With SPS will old fashion discipline equal success?

[aaron1129]

Hey there everyone I am in process of setting up a 80 gallon rimless right now, and I have been reading so many threads and articles trying to best prepare myself to have a successful tank. I have a great LFS and the owners is super informative.

So, just a little background (feel free to skip), I have been keeping fish for years and am very comfortable with water chemistry and most of the basics. I had a 120 gallon reef I set up 10 years ago at my parents house. I had a few SPS in there I believe I had a pink birds nest, and a bali green slimer, and they both grew like crazy. I checked the alk, calcium, and mag, and I maintained levels with EVS 2 part, and the tank looked nice, I had metal halide lights with CF. It was not SPS heavy by any means, and I has pretty young and still learning. I moved out and now have a house of my own, and a steady career that can support my hobby.

I guess what I want to know is can I successfully keep most SPS as long as I have the disciple to keep the water chemistry stable, and I have adequate flow and light?

I have seen it over and over on these forums and on youtube videos some of the best reefers saying that good cleaning, water changing, dosing and testing practices, will yield good result. I heard the guy on tidal gardens say it, I read it on a couple of the tank of the month threads. I just want to have confidence that it's not some mystery keeping an SPS tank. And that as long as I do things the right way, I can do it well.

Now, i understand things always happen and we have to come up with solutions to fix them, but that is the fun in reefing. I am speaking in general terms. I want to take a holistic approach.

Thanks for taking the time for reading and helping me with my new project.
I will give more specifics on the tank in another post, possibly a build thread.

 

[dadummy]

lol @ old fashion, yup it still works, live rock, flow, light and stable parameters grow sps. Seems more like the basics than old fashioned and has been proven to work. You could spend a lot of money buying, controllers, reactors, dosers, additives, fancy disco balls for lights and still not have a successful tank if you don't understand the basics. Keep it simple

 

[rovster]

lol @ old fashion, yup it still works, live rock, flow, light and stable parameters grow sps. Seems more like the basics than old fashioned and has been proven to work. You could spend a lot of money buying, controllers, reactors, dosers, additives, fancy disco balls for lights and still not have a successful tank if you don't understand the basics. Keep it simple

+1. I've been guilty of over complicating things. Acros can be quite stressful but oh so rewarding to watch them grow.

 

[aaron1129]

Thanks for the responses.

Man rovster, that golden retriever looks ferocious in your picture, I know it can not be that mean though. I had a golden retriever my whole life and he was as nice as a dog could be haha.

 

[rovster]

Thanks for the responses.

Man rovster, that golden retriever looks ferocious in your picture, I know it can not be that mean though. I had a golden retriever my whole life and he was as nice as a dog could be haha.

We have 2 of them! In that pic the female was biting him in the butt, they like to horse around in the evenings. They are sweet and chill most of the time, lol!

 

[Wazzel]

Old school still works. For the most part I run the Berlin method. I do have a doses for my two part, but no reactors, no magic juice, no complicated nothing.

 

[MidwesternTexan]

It's not that old of any schools, but running a simple algae turf scrubber will keep things uncomplicted long term for next to nothing in cost.

 

[ReefBum]

Stability with parameters is key (test regularly), especially with alkalinity. Good husbandry is also critical, as it is important to keep up with maintenance on equipment, perform regular water changes and observe your tank on a daily basis to make sure things are ok. Laziness can be a killer in this hobby.

Of course strong lighting, a good calcium and alkalinity supplementation system and strong circulation are important as well. I also like to keep a slightly "dirty" tank with barely detectable levels of nitrates and phosphates. I rely on a high import/export system with strong skimming, large weekly water changes (10%) and I feed my fish heavily (fish poop is good for corals).

Above all, try to keep things simple.

 

[79chopperdr]

All true above. One thing I see that is needed also is faith. What I mean is if your committed to a simple discipline stick to it through thick and thin. The tank will have ups and downs. Random corals will go t*ts up for no apparent reason. Don't freak out and make reactive changes. Stick to your routine. Reefing is a marathon not a sprint. Good luck!

 

[polywise]

aaron1129,

Reefbum said it well.

For me;
I run a calcium reactor, a good skimmer, and 750 pounds of live rock that's all
on my 600 gallon system, I do 30% volume wc / month broken down into weekly changes.
I feel to start - you need to have a very good RODI unit that you can monitor TDS, keep your CA, KH, and MG a acceptable range.
and change your lights out frequently.
I change my MH ad VHO every 9 months..