Bretts SPS Deskmate build

BZreef16 · Dec 21, 2022

Update:
Pigment loss in SPS was becoming concerning. I dialed back the Prime 25% and increased the dosing of AFR to 2.5ml/day. Now everything is looking great. Frags are starting to encrust and the Turbinaria which i thought i lost has regained color and has great PE. Im finally seeing good coraline growth as well.

New additions:
Fish:
Percular Clown

Coral:
Candy Cane
Kenya Tree
Frogspawn

Next steps:
I ordered Korallen Z Nano pack to try my hand with additional trace elements.

Gumbies R Us · Dec 21, 2022

Tank looks really good on the desk!! I always love the idea of doing small tanks that you can just put on a desk

829282610 · Jan 5, 2023

Really liking your tank and gear. I was wondering if you had to cut the overflow back to accommodate the mini pumps flow? I have the same pump coming and I thought it went from 34gph-266gph. Any suggestions?

BZreef16 · Jan 5, 2023

Update:

Things are doing good and levels are becoming consistent. Birdsnest is beginning to branch quite a bit and montis are encrusting nicely. Zoas are still slow-going but there opening nicely. Im getting a lot of Spiribods so ill have to take a scrapper to manage those soon. To balance out my nitrates, i started feeding frozen foods instead of pellets.

Weekly readings are around

Temp 79 (used to swing 2 degrees/day but new thermostat keeps that down to 1)
PH 8.2
Alk - 9
P04 - .04
N03 - 0
Mag (need to get a test kit
Cal - 420
Salinity - 1.026

Dosing:
Capped AFR at 3ml/day
Started Korallen:
Amino Acid - 1drop/day
Pohl Xtra 1 drop/day
Coral Vit - 1 drop/every 2 days
Sponge Power - 1 drop/week

1G water change every week.

BTW these images are using only whites to balance the blue for the camera. @ESHOPPS.INC Got any extra lens filters??

BZreef16 · Jan 5, 2023

Nanofreak said:
Really liking your tank and gear. I was wondering if you had to cut the overflow back to accommodate the mini pumps flow? I have the same pump coming and I thought it went from 34gph-266gph. Any suggestions?

technically I was able to keep the slots stock.....BUT anything besides the lowest setting and the water became very close to the top. I was scared o this incase i forgot to change the filter media and it became clogged.

Since i wanted versatility, i ended up cutting the slots with a dremel and using the 3D printed cover. As longs as i keep my filter media somewhat clean......the water level remains low even with higher settings

829282610 · Jan 5, 2023

not sure where I’d get the inlet cover? I will have to do similar I assume. Thanks for the info.

GatorGreg · Jan 18, 2023

Nanofreak said:
not sure where I’d get the inlet cover? I will have to do similar I assume. Thanks for the info.

Yeah that inlet cover is the beesknees. I like it alot.

Haggisman14 · Feb 7, 2023

Great job! Beautiful tank you have there!

ozz007 · Feb 22, 2023

Is this the Mighty Pump you got? or the 326?

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BZreef16 · Feb 22, 2023

ozz007 said:
Is this the Mighty Pump you got? or the 326?

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Yup, I have this one. I also have a split nozzle return, one of which has a random flow generator, one kept open to circulate around tank

ozz007 · Feb 23, 2023

BZreef16 said:
Yup, I have this one. I also have a split nozzle return, one of which has a random flow generator, one kept open to circulate around tank

I will order the pump and the RFG; what setting do you have your pump on?

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ozz007 · Feb 23, 2023

ozz007 said:
I will order the pump and the RFG; what setting do you have your pump on?

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Also, where did you get cover for the tank opening to get more flow inn? I could use one.

doubleshot00 · Feb 23, 2023

BZreef16 said:
Update:

Things are doing good and levels are becoming consistent. Birdsnest is beginning to branch quite a bit and montis are encrusting nicely. Zoas are still slow-going but there opening nicely. Im getting a lot of Spiribods so ill have to take a scrapper to manage those soon. To balance out my nitrates, i started feeding frozen foods instead of pellets.

Weekly readings are around

Temp 79 (used to swing 2 degrees/day but new thermostat keeps that down to 1)
PH 8.2
Alk - 9
P04 - .04
N03 - 0
Mag (need to get a test kit
Cal - 420
Salinity - 1.026

Dosing:
Capped AFR at 3ml/day
Started Korallen:
Amino Acid - 1drop/day
Pohl Xtra 1 drop/day
Coral Vit - 1 drop/every 2 days
Sponge Power - 1 drop/week

1G water change every week.

BTW these images are using only whites to balance the blue for the camera. @ESHOPPS.INC Got any extra lens filters??

These are so cool but so overpriced. Wish IM would come out with a 5gal version of there desktop. I want one just for two jerk clowns.

BZreef16 · Feb 23, 2023

ozz007 said:
Also, where did you get cover for the tank opening to get more flow inn? I could use one.

I had a friend with a 3D printer make it. My pump is on the lowest setting which the stock overflow slots can handle. BUT keep an eye on your mechanical filtration and change it out frequently. I was tired of changing the socks so also printed a media cup and use lower micro pads that i swap out.

ozz007 · Feb 23, 2023

BZreef16 said:
I had a friend with a 3D printer make it. My pump is on the lowest setting which the stock overflow slots can handle. BUT keep an eye on your mechanical filtration and change it out frequently. I was tired of changing the socks so also printed a media cup and use lower micro pads that i swap out.

Great to hear; I order the Deskmate; I'm not a fan of filter sucks.

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ozz007 · Feb 24, 2023

I am running into the issue where the input water is insufficient to keep the pump running, not even in the lowest setting. The water goes low.

No sucks or anything on the tank, just free. So when I get to put media and floss, it won't work; I think I will cut open the slide to get more water in the system.

BZreef16 · Feb 24, 2023

ozz007 said:
I am running into the issue where the input water is insufficient to keep the pump running, not even in the lowest setting. The water goes low.

No sucks or anything on the tank, just free. So when I get to put media and floss, it won't work; I think I will cut open the slide to get more water in the system.

Yes, your display level will greatly increase while your sump level is low. I was able to maintain the new flow rate with the stock overflow...BUT for good measure i went ahead and cut the slots to allow more flow. Other deskmate owners have done the same.

One thing to note that the RFG will bottleneck the flow rate some so thats perhaps why i never had an issue.

You could always put a small ball valve on the return line to dial it back.

BZreef16 · Mar 13, 2023

Update:

Had a salinity issue with an uncalibrated refractometer. It got down to 1.022. Slowly brought it back to 1.026. This could be why i loss some color in a few frags.

Im trying a new light setting based on another user. I also dialed back the intensity considering my LFS only uses blues on their tanks maxed out at 290 PAR. The Kenya tree wasnt opening at all so i think it was because my lights were way to intense.

The Yellow cup was beginning to shade other corals so i reworked a bunch of frags. Hopefully wont have to move and change anything for a while.

Started dosing nitrates and are now steady at 5ppm. Also started adding Red Sea AB. Everything seems to be growing well. Just waiting to get some color back in the birdsnest and acro.