Whats your favorite method of SPS Husbandry?

[joefish]

OK Guys , I know there is some heated threads on this topic , But how about lumping them into one thread where a newbie can find them .

Let's try and follow some rules though .

1-If you can not admit there is more then one method that works , do not post here.

2-No flaming for someone who disagrees.

3-If you will get offended easily don't get involved.

4-Be prepared to show proof (pictures)of what you experienced.

5-Do your best to keep it civil , This is for fun and education not who's right and wrong .

Remember if it gets to ruff here I'm sure a Mod will close it .

Let the fun begin.

 

[esotsm1]

chisel and hammer, rustier the better

 

[esotsm1]

lol, j/k... i like coral cutters( i use wire cutters made to cut wires 1/2" and smaller) for frags that aren't too thick in diameter and for more difficult frags, i lead with a dremel and the take the (rusty) chisel and hammer.


____
is this what you meant?

 

[matt the fiddler]

water changes

water changes

i say mixing the salt in before you dump the water in the tank...

 

[shaw]

great light, water current, and low nutrients
shawn

 

[Travis]

This should have been a poll... My favorite right now is BB. That is what my current tank is and I have really liked the absense of nuisance algae infestations so far. Too early to see the long term results but I sure am happy with it so far. Tank has been set up BB 4 1/2 months now.

I was also happy with the first method I tried when I first started reefing. This was a shallow sand bed. The tank only had moderate flow, a weak skimmer, and VHO's. The corals seemed happy and I didn't have nuisance algae because I siphoned the sand every couple weeks. Of course, this tank was LPS and softies so I can't compare it to my sps tank that I have today.

My least favorite method was a DSB in my sps tank. I had a high turnover to the point where the sand was always getting stirred up. I also had a large oversized skimmer. I was also running a refugium and changing close to 50% of the water each month to try to get nutrient levels down. No matter what I did the tank was infested with nuisance algae. Honestly, I would still have to say that the sps corals seemed happy and healthy. They had great color and the growth rates were just fine. I just couldn't stand the algae.

 

[Travis]

Here is a pic from the sewer. See the icky poo-poo algae? That stuff was all over in this tank.

<img src=http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/17792sps_tort_2.jpg>

Here is another pic of the DSB tank. Like I said, I thought the corals seemed to be pretty happy.

<img src=http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/17792shot_from_left_side_12-30-03__Small_.jpg>

And here is the BB tank. Still young but I really like having clean rocks so far.

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/fish/page2/anthias3-12-10-04.jpg>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/full-tank-12-10-04.jpg>

Unfrotunately, I don't have any pics of when I had a SSB. I didn't have a digi cam back then.

 

[SeanT]

BB, good skimming, constant siphoning, well stocked clean up crew, smaller more frquent water changes than less frequent larger (this is acomplished during siphoning.

Maintain the status quo the best you can and let everyone get comfortable.

Bare skin not allowed in the tank.

 

[birdman204]

I prefer lambs wool over bearskin
Nutrient control is best, but I believe a low fish load helps tremendously, But with nutrient control , that can be handled.
I'd say a few things are important.
-Proper Light acclimation
-Vigorous, but not direct water flow
-Proper QT
<--- has paid the price, would you like to see some pictures of blue eye's eating polyps, or some zoa nudi's perhaps

 

[Bomber]

I try to keep phosphate levels as limited as possible. Whatever it takes.

 

[reefdood]

Husbandry? I guess mine is "hands on pristine look". If I see red/ cyano I remove it. If I see hair algae I remove it. Clean 4 sides of glass every 2 days. Clean skimmate daily. Blow off rocks weekly. etc. I won't allow the tank to look dirty so it always looks kinda pristine.

 

[Flanders]

I like to put salt water in a glass tank.

 

[my2girls]

Going BB for me was key. Also, the use of RO/DI and Phosban has helped with algae.

My least favorite husbandry method is my water top-off. I cant't even go a full day w/o running the return pump dry.

 

[boobookitty]

Zeovit, helping to keep a nutrient-poor environment.

Weekly water changes, whether I'm too tired or not.

For circulation/temp control/water top-off, redundancy, redundancy, and more redundancy. And maybe a touch more redundancy on top of that.

Arthur

 

[JB NY]

Let's see.

Presently using a DSB.

Mostly it's about strong water movement and aggressive skimming.

Daily
Feed Fish

Weekly
Blow off detritus from rocks
10% Water change
Siphon detritus from sump and BB refugium
empty skimmer and clean skimmer cup.
Clean glass with cleaning magnet

Monthly
Change out carbon
Change out rowaphos

That's about it.

For more info on check out these threads.

Let's talk about water quality in an SPS tank.

Lets talk about lighting an SPS tank

Let's talk about water movement in an SPS tank

 

[kev apsley]

I'd say water movement, the right stable lighting (not changing bulbs all the time trying to find the right one) and water changes along with correct levels of Ca/Alk/Mag

 

[joefish]

Great start guys ,

Lets get a little more into detail on why your method works though and the logic behind it .

If it's a DSB,SSB ,BB,Zeovit or any other major method , explain what's involved to make it work .

There are so many details left out when discussing these things .

Also lets discuss the down sides of each way . There is a negative to everything so let's get them out there .

 

[joefish]

Those are great links JBNY , thanks .

 

[joefish]

I like the BB method , those who know me know that by now.

The keys to make it work are
1-strong directed flow to keep the bottom of the tank detritus free and flowing to the skimmer .
2-strong skimmer that wet skims well .
3-siphon the detritus from the dead spots where there is no flow .Like between rocks or in the sump .

The logic behind is . If there is nothing in the tank to brake down then there should be no N03 or P04 .

Upsides are
1- it's very effective.
2-If the N03 is on the rise get a siphon and it's a quick fix.

Downsides are.
1-some people enjoy the look of sand better.
2-If you let the detritus sit to long the N03 will rise fast .

Would I suggest this to a person setting up "YES".
While it takes people a while to learn proper husbandry , the fixes from wrong doing is easy .

I think this BB method is not like the old Berlin style , just do to the improvements on the skimmers and ways to achieve flow .

I also do believe that other ways work , This way just makes the most sense to me .

Along with that , I don't run carbon , Phosban or Zeovit .
I do how ever run an UV sterilizer .

With the Carbon and Phosban , I didn't like the way it always released particles in the water . The UV does the water clarification for me .

I'm Lazy and don't like to many gadgets so this way works great for me so far .

 

[boobookitty]

Zeovit is a combination of the use of zeoliths rocks in a plain reactor (water flowing through it) in which the rocks can be "stirred" once or twice a day, and 3 basic additives (zeofood, seobac and zeostart) that are added daily for the first couple weeks, then twice a week. The zeoliths are replace at the 6-8 weeks mark, and the dosing goes back to daily for the first two weeks. No other feeding of SPS (golden pearls, rotifers, etc.) is done, nor are UV, ozone or phosphate removers used. Relatively low amounts of carbon are used, and a strong skimmer is required.

Pros: maintenance of a "nutrient poor" environment (very low levels of phosphates and nitrates); excellent SPS coloring; excellent SPS growth; pristine water quality; flexibility with use of sand (DSB or BB are fine); relatively low cost (at least compared to what I was doing before ); elimination of nuisance algae (hair, cyano, etc.)

Cons: good husbandry required (weekly 15% water change, etc.); daily/weekly dosing (although once stable, dosing can vary somewhat); some folks worry over what exactly is in the additives.

Obviously, I do recommend its use.

Arthur