What are good beginner SPS?

[roxy25]

. I read some books and some threads online and this what I got

CA reactor
Protein skimmer
MH lighting
Strong currant

Also, what else would I need to keep them alive and happy?

So far I have a empty 20 gallon I am working on,
It’s a drilled acrylic tank with 175w MH, four fans, and a plain 10 gallon tank as the sump. I have some loc-line for the bulkheads drilled in the tank.

I have all the test kits I need (have them don’t even use them for my 10 gallon tank lol)

I am getting a Mag 7 pump for flow, an ASM or Remora protein skimmer (don’t know what model or what kind)

As for the plain 10 gallon tank how would I turn it into a working sump?

 

[ezcompany]

roxy, check out my tank on nano-reef

 

[laverda]

Monti Caps are the easiest, then Pricillapora. (How ever that is spelled) Why dosen't the reef central spell checker have this stuf in it???

 

[Frankysreef]

monti digis are easy too.

 

[roxy25]

what are some sps to stay away from till i get the hang of it?
also is it better to dose or use a CA reactor ?

last question what are some good books to get ? ( only got 3 responses?) so i will look in a book to get some more ideas of what to do . ( I know all you sps owners on here chime in)

 

[rscott76]

the ca reactor would def be best since it would be consistant and require little maintenence aside from keepint the bottle pressure up. the only advantage dosing really has is the co$t of the ca ractor initial setup.



but then again...if your tank is only 10gal...you may just have to dose to make it worth while. im not sure if the ca reactor can be toned down so low. Also...make sure you keep up 100% with the maintenence. missing top off for two or 3 days will change your water chemistry drastically and SPS dont like that.

 

[roxy25]

I sold my ten and have a 20 I am trying to put together.

I didnt know Ca reactors where only for bigger tanks I just assumed you can turn them down to what ever you need. Thanks I didnt know that.

How much would I have to dose every day? or once a week? ( trying see how much I am looking at a month)

 

[rscott76]

dosing would really depend on how much of a load you have on the tank. i was dosing daily when i was running my nano as an sps tank along with the daily topoffs to avoid any huge parameter change at one time....kind of a pain in the butt.

im probably wrong about the ca reactor...im sure you can turn the drip rate and the bubble rate down. try dosing first and test often to find out where your tank needs are at. you might be able to get away with not dosing and just doing water changes if your demand isnt that high.

 

[tmplge]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8381912#post8381912 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by laverda
Monti Caps are the easiest, then Pricillapora. (How ever that is spelled) Why dosen't the reef central spell checker have this stuf in it???

HAHA, yeah why doesnt reefcentral have these in their spell check?

 

[glaudds]

Re: What are good beginner SPS?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8381241#post8381241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by roxy25
.

Also, what else would I need to keep them alive and happy?


As for the plain 10 gallon tank how would I turn it into a working sump?

It's good you're doing research....SPS requires a mature, stable system for success.

As for a sump, probably a few baffles to trap bubbles would be advisable...with a ten gallon, you don't have a lot of room to work with.

 

[roxy25]

Re: Re: What are good beginner SPS?

Re: Re: What are good beginner SPS?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8393287#post8393287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by glaudds
It's good you're doing research....SPS requires a mature, stable system for success.

As for a sump, probably a few baffles to trap bubbles would be advisable...with a ten gallon, you don't have a lot of room to work with.

Yes I always do research before I get any animal. I am kind of embarrassed to say I spent 8 years researching this breed of dog and I still dont have one yet LOL. I even spent 3 on SW aquariums and I finally had the money to start on this year !


anyways where can I get these baffles ? would I just take it to a glass shop or can I just go to HD and get some glass ?

o and is there a particular design I should go by ? Most likely I will be getting a ASM skimmer I think the sump remoras are too big for the 10 gallon sump

 

[glaudds]

Re: Re: Re: What are good beginner SPS?

Re: Re: Re: What are good beginner SPS?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8393347#post8393347 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by roxy25
anyways where can I get these baffles ? would I just take it to a glass shop or can I just go to HD and get some glass ?

o and is there a particular design I should go by ? Most likely I will be getting a ASM skimmer I think the sump remoras are too big for the 10 gallon sump

Yep, a glass shop will cut them to size for you, and then you would need to silicone them into the tank.

This site will give you lots of ideas...
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

 

[roxy25]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What are good beginner SPS?

Re: Re: Re: Re: What are good beginner SPS?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8393416#post8393416 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by glaudds
Yep, a glass shop will cut them to size for you, and then you would need to silicone them into the tank.

This site will give you lots of ideas...
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

Thanks for that web link lots of info there !

I also think I found a skimmer that is perfect fit for my sump

AquaC Urchin In-Sump I didnt know they made them like the hang on models.

so I will probably get this one.