus dual 6 skimmer, and a midwest aquatics sulfur denitrator). I'm in the process of getting 2x250w Halides and 2 mp40's. What else do I need?

get your lighting and flow going.

why run a denitrator ? too many fish ? how do you deal with po4 ?

you need to set up a dosing method, manually, cheap aqualifter pump, or a doser ... test calues often and keep them stable.

 

[rjd0521]

get your lighting and flow going.

Will do.

why run a denitrator ? too many fish ? how do you deal with po4 ?

I run the denitrator because of 2 sharks that gave me huge nitrates. The sharks are getting too big and therefore leaving to a better home really soon. After the sharks are gone, I will take the denitrator offline (probably will sell it) and will run a JNS Alpha 2 with ecobak pellets to keep the nitrate and phosphate in check.

you need to set up a dosing method, manually, cheap aqualifter pump, or a doser ... test calues often and keep them stable.

what would you recommend?

 

[Allmost]

I recommend not putting a poor shark in a 185.

then removing it.

and re-asking this question once the sharks are out, and you have enough light and flow to think about keeping corals, specially SPS. you have a long way to go to get the po4 and no3 down before SPS can survive.

HTH,

 

[jerpa]

Kalk in your ATO is probably the cheapest and easiest but you will need a very slow pump to avoid PH spikes. No matter what regimen you choose the key will be consistency, especially in alkalinity. Light, flow, low nutrients, and most importantly stability are the keys to success.

I recommend not putting a poor shark in a 185.

What about a rich one?

 

[tripdad]

I recommend you keep asking questions and look at some of the more established build threads and see what's working for them.There are some excellent tanks on here to emulate. As Allmost said get the water and flow right, what you have for pumps should be a good start.You can manually dose 2 part to keep it simple but on a large tank I would go with doser's for more stability, stability is the key. Maybe a simple combo reactor for GFO and Carbon is easiest for water quality help, JMO. You don't mention what's in the sump, any chaeto or other natural helper's? You can use them and reverse light schedule that sump to help stabilize PH swings.Keep everything as stable as possible and you'll do fine. Good luck.

 

[Allmost]

try harder

 

[rjd0521]

I recommend not putting a poor shark in a 185.

then removing it.

That's kinda harsh comment here. The sharks are two black banded bamboo shark that I have since they were still eggs. The recommended tank size for an adult size was 180 gallon. They are doing perfectly fine in the tank, they are leaving because i think that they are getting big and deserve a better home. Did putting the sharks in a 185 not a good idea? probably. Do I regret it? not a single bit. I'm sure a lot of hobbyist, when they started, got told a bunch of c**** by the LFS. I learned my lesson.

Light, flow, low nutrients, and most importantly stability are the keys to success.

My concern with going SPS is keeping stability within the tank. I will get a controller and doser as I will try to keep everything controlled and less manual.

 

[jerpa]

Stability within the tank begins with stability within the reefkeeper. Get into a routine and stick to it. Even with automation reservoirs still need refilled, carbon and GFO need changed, skimmers need cleaned, values need tested. A controller can be a valuable addition to your system but it doesn't even rank on the list of what's important in keeping SPS.

 

[trinity1012]

its ur tank built with ur money,put what u want in it.just because some guy doesnt like sharks dont mean anything. no diffrent than having sps growing out of the water.

lighting,good flow,and brs 2 parts for dosing works great,cheap also.just keep digging

 

[Allmost]

That's kinda harsh comment here....

Did putting the sharks in a 185 not a good idea? probably. Do I regret it? not a single bit. I'm sure a lot of hobbyist, when they started, got told a bunch of c**** by the LFS. I learned my lesson.
.

so how is my comment harsh if you too agree that its not a good Idea ?

would you recommend a new reefer to do that ? I wouldnt, just like I adviced you to remove them

its not just room for swimming, its feeding and keeping water clean and PH stable too. you know well about how much nutrition is added at every feeding, and how denitrator lowers PH

 

[Allmost]

its ur tank built with ur money,put what u want in it.just because some guy doesnt like sharks dont mean anything. no diffrent than having sps growing out of the water.

hmmm ! interesting comment ! SPS GROWING out of water ? you have SPS growing in ure back yard ? lol I think you meant growing up to water surface, at that point, they just grow thicker ....

with ure logic, can I say that my dog, my house, I do what I want with it and keep it in a 1 foot closet except for the weekends that I have time to play with it ? I dont think so

I love sharks, but they belong in a shark tank, not a 185 rectangle tank.

 

[trinity1012]

hmmm ! interesting comment ! SPS GROWING out of water ? you have SPS growing in ure back yard ? lol I think you meant growing up to water surface, at that point, they just grow thicker ....

with ure logic, can I say that my dog, my house, I do what I want with it and keep it in a 1 foot closet except for the weekends that I have time to play with it ? I dont think so

I love sharks, but they belong in a shark tank, not a 185 rectangle tank.

i was assuming ur talking about size of the sharks.all im saying is the guy likes sharks and all he had was a 185 tank.not a big deal.

a big dog in a little closet...lol a baby shark in a big tank:rollface:

 

[rjd0521]

so how is my comment harsh if you too agree that its not a good Idea ?

Last time I checked "probably" does not mean "agree".

 

[Allmost]

i was assuming ur talking about size of the sharks.all im saying is the guy likes sharks and all he had was a 185 tank.not a big deal.

a big dog in a little closet...lol a baby shark in a big tank:rollface:

but what about me that likes great Danes and lives in a tiny condo and dont like to go for a walk ?

answer is, my living situations and schedule, does not allow me to get a great Dane .... if I really like them, I either gotta suck it up and move to a bigger place, or enjoy great Danes in zoos or goto dog parks and play with other ppls dog

you know what I mean ?

but anywho ... I am glad he is removing them cause Im crazy .... I dont think we should take advantage of animals just cause they cant talk to express how we are bullying them or cant call the cops on us lol

true story, 2 years ago, I got a jack Russel puppy [small dog, but active].... took a week off work to train it and ... then second week, I leave it at home and goto work, 2 hours later, I get a call from the condo security, saying the dog is barking, and they are worried ! they will call animal control and break the door if I dont come to "rescue" the animal !!!! now imagine if we cared about fish as much !

 

[Allmost]

Last time I checked "probably" does not mean "agree".

when was the last time you checked ? lol


so you think you are practicing good reefing by placing a shark in that thing ? if so, I have nothing to say, except wishing good luck to animals that cross path with u

 

[trinity1012]

but what about me that likes great Danes and lives in a tiny condo and dont like to go for a walk ?

answer is, my living situations and schedule, does not allow me to get a great Dane .... if I really like them, I either gotta suck it up and move to a bigger place, or enjoy great Danes in zoos or goto dog parks and play with other ppls dog

you know what I mean ?

but anywho ... I am glad he is removing them cause Im crazy .... I dont think we should take advantage of animals just cause they cant talk to express how we are bullying them or cant call the cops on us lol

true story, 2 years ago, I got a jack Russel puppy [small dog, but active].... took a week off work to train it and ... then second week, I leave it at home and goto work, 2 hours later, I get a call from the condo security, saying the dog is barking, and they are worried ! they will call animal control and break the door if I dont come to "rescue" the animal !!!! now imagine if we cared about fish as much !

well said. lol crazy what people will do

 

[rjd0521]

so you think you are practicing good reefing by placing a shark in that thing ? if so, I have nothing to say, except wishing good luck to animals that cross path with u

Well, I have admitted the mistake that I made. I'm doing the right thing now by moving them to bigger homes. Don't tell me you have been perfect with your tanks or that you have never made a mistake or listened to people to you thought were knowledgable. When I started the hobby, I listened to people I thought were right when they were wrong. I did not know anything about SW tanks and learned. Sure you did too.

 

[Allmost]

Well, I have admitted the mistake that I made. I'm doing the right thing now by moving them to bigger homes. Don't tell me you have been perfect with your tanks or that you have never made a mistake or listened to people to you thought were knowledgable. When I started the hobby, I listened to people I thought were right when they were wrong. I did not know anything about SW tanks and learned. Sure you did too.

good ! I am glad that you agree that putting a shark in a 185 is a mistake, and I hope you say that to new reefers, to help them ... [and wont argue with ppl who try to teach you something ]

when I started, there was no internet, and no reefing community, we have heard of German ppl keeping rocks and live rocks though with their fish ! ... We collected our own live stock ... so its different. but I sure did make mistakes and learn from them ... and tried to tell others about my mistakes and successes. I used to think as a kid that SPS corals are just rocks with stinky algae (guess I wsnt that wrong but still ) ! lol


happy friday everyone cheers

 

[allsps40]

Hi,

I have decided to make the jump to SPS in my 185g.

Need help.

Is a controller really needed for an SPS tank?

What is the simplest way for a successful tank? I'm taking about the simplest way to keep the parameters in check such as ALK, MG, CA without the need for expensive equipments such as Calcium reactor etc.

My system is very basic right now (50g sump, reef octopus dual 6 skimmer, and a midwest aquatics sulfur denitrator). I'm in the process of getting 2x250w Halides and 2 mp40's. What else do I need?

To answer your question here, no a controller is not NEEDED but it is a very good idea to have and make things much simpler. It will allow you to control your lights, pumps, ATO, dosing, temp control and monitoring, ph monitoring.
I would look into a larger skimmer. In the real world a 185G reef tank with a 50G sump is going to need something more like a SRO 3000. As for your lighting I run 2 250W MH lights over my 75G reef. You should look into 2-4 400W MH lights for your size tank depending on the dimensions and if keeping corals. I also dont feel 2 MP40s will be enough flow again depending on tank dims, they are a good start though.