thinking about converting my 180g into a NPS tank.

[fishkid6692]

i have always been really interested in NPS corals but never tried them because of how hard people said they were. I wanted to know what it would take to convert it to be a nice set up for NPS. this is my build thread and it has a list of all the equipment i'm running. Here's a picture of the tank.

i am also running a 15 gallon tank off of the same sump and make i can just keep the NPS in there? i figured the food would get diluted because i was only feeding the 15g. thanks in advance!

-matt

 

[fishkid6692]

oh and here's my build thread with all my equipment. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1675399

 

[flying_dutchman]

I wanted to know what it would take to convert it to be a nice set up for NPS.

A LOT of care/ attention. Depending on the types of corals you want to keep continuous infusion of food or at least 8x daily. Also be ready to do a lot of water changes

I'd try SPS first

 

[Western_reefer]

I read you can't keep SPS in the tank? If not, I'd wait till you can keep SPS, then once the SPS are doing well, start adding NPS stuff.

 

[fishkid6692]

okay thanks. i guess i'll hold off.

 

[Aquabacs]

PM'd you






Mike

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

I read you can't keep SPS in the tank? If not, I'd wait till you can keep SPS, then once the SPS are doing well, start adding NPS stuff.

I'm going to have to interject to this logic. While I would agree that lots of prior experience in reef keeping is invaluable for anyone attempting NPS, setting up a tank in such a manner is a big mistake. Considering all of the challenges and special requirements of NPS tanks, why would you want to complicate the matter by running an NPS/SPS tank? If you're really interested in keeping NPS, gather all the knowledge you can and plan out your tank with as much forethought as possible.

 

[fishkid6692]

i guess i'll just read through the NPS forum so i can learn as much as i can and maybe in a few months i'll start adding NPS. is there any major things i need to do? i know i will need to feed 8-10 times a day and i am prepared for that. also, i have SPS that are doing well and growing but i just don't have a lot. thanks for the help and if anyone has any good articles for me to read please LMK.

-matt

 

[flying_dutchman]

Cool NPS tanks with helpfull info/ inspiration:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1845922
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1872895
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1809817
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1773991
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-02/feature/index.php

Useful threads:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1832601
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1760416
http://stonyreef.com/blog/2008/feedi...ellate-corals/

Also check out the Ultimate Reef azoo forum, lot's of great threads.

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Probably the best advice for what to do right now would be to figure out exactly which NPS corals you want in your tank (Dendrophyllia, Dendronephthya, sea fans, etc.). Then, figure out what other people who are successful with these corals are doing and what challenges they face. Tailor your current habits for taking care of your current tank, such as feeding your tank at the same amount you would with the corals, adding the necessary equipment, doing the same amount of water changes, etc. Finally, once you have everything established and everything is stable for a couple of months, start slowly adding some corals.

The most important idea in this whole spiel is to focus on exactly what NPS corals you want to keep and figure out what you need to provide for their maintenance. It is simple advice, but only a very small minority of people take this approach. Almost everyone whose tried, myself included, have been guilty of the "mixed reef" approach with NPS. I don't think I'm alone among those who've had their share of failure and success with NPS to realize that this approach is a mistake.

 

[fishkid6692]

i've kept Dendrophyllia before and i never had trouble keeping it. I honestly don't know that many NPS corals. I read through Aquabacs build thread and learned a lot, his tank was amazing. I was going to do just NPS in the 180g so I'd like to have a variety of diff. NPS. maybe some feather stars down the road. thanks for all the help!

flying_dutchman- thanks for the links! i'll read through them tonight!

-matt

 

[uhuru]

Almost everyone whose tried, myself included, have been guilty of the "mixed reef" approach with NPS.

Yup, I'm guilty of this too. Not saying it can't be done, but you make things a lot harder for yourself when you're still trying to figure things out.

The mixed reef approach works if you stick to the azoox LPS, like dendrophyllia and tubastrea. By the sound of your posts though, you won't be able to stop there, especially if you're already talking about keeping crinoids.