SPS in a 45 cube

[mrhighline]

I'm in the process of revamping my 45 cube into an sps dominate tank. I've got a Gen 4 XR15 Radion with RMS mount on it and 1 MP10 along with a Jebao PP4 for flow. Skimmer is an Eshopps 200. The tanks been up for about a year but I neglected it badly when I setup my fishroom as this tanks in the living room. Any suggestions/advice for doing an SPS tank with a smaller water volume?

 

[cpllongjk]

1. Plan it out a lot before you do any water. I know it sucks but you will thank yourself down the road.

2. For a tank that small set up some simple dosers or just manually do 2 part daily.

3. Add corals and fish very slowly. Sounds like you have a good bacteria bed but if you want more fish do that first before you add corals.

4. Have a maintenance schedule and follow it religiously.

5. I might have more for you later but PM me and we can trade cell phone numbers and if you have any questions just let me know. The largest system I have ever had is 100gallons and I normally do nano/smaller setups and usually stick to only sps. My problem with reeftanks has always been fiddling with what is working. I fiddle too much. But as I get older I am getting more set in my ways.

 

[mrhighline]

1. Plan it out a lot before you do any water. I know it sucks but you will thank yourself down the road.

2. For a tank that small set up some simple dosers or just manually do 2 part daily.

3. Add corals and fish very slowly. Sounds like you have a good bacteria bed but if you want more fish do that first before you add corals.

4. Have a maintenance schedule and follow it religiously.

5. I might have more for you later but PM me and we can trade cell phone numbers and if you have any questions just let me know. The largest system I have ever had is 100gallons and I normally do nano/smaller setups and usually stick to only sps. My problem with reeftanks has always been fiddling with what is working. I fiddle too much. But as I get older I am getting more set in my ways.

Thanks for the heads up! I've got it pretty much planned out. I'll be dosing 2 part as its working well in my 150 gallon frag system.

Bioload will be a Pair of Clowns and a Falco Hawkfish for now. POSSIBLY some kinda wrasse for pest control.

 

[cpllongjk]

Thanks for the heads up! I've got it pretty much planned out. I'll be dosing 2 part as its working well in my 150 gallon frag system.

Bioload will be a Pair of Clowns and a Falco Hawkfish for now. POSSIBLY some kinda wrasse for pest control.

I had a buddy that manually dosed 2 part very successfully. He added 20-30mL of Alk once per day. I thought he was crazy but I couldn't argue with his results.

 

[kevlow]

I have had several small tanks and found regular water changes are extremely effective. Great export, reduces dosing, promotes stability, quick and low cost.

 

[Hentz]

I'm assuming you have a standard 45 Cube; 24x24x18?
If so, the XR15 won't be enough light. Not saying due to doubts, but from personal experience on the IM Fusion 40. Exact same thing with my friend in terms of light, tank, coral. I'd recommend adding another if all possible.

Other than that, simple water changes will be completely fine for the most part. Not until you're heavily stocked will you be needing to add 2-part to keep up with depletion. I'd say 10% weekly water changes would be sufficient enough. Would also replace trace elements obviously.

I'm running a Reefer 170 with all SPS. Aside from heavily feeding, water changes seemed to cause my growth to explode into almost noticeable growth daily. Sure I dose 2-part. But it's only 1.1ml a day for each. Keeps my Alk/Ca exactly where I want it st 7.5dKH and 420ppm.

Other than that, it seems as if you're on a good track man!!

 

[mrhighline]

I'm assuming you have a standard 45 Cube; 24x24x18?
If so, the XR15 won't be enough light. Not saying due to doubts, but from personal experience on the IM Fusion 40. Exact same thing with my friend in terms of light, tank, coral. I'd recommend adding another if all possible.

Other than that, simple water changes will be completely fine for the most part. Not until you're heavily stocked will you be needing to add 2-part to keep up with depletion. I'd say 10% weekly water changes would be sufficient enough. Would also replace trace elements obviously.

I'm running a Reefer 170 with all SPS. Aside from heavily feeding, water changes seemed to cause my growth to explode into almost noticeable growth daily. Sure I dose 2-part. But it's only 1.1ml a day for each. Keeps my Alk/Ca exactly where I want it st 7.5dKH and 420ppm.

Other than that, it seems as if you're on a good track man!!

I've got a local reefer that wants to trade me a 4th gen NONPRO XR30 for my PRO 15 ... thoughts?

 

[cobra2326]

I've got a local reefer that wants to trade me a 4th gen NONPRO XR30 for my PRO 15 ... thoughts?

The Pro has better spectral qualities than the non-pro. You may or may not notice, but it's lacking in some important ranges. The 400-430nm range is pretty important for growth and coloration, and the 450-460 (deep blue) is slightly shorthanded also. Warm white is for viewing. I'd miss having it, but it's not crucial for growth.

 

[mrhighline]

The Pro has better spectral qualities than the non-pro. You may or may not notice, but it's lacking in some important ranges. The 400-430nm range is pretty important for growth and coloration, and the 450-460 (deep blue) is slightly shorthanded also. Warm white is for viewing. I'd miss having it, but it's not crucial for growth.

Thanks for the info, I'm thinking the XR15 will be sufficient as most of my rock work is in the center. I'll post a build thread once I get the tank moved to its new location across the room and somewhat cleaned up. It's been poorly neglected the last 6 months or so.

 

[reefmutt]

I've seen some G4 pros over sps tanks and I have never been more impressed with an led light.
I say keep it.
Looking forward to your build.

 

[cobra2326]

I wish it was a simple decision though. There is also coverage, which will be better with 2 pucks vs 1. Honestly, you could also consider just getting 2 t5 bulbs as a supplement.

I spent a ton of time researching LEDs before building my own, so feel free to reach out to me if you want to have a deeper discussion.

 

[mrhighline]

I wish it was a simple decision though. There is also coverage, which will be better with 2 pucks vs 1. Honestly, you could also consider just getting 2 t5 bulbs as a supplement.

I spent a ton of time researching LEDs before building my own, so feel free to reach out to me if you want to have a deeper discussion.

I've resigned myself to keeping the 15 for now. I just don't wanna go backwards to a non-pro. IF a Pro pops up I'll grab it. For now it seems like enough coverage. I really like how clean the RMS mount makes the tank look with the rimless design. I'll post some pics shortly.