suggestions for new sps keeper

[jquailus1]

So i am in the process of rebuilding a crashed tank, and plan on trying to keep some sps and am looking for some advice.

First a little background and basic info.

I have a 30 gal xtra tall 24 t 24 w 12 deep 10 gal sump 150w coralife mh pendant( new hamilton 14k bulb ) corallife t5 fixture with two atinics.

10 gal sump with ccs 65 ( being replaced next week) hopefully with a bubble magnus na6. my return pump gets around 500 appx gph with head loss, a tunze 6025 in the tank and a hydor korilla nano for xtra circ. about 20 lbs of lr in main tank and i just added about 12 lbs of base rock in my sump.

Im about to take the new rock and build a pillar out of it to get a place higher up to place the sps on.

so my tank crashed about two months ago and ive been slowly rebuilding it, ive gone bb and the only live stock that survived the crash were a mated pair of clowns.

Well ive rambled alot but any tip/suggestions/ advice would be great.

Ive been reefing for about 4 years

 

[Mariner]

Sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on things. What kind of advice are you looking for? Types of corals to get? Fish suggestions? Supplementation schemes? or ????
Mariner

 

[jquailus1]

supplement schemes yes. I am able to maintain stable params atleast stable enough for softys zoas etc. I am worried that they will not be stable enough for sps. I am also in the process of building a simple kalk drip to help with the stability.

Do i need more flow?

how close to the MH do the sps need to be?

I am going to build a pillar to get closer to the top, but the tank is 24 deep and I imagine ill only be 18 tall at the top of the pillar, with the mh 8 in off the water am i going to be getting enough par for good growth?

what are some of the most basic problems associated with sps?

 

[Mariner]

With your return, the Tunze and the Koralia, it sounds like you've got plenty of flow for a 30 tall. Your 150w MH is not going to punch light all the way to the bottom very well, but I think you know that. Placing the SPS up high on a rock pillar is an excellent solution.
I've dripped kalk in my tanks for years just using jugs and IV tubing. Works great. When I started adding sps and a clam a few years ago, calc and alk demand really went up. I've been adding copious amounts of Randy's two part every night for some time, on top of the kalk drip. Here's a link to the recipe for Randy's two part http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php. You'll find that fast growing SPS really soak up the calcium and alk
HTH,
Mariner

 

[cato]

Best thing I can recommend is read...read..and read some more.

 

[jquailus1]

ive been reading for years, sometimes it seems i learn more by asking than just trolling threads

 

[tibob32]

here's my recipe: two part dosing, strong lights, strong current and cheato in the sump

 

[mcoomer]

If I may add to that recipe. Consistent water changes with good RODI and precise control of salinity when making water. Make it the same way every time and make to the correct salinity. Do not try to make changes in you tank by changing the salinity of your fresh saltwater. If you need to raise or lower the salinity in your tank do it over a period of time by adding or removing small amounts of water from the sump.

 

[jquailus1]

thanks guys.

I still buy my water at the lfs, but i test it before u add to the tank, salinity stays very stable. I need to look into this two part dosing ive never done that before

 

[luther1200]

My biggest tip would be, think carefully when making a purchase. If you are planning SPS then things like Mushrooms and large LPS (Hammers, Torches) are probably not a good match, IME. Mushrooms just get all over the tank and can sting SPS very badly. And Hammers and such have very long sweepers that can also do severe damage. Not to mention pieces can get ripped off and land on SPS and damge them. Also many leathers will release toxins if they get to close to other corals and this can get ugly too. I had a large Sarcophyton in my tank and had to remove it becase of the constant "biological warfare", the surrounding SPS were always closed up until I removed it. No matter how much carbon I ran. So make sure you think things through, I didn't and I am regretting it now.

 

[jcal]

consistency with water parameters and good husbandry is what I advice with new sps tanks.