Sps nano tank need advice

[furrymurray]

I have a tank that I would to turn into a sps dominate tank. I will be taking everything out and transfering to my other tanks so this one is only sps. I have some monti caps and pavonas but that is the only sps that I have experience with so I need advice on what I need to do, how to do it, what to dose, different equipment etc

What equipment I currently have for this tank:

30 gallon half moon tank
Aqua c remora skimmer with preskimmer box
Eheim heater and digital thermometer
AI nano LED light
Vortech MP 10 powerhead

I will be removing everything over time, including live rock and sand. I will have new live rock and have a bare bottom without sand. The only live stock will be a flame tail goby, a royal gramma, cleaner shrimp, and a couple sexy shrimp.

I normally change 5 gallons of water out every two weeks and my nitrates are almost 0. Should I dose anything? Need different/better equipment? Anything suggestions? What sps would be good to start with? Thanks everyone

 

[fort384]

Grab some birdsnest to start. They are easy.

As far as equipment, you probably have the minimums covered - but as you continue to add SPS, keep a very close eye on your Alk and Ca levels. You might find yourself having to setup a 2 part system or use another method to dose Alk and Ca as 5 gallons every 2 weeks won't replenish those levels if the tank has a bunch of SPS in it.

 

[furrymurray]

Thanks for the help. I never dosed calcium before only replenished with water changes. I do have alk and ca testing kits but what type of dosing system do you recommend?

 

[fort384]

I have the BRS system on my 57 reef and love it. I noticed a tremendous difference after stabilizing the system at a specific Ca and Alk level. SPS dominant systems can be tough to maintain with just water changes.

Here is the starter system that I have:
BRS 2 Part Calcium & Alkalinity Total Package with Dosers - Bulk Reef Supply

To that you would need to add 2 dosing containers (almost anything will work), I have these only because the space available called for a very narrow and tall container: Bubble Magus Liquid Storage Container - Bulk Reef Supply

And also you will need 2 digital timers, something like:
EcoPlus Dual Digital Timer - Bulk Reef Supply

It is much more economical to buy the chemicals in bulk powder form like this, and mix them yourself.

Even if you buy from somewhere else, BRS has some good instructions and videos on the subject to get more comfortable with it:
Instructions for Bulk Packaged Materials - Instructions - Bulk Reef Supply

Also, this would be an addition for down the road, depending on how fast you stocked the tank. Initially your water changes would probably be sufficient. But I would recommend testing Ca and Alk once per week, and TRACKING the results. If you see it declining week over week, even with water changes, and even slight declines, it would be beneficial to add a 2 part system. Stability is a big part of growing SPS, and a 2 part system will help stabilize your Alk and Ca levels to be nearly identical week to week.

 

[Phranque]

What kind of test kits are you using? If you're going to keep SPS in a nano, and plan on dosing, you're going to have to be pretty spot-on.... don't skimp here.

I'm partial to the "fingering" SPS's since room is at a premium in a nano.... encrusting, plating, & chalicing corals take up a lot of valuable floor space. As far as the easier end of SPS, I'd recommend digitatas, birdsnests, and then maybe milleporas. I haven't stepped into acros yet, but from what I understand, the green bali slimer isn't bad to keep.... I may try one of those next.

One thing I can tell you.... you will be upping your water change schedule. In order to maintain good water quality, 5 gallons every other week probably isn't going to cut it. I may be a little overkill, but I do two 4 gallon water changes a week in my 28 gallon, but that's with 2 fish producing waste (ocellaris & six-line)...... I don't know if you plan on having fish or not.

As far as dosing, nutrients are at a premium in a small tank, and once you get a few fast growers in there, you will likely need to dose. I use home-made 2-part, and started off hand dosing..... it worked, but got old real fast. After about a month, I broke down & picked up a pair of BRS dosing pumps. Since I didn't have any room around the tank, I put them on a shelf in the basement right below the tank, and ran the lines up throgh the floor.

 

[furrymurray]

Thanks everyone. This awesome info. Exactly what I was needed. . I am going to go slowly but I want to do it right the first time. Do you think the aqua illumination nano blue is good enough for the tank or should I go bigger like with a AI sol?

 

[furrymurray]

Oh and i use Api alk and calcium test and red sea nitrate pro for nitrates

 

[fort384]

I think the lighting will be sufficient.

 

[Phranque]

I'd ditch the API and go with the Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro kit for calc, alk, & mag, and you're going to need a good phosphate test as well... Red Sea's is decent for accuracy, but can be hard to read. The Hanna phosphate checker is a bit pricey, but extremely accurate & worth every penny when it comes to ease of use.

 

[furrymurray]

Ok sounds good. I have been looking st those hanna checkers . Do you use carbon or purigen or anything like that?

 

[Sniperhank]

If there will be no livestock besides the sps and you don't feed your corals you shouldn't need to run anything on the system.

 

[fort384]

Agreed... if it is a coral only system, there will be no need to run carbon or gfo, or purigen.

I also agree on the red sea test kits. They are much easier to read, and have much higher resolution.

The HANNA checkers are decent as well, though the only 1 I really recommend is for PO4 (which you should not have a problem with in a coral only system anyway). The others work well, but really aren't any faster or more accurate than the red sea kits.

 

[Sniperhank]

I have all 3, alk, calcium, and phosphate in Hanna Checkers. The phosphate and alk are simple to use. The Calcium is simple as well, just has an extra step in there that makes it a pain.

 

[furrymurray]

Ok great. So you dont feed your sps? I use coral frenzy and cyclopeeze in my other tanks. And thank you for all this wonderful info

 

[Sniperhank]

Ok great. So you dont feed your sps? I use coral frenzy and cyclopeeze in my other tanks. And thank you for all this wonderful info

Nope, not needed.

 

[furrymurray]

Ok. . Thank you for guiding thru this. I may have a few questions as I go along

 

[fort384]

Feeding SPS is not really necessary.

This is a member's tank (Ziggy) not mine... He gets amazing growth & coloration, and never feeds anything but flake for his fish. Sorry for the circles I just happen to have it on my photobucket 'cause we were talking about something with his tank:

I don't think there is anything wrong with feeding, and some people get great results. But to keep a tank simple, it might be best to avoid it. It is tough to argue with the results ziggy achieves.

 

[furrymurray]

Oh wow beautiful tank! I am not so nervous now jumping into this project. I am going to get all the new equipment and better testing supplies before I start. I would like to get the hang of the two part dosing system before I add too many corals. If I mess something up I would rather do it with a tank with just a couple sps insteaad of a tank full . Are there any sps that would be good towards the bottom of the tank where the light may not be as intense?

 

[Phranque]

Ok sounds good. I have been looking st those hanna checkers .

Between the Reef Pro kit & the Hanna, you're looking at dropping about a hundred bucks, but trust me, once you use them, you won't regret the purchase....

Do you use carbon or purigen or anything like that?

Yes, I do.... I use a product called "Clear Fx Pro" by Blue Life. I just happened to be at the LFS last summer when a rep was there trying to get him to carry the product. The rep gave the owner a few to try in the store, and he handed me one, asked me to try it out, and let him know what I thought, so I figured what the heck.....
Well, I thought my water was pretty clear, but after having that in the sump for a couple of days, my tank was so clear that if it wasn't for the shimmer, you wouldn't have known there was water in it..... Even my wife, who couldn't give two bits about my fish tank hobby, noticed how clear & vibrant everything looked, so I've kept using it. The LFS owner loved it as well..... he carries it and runs it in his coral display sumps.

 

[Vazter]

Heres my nano sps only 1 clown fish

I test my water almost everyday with salifert and drip kalkwasser 1 min every hours to keep alk ,ca,ph stable , feed reef chilli once a week and just started dosing Pohl's Xtra 1 drop daily

Last week i had alk swing some of my sps start to bleach

For sps nano make sure you keep nan eye on Ca,alk,mAg , test with different test kit