Vortech MP10, BRS 2-Part Dosing, & ATI Bulbs

[FrankAbagnale]

Hoping I can get some advice on a few things I was planning on buying this week.

2 Vortech MP10wES Pumps - Anyone use two of these on a 40 Breeder? From what I've read, they seem to bring a lot of value to the tank. I am definitely wanting some SPS. Should I also get the wireless expansion module? If I'm going to use my Apex with these, I'm going to have to buy another Energy Bar(plan on the two dosing pumps below as well).

BRS 2 Part Dosing Kit - Was planning on picking this up as well. Any negatives to me going this route? Should I get the 1/2 Gallon or 1 Gallon kit? This comes with the two 1.1mL dosing pumps.

ATI Bulbs - I have an AquaticLife 6 Bulb T5HO fixture with individual reflectors. I was planning on the below config from front to back. Any thoughts on this, or changes I should make?

Blue+
Aquablue Sp.
Blue+
Purple+
Aquablue Sp.
Blue+

Any help is greatly appreciated. You can check out my build via my below signature. Have plenty of pictures and a GoPro video of me putting my system together.

 

[Sniperhank]

Skip on the dosing. It takes a heavily stocked SPS tank to use so much of the calcium, mag, alk to require dosing. Water changes will supply all elements required. The rest sounds pretty solid, especially the MP10s. I have a MP40, along with other powerheads, on my 55 reef and love it and the rest of my ecotech products.

 

[FrankAbagnale]

Skip on the dosing. It takes a heavily stocked SPS tank to use so much of the calcium, mag, alk to require dosing. Water changes will supply all elements required. The rest sounds pretty solid, especially the MP10s. I have a MP40, along with other powerheads, on my 55 reef and love it and the rest of my ecotech products.

Sounds good. I'll skip the dosing. Is it worth while for me to go ahead and pick up a test kit for calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium? Just for knowledge sake..

What's your thoughts on carbon and gfo? Is that anything I should worry about? I figured I could throw some chemipure in the sump if need be.

 

[Sniperhank]

Step 1 - get the tank going. Until you start going at things, there is little to no need to worry about testing calcium, alk, or mag. You sure will if you want a SPS dominated tank. That testing will tell you when your tank is growing SO fast, you'll have to start dosing. In reality, you'll know this because you will have a tank so full you'll have to set up another one for either frags or a larger tank for the massive colonies you are growing.

In terms of carbon and GFO, I run varieties on my system. Some people need it, others don't. I use Purigen, phosguard, and chemipure elite. Not all at the same time, but those are my favorite products rather than straight carbon or gfo due to clumping on gfo and carbon dust. When running these products, you CAN just toss it in a main flow area in your sump, but it will be more effective when run in a reactor.

In all honesty, if this system was going to be very light on fish you can stay light on the media being run on the system. But, the stocking will determine the filtration you'll want.

 

[FrankAbagnale]

Makes sense. Not sure on what I'll be stocking yet, but I doubt it will be light and definitely won't overstock. Sounds like I need to play these things by ear when I get to that point. Ill order up the Vortechs and wireless module and go ahead and grab the T5 bulbs. I appreciate the help. I'm checking out your 55 build right now.

 

[fort384]

I agree with everything Hank said.

I run 2 MP10s on a 57 gallon tank that is similarly shaped to a 40 breeder and they work great.

I run the BRS 2 Part dosing system as well, but I added it about a year after the tank was setup and I had the tank stocked with coral.

I run a reactor with a mix of carbon and GFO and it works well, but it does clump as Hank pointed out... to keep dust down I pack the filter cartridge tight with a GFO/carbon mix so there is as little tumbling as possible, but in the end it only lasts for 2-3 weeks before it is clumped so tightly that I can't get much flow through it any more. This was also added much later down the path of the tank, probably a year or more after startup.

It sounds like you are going down the right path - just remember each tank is different, and you may not even have a need for GFO, Carbon, or 2 part dosing depending on how you setup and stock your system. Water changes take care of an awful lot of problems.