SPS dosing and lighting .. HELP

[eskymick]

I need advice, and you're the experts.

I have a 125 AGA tank and I want to convert it to a SPS reef. I really am drawn to Montiporas and Porites, so I'd like to keep my "collection" to that.

I have much of the hardware already, but I need advice on two major factors .. DOSING and lighting equipment.

Here's the equipment and live goods I already have in place:

Nearly 200 pounds of well-cured live rock
Shallow sand bed (am considering BB)
36 Gallon sump/refugium (with macro and DSB)
EuroReef RS135 skimmer (in sump)
6 - MJ1200 mods
2 - 36" Coralife 96w PC 50/50 fixtures (is this enough for Montys and/or Porites?)
As a FOWL tank, I am already maintaining ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates at zero
SG at 1.025

I know I need to get a cleaning crew ... and get rid of some of my fish.

I'm not sure about the lighting .. I'm willing to upgrade, but I don't want to overkill, either. Is the lighting sufficient .. or should I upgrade to MH ?

Is it reasonably possible to maintain such a SPS system WITHOUT dosing hardware ... in other words, just manually dose Randy's 2-part and kalk?

Any other suggestions or input will be appreciated, as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this ..

 

[Wiskey]

I do dose Randy's 2 part to my 125 SPS reef, but be advised, I am currently using 125 ML of each per day! and my tank is still just frags. I just got an autodoser for my 2 part and love it, but I expect as some of my corals grow out it will no longer be practical to use 2 part due to the amount of CA/ALK my tank will consume.

2 - 36" Coralife 96w PC 50/50 fixtures (is this enough for Montys and/or Porites?)

Your lighting is not enough IMHO, I have 3 250W XM10K over my 125 and think it is just right.

Whiskey

 

[Serioussnaps]

I am with wiskey on the lighting...you dont have enough.....if you dont want Metal Halide....look into some nice T5 lighitng..it is far less of an upfront investment and can yield equal or better results as long as you know what you are doing

6 MJ Mods????----damn, ok!

As for dosing you can try to manually dose, but you will get tired of it...trust me...you will miss days or two and you wont provide the stability of a doser that doses 24/7....you will be dumping in at once or twice a day and spiking levels to some degree particularly when your consumption rate gets up there like wiskey's.

I recommend peristalic/refurbished medical pumps....cheap...easy..reliable...unbelievably effective at maintaining stability in the ph, salinity, ca, alk department. I recommend the nautilus II or an even better one from

www.innovativeaquatics.com

or

www.reefdosingpumps.com

I also here that the litermeter III is a peristalic pump but i havent read up on it so i wont vouch for it..but if it is a peristalic pump and has the other capabilities you may want to look into it.

I highly recommend the www.innovativeaquatics.com pumps...best 170 dollar investment i ever made on my tank....even over my skimmer and tunzes and **** even the live rock ...lmao...

good luck

 

[eskymick]

Thanks Whisky ...

You've already given me a "kick" in the right direction.

 

[eskymick]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8358138#post8358138 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Serioussnaps
I am with wiskey on the lighting...you dont have enough.....if you dont want Metal Halide....look into some nice T5 lighitng..it is far less of an upfront investment and can yield equal or better results as long as you know what you are doing

I don't know what I'm doing!! ... So I'll upgrade to MH. I like the look of them anyway. Unless someone can make a friendly suggestion for a T5 setup.

As for the 6 MJ1200 mods .... I have collected that many .. but I don't know if I'll need all six in the 125 reef.

Am I correct to assume that if one uses a dosing pump (and the appropriate additives) then one can dispense with the need for a calcium reactor and kalk stirrer, etc ??

The dosing pump looks to be a great idea. Is that all one needs to keep stability, additive wise. ?

Thanks for your input.

 

[theatrus]

Its quite feasible to dose, but I got tired of it too I even bought a nifty large pippette and manual pump on eBay for peanuts to speed up dosing B-Ionic, but still required too much fiddling (note that this was in addition to my Kalk topoff). I recently added a Calcium reactor which has been awesome is keeping levels where they should be with no work

 

[eskymick]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8359047#post8359047 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by theatrus
I recently added a Calcium reactor which has been awesome is keeping levels where they should be with no work

Do you alse have a controller for that calsium reactor? Are thy difficult ot install? Plug and play?

 

[seminolecpa]

Reactors take a bit to "tune in" and are somewhat plug and play if you get a in chamber ph controller, but it will stall take a little time. BTW I used to dose also and got fed up with the amounts I was having to add and I only have a well stocked 58g.

BTW as a prior FOWLR tank you may have some serious phosphate buildup in the live rock if you have a high bioload.

Also as to the BB/sand issue, I encourage you to read the various threads around. You will find that there are two very different schools of thought. Personally I removed my sand bed and went to BB only to switch back to sand later but again personal preference.

 

[eskymick]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8359688#post8359688 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seminolecpa
Reactors take a bit to "tune in" and are somewhat plug and play if you get a in chamber ph controller, but it will stall take a little time. BTW I used to dose also and got fed up with the amounts I was having to add and I only have a well stocked 58g.

Thanks ... can you make a recommendation ?

 

[eskymick]

I plan on keeping the number of corals to aminimum to allow them to grow to their maximum size. I like the look of reefs with fewer, larger corals.

Is it a reasonable plan to start off with a dosing pump and then "upgrade" to a calcium reactor as the tank matures?

 

[Hammercoral]

I would start with Kalk reactor, till your sps start growing and if you are adding them slowly kalk will keep up the Ca and ALK with the side benefit of keeping the PH elevated. Once you frags start growing then get a CA reactor, the kalk reactor will still be usefull since it will counter the CA reactors tendency to drop the ph.

 

[Serioussnaps]

gO bb AND GET A peristalic pump