sps requirements

[jessp]

I am going to be starting a 90 gal aga sps tank in july or august of 07. I have not kept sps and would like to know what some experienced keepers would say is required for start up.

I know:
intense lighting
intense water movement
prestine water conditions

What pieces of equipment would you say are mandatory. other then skimmer and lights and flow
thanks,
jess

 

[bawla47]

phosban reactor if your not running a DSB, Calcium reactor for sure, kalk optional but recomended.

Youll want intense Random flow also, people have had there sps in 20-25x flow, and as soon as they bumped it up to 40-50x they saw and incredible diference in polyp extension, growth and color.

the more the better, but your sand will play a factor and limit you.

id spend the most chunk of your change on an excellent skimmer though, it will be the backbone of if your tank suceeds or not.

 

[jessp]

the house stays at like 72 degrees consistently day and night, would a chiller be neccessary if the hood is well ventilated?

 

[gasman059]

i'll say skimming and filtration plus water changes. IMO a calcium reactor is not a must/
flow flow flow

 

[Ding2daDong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8669515#post8669515 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jessp
the house stays at like 72 degrees consistently day and night, would a chiller be neccessary if the hood is well ventilated?

My house consistantly stays at about 72-75degrees and my power compacts heat up the water by 3 degrees with a 3inch fan blowing the water surface so a chiller I think is a must. Lots of indirect flow is a must. The more intense the lighting the better. Something like 14k MH would make them grow as well as keep its color. Calcium reactor I presume since everyone thats been picked for reef of the month has thanked there calcium reactor.

I would also set up a dipping process for every coral that went into the tank. This would make your tank alot less preceptable to perisites and red bugs.

Bair Bottom would be the way to go from my searching.

I think thats all I know about SPS lol

-Matt

 

[Rogger Castells]

Jess you are in the right track, if I could add some pointers, when you get in to SPS's it is important to start with good quality Live rock that has been cured correctly, I like a lot of flow all arround this rock.
I also agree that a good strong protein skimmer should be the heart of your system.
Stable temperature is very important, use of a chiller and a good temperature controller is a must.
A Calcium Reactor is a must in SPS's who ever says that they are not need it is most likely because they have not try them and see the results (I was one of them)
I like a refugium with strong lighting and moderate flow.
Variable ramdon strong flow is key in keeping SPS's
Last, you must get into a routine to check your water parameters often, SPS's like stable conditions.

 

[jessp]

this is all good to know,

do chillers work better inside or outside and is a temp controller basically a thermostat??(of the house that is)

are the calc reactors are complex piece of equipment or once a clear understanding is established are they pretty simple?

Do i still follow the rule get a skimmer that is rated for double tank size or should i go as big as possible?

again thanks for the help

 

[Rogger Castells]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8672320#post8672320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jessp
this is all good to know,

do chillers work better inside or outside and is a temp controller basically a thermostat??(of the house that is)
They work the same in or out, they are more efficient outside since they discharge the hot air away from the tank and do not warm your house, the temperature controller is basically a thermostat, the difference is that a temp controller is a dedicated to the chiller and usually programable with the parameters you want.

are the calc reactors are complex piece of equipment or once a clear understanding is established are they pretty simple?
Yes, they are pretty easy and almost maint free once stablished

Do i still follow the rule get a skimmer that is rated for double tank size or should i go as big as possible?
Yes, or you can do two skimmer like I do.
again thanks for the help

 

[chrisaggie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8672320#post8672320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jessp
this is all good to know,

do chillers work better inside or outside and is a temp controller basically a thermostat??(of the house that is)

are the calc reactors are complex piece of equipment or once a clear understanding is established are they pretty simple?

Do i still follow the rule get a skimmer that is rated for double tank size or should i go as big as possible?

again thanks for the help

Chillers work "better" inside because they rely on cool air to cool the internal parts of the chiller. With hotter air (outise) the chiller will need to work harder to keep your tank at the same temp. On the other hand if you do have your chiller inside your A/C in your house will need to work harder to cool the hot air put off by the skimmer. A temperature controller will turn your chiller on and off when neccesary. A dual stage controller will also control a heater.

Calcium reactor are both complex and simple. The principle behind them is simple, but many people do not put enought time and patience into monitoring water quality and adjusting the calcium reactor right. In my opinio this is why they are viewed as complex.

A skimmer rated for twice your tank size would be good. I personally like the becketts.

 

[bawla47]

i have my chiller butt up against a wall, and cut out an opening for the exhaust.

i then used a 8" flex duct to route the air into my attic, very close to an attic vent.


it made a HUGE diference in the temp of my living room, as well as my a.c running less throughout the house.

 

[gasman059]

A Calcium Reactor is a must in SPS's who ever says that they are not need it is most likely because they have not try them and see the results (I was one of them)

Mr. Castells I've tried both calcium reactor and not. My previous setup was a 450 and yes it had a reactor it was about ten years ago and d reactor was a knop It really was a pain after a while, but i'm not dissing them I think they are much better now than then. Me particularly decided to dose my new 200 with c-balance A+B products on a reefdosing pump and have been doing well for 8 months now. I debate weekly the need for a reactor. IMO yes u can run an sps system w/o it. At least i'm trying this way this time around will c.

[/IMG]

 

[racermike27]

Hey guys this is just y .02 cents, correct me if I am wrong...

I think the need for a calcium reactor depends on the calcium uptake of the system, i.e. how many stony corals you have or the scleractinian bioload.
By utilizing a dosing pump you are essentially adding to the tanks volume by adding a supplement. If your tank requires a great deal of calcium then you will be adding large quantities of this over time. If growth is your number one concern then you might be adding a lot of this in order to keep your Ca at 400-450 ppm. This could throw of your salinity, though it may not be as noticable in larger systems. Even if you manage to drip or dose Ca to keep up with your evaporation rate or top off, what if the tank need more Ca? You will need to add more liquid right? For those persons getting by with just dosing that is great, but ask yourself what your SPS bioload is like. Is it as packed as say Rogger's or Chris's tanks?

I am currently looking into getting a reactor because I cannot keep my Ca levels high enough with just dosing. If it try to increase my levels I just add more to the tanks volume.

As far as the reactor is concerned this unit will cycle the tanks current water through unit dissolving the Ca media into the passing water. There is no addition of any liquid to the system, just dissolved bicarbonate in the water.
The only concern I foresee with the reactor would be a drop in pH due to the addition of the CO2, this can easily be countered by adding Kalkwasser for your top-off water or using a Kalkreactor.

I am glad I did 4 semesters of CHEM LOL, it sure helped understand this reactor stuff.

Hope this helps, I don't mean to offend anyone this is just my understanding of the topic.

-Mike-

 

[jessp]

i have seen prices on some ca reactors from 179.00 - 500.00 bucks. why are some so cheap and others so expensive. and what are the advantages of the more expensive models?

 

[jessp]

also the ca reactor really helps buffering capacity as well if i understand correctly. so will this counteract the low ph released from the reactor?

 

[gasman059]

hey mike agree with some of your suggestions but by adding a two part calcium and alkalinity solution u avoid the above mentioned problems. For me was a lot moe than 4 semesters of science LOL. Here's the thing reefers all over use diff methods. I just saw a 350 thats dosed with c balance and i wish i'd taken some pics man that thing was LOADED, yes u go thru two bottles monthly and it adds up understood. I'm possibly getting into the ca ractor again but my current sps load is not that much as of today and my ca is in the 400 constantly for the last 4 months with good alk. Anyways to each his own. Most likely will b again using a reactor but not in the immediate future.

 

[Rogger Castells]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8678776#post8678776 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gasman059
A Calcium Reactor is a must in SPS's who ever says that they are not need it is most likely because they have not try them and see the results (I was one of them)

Mr. Castells I've tried both calcium reactor and not. My previous setup was a 450 and yes it had a reactor it was about ten years ago and d reactor was a knop It really was a pain after a while, but i'm not dissing them I think they are much better now than then. Me particularly decided to dose my new 200 with c-balance A+B products on a reefdosing pump and have been doing well for 8 months now. I debate weekly the need for a reactor. IMO yes u can run an sps system w/o it. At least i'm trying this way this time around will c.

[/IMG]

Gasman, you are absolutely right, sps's will survive and grow to limited extend on dosing 2 part solutions, are they better than a reactor? absolutely no, a good reactor that is properly tuned will supplement the calcium needs of your tank automatically for months at a time.

Are they cheaper than a reactor? only on the short run, but when you start buying a $30 gallon of solution every month you will soon find that they are way more expensive.


I did not mean any disrespect to you, but as I mentioned in my posting I was one of the persons that thought that a reactor was not need it, further more I was doing the 2 part solutions from scratch to offset the cost, my parameters were kept in line at around 430 and alk at arround 9.5dkh however, it wasn't until I hooked up the calcium reactor that I started seeing rapid growth in my corals before that they were just alive.

i

 

[chrisaggie]

I have seen some awesome tanks run completely on 2 part. In my mind there is no doubt that you can make a tank grow just as well on 2 part. It's just a different way. There was a tank of the month (German I think) which ran a huge sps system without a calcium reactor.

 

[gasman059]

Hey guys this certainly is a great forum, it allows for some idea exchange and knowledge sharing IMO the best way to always get better at this.
BTW any suggestions on current ca reactors.
I will be dosing the above mentioned system a 200 mixed/ in the future moslty sps.
I would appreciate some input form you local reefers regarding ease of use and quality of products, I've been considering a procal
form marinetech. Any other suggestions

 

[gasman059]

http://www.marinetechnical.com/page12.html