I need the recipe

[TJ's Reef]

I do apollogize a bit for earlier rant and like where this thread has gone on the water nutrient/chemistry aspects. SPS, LPS and Soft Coral mostly have quite different like or more accurately have different strengths to endure certain conditions. A so-called mixed Reef is by far the hardest system to manage and partly what draws me to it. Going fully one direction or the other will indeed lead to decisions based on the needs of chosen livestock without much compromise. This alone will greatly increase the stability and ease up on the maintenance duties.

Last bit on the LED topic though then hold my tongue any further :crossedlips:

THE FACTS: Plants/Corals do not care or have any preference to where the light (PUR) is coming from..... period
It is all about the wavelengths of light spectrum and amount or percentage of each. Broad spectrum lamps have multiple spikes in the spectral ranges that Photosynthesis occurs but even the best have spikes in wavelengths we or the coral do not like/use. LED's give us the ability to create a nearly perfect PAR/PUR then adjust or add certain wavelengths that will fluoresce specific coral pigments we want to see. The percentage of intensity or output must be controlled not to overdo it just as in MH or T5's ie; MH's are a good light source we all know but would you place a 400-1000w over a 29 Bio-Cube :doh: I think not..... so common sense says that broad spectrum LED fixtures are a great light source but need to be intensity adjusted to fit certain criteria as in Coral type right ?

So back to the sump / no sump debate....... I think that there is way more benefits to having one on any system and all stated above. Increased water volume, place for mechanical equipment, use of overflows in DT to remove surface film, a place for an ATO system etc...

Cheers, Todd

 

[dodgerblew]

I agree about T5 being the way to go with a couple exceptions. The only LED I would recommend over a LPS nano would be Kessil. I ran two 150's over my nano and my acans and LPS did not morph at all for a year. They are not as high par as some LED. When I switched to a Radion at low % all my LPS morphed within 3 weeks and could not get them back for months no matter what I tried. When I switched to an ATI T5 dimmable 6 bulb everything started to morph back within a week and you can add a Reefbrites strip to your fixture and get better color and shimmer. Hope this helps. I also would most definitely run a skimmer. Weekly water changes are a must for me on my nano just to keep my water parameters stabile. I don't run dosers or reactors but I do dose Red Sea NO3 PO4 X daily

 

[Tab28]

*one more thing...

i had a cornbred trash mummy eye chalice that absolutely loved the bright light of the leds before i changed them. not all chalice are low light seeking. the mummy eye never faded/bleached/looked like it was suffering - in fact it was exactly the opposite. grew quickly and had the most electricfying green/orange color in the tank.

Some chalices can be accustomed to high light. Mummy eye will get an orange cast over its green base when in higher light. I had CB mummy which i think is a best mummy eye. I preferred the insane neon green of low light.

 

[TJ's Reef]

BennyZ, Nice job on your lighting looks great.

Cheers, Todd

 

[dodgerblew]

I keep a watermelon chalice at the top of my nano under a six bulb and it's growth and color is very good

 

[ReeferBill]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I really tend to want to avoid the sump because I think it will be overkill. I know they are the preferred way to filter, and I agree/understand all the reasons, but is it NECESSARY? With a few corals in the tank, and weekly water changes, is it overkill?

 

[dodgerblew]

I have an all in one so I am basically sumpless

 

[J062682l]

Water change is a must, I have a 55 and I water change 10 gals, every week. No sump I have a crappy canister but no nitrate or phosphates ,,, the canister is not that bad I have a bristle worm population in the canister. Which cleans up

 

[TJ's Reef]

No, a sump is not necessary but eliminates the biggest problem I see in keeping a higher nutrient LPS system is the proteins that will accumulate at surface. A HOB skimmer with surface siphoning attachment could be a reasonable option though. I totally understand where you'd like to go with this in keeping it simple and enjoyable without it becoming a daily chore. AIO's are another option worth exploring and why I believe are so popular with so many people. A stripped down version without all the gimickery might be the ticket for you ???

Cheers, Todd

 

[Tab28]

Water change is a must, I have a 55 and I water change 10 gals, every week. No sump I have a crappy canister but no nitrate or phosphates ,,, the canister is not that bad I have a bristle worm population in the canister. Which cleans up

A canister can easily be hidden. I know nitrates were an issue with wet/dry because the bio balls were always in contact with air. But canister is air tight and really other than water air contact benefit of a HOB, cant see how it would be different than hob. Were they know for nitrate issues?

 

[dodgerblew]

No, a sump is not necessary but eliminates the biggest problem I see in keeping a higher nutrient LPS system is the proteins that will accumulate at surface. A HOB skimmer with surface siphoning attachment could be a reasonable option though. I totally understand where you'd like to go with this in keeping it simple and enjoyable without it becoming a daily chore. AIO's are another option worth exploring and why I believe are so popular with so many people. A stripped down version without all the gimickery might be the ticket for you ???

Cheers, Todd

I agree

 

[benny z]

BennyZ, Nice job on your lighting looks great.

Cheers, Todd

Thank you, sir. You pretty much nailed it with your response above regarding spectrum and intensity. That is precisely the purpose of my experiment.

Here's what I landed on for LED config:

6 Hyber Violet UV - 410-420nm

12 XT-E Royal Blue - 445-455nm

3 XP-E Blue - 465-485nm

8 XT-E Premium Cool White - BIN specific

2 XT-E Warm White - same red peak as red LED, but with other beneficial spectrum

1 15" ReefBrite bar blue (different blue than others)

The hyper violets are non dimming, but are a visually dim LED and everything else was blended to match them.

Here's where I have the controller set.

 

[ReeferBill]

Thanks for the response. I am going to run a skimmer, and probably a canister filter for sure.

I agree about T5 being the way to go with a couple exceptions. The only LED I would recommend over a LPS nano would be Kessil. I ran two 150's over my nano and my acans and LPS did not morph at all for a year. They are not as high par as some LED. When I switched to a Radion at low % all my LPS morphed within 3 weeks and could not get them back for months no matter what I tried. When I switched to an ATI T5 dimmable 6 bulb everything started to morph back within a week and you can add a Reefbrites strip to your fixture and get better color and shimmer. Hope this helps. I also would most definitely run a skimmer. Weekly water changes are a must for me on my nano just to keep my water parameters stabile. I don't run dosers or reactors but I do dose Red Sea NO3 PO4 X daily

 

[ReeferBill]

Sorry to sound like a noob(which I am not), but what is an AIO?

No, a sump is not necessary but eliminates the biggest problem I see in keeping a higher nutrient LPS system is the proteins that will accumulate at surface. A HOB skimmer with surface siphoning attachment could be a reasonable option though. I totally understand where you'd like to go with this in keeping it simple and enjoyable without it becoming a daily chore. AIO's are another option worth exploring and why I believe are so popular with so many people. A stripped down version without all the gimickery might be the ticket for you ???

Cheers, Todd

 

[Tab28]

Sorry to sound like a noob(which I am not), but what is an AIO?

I think all in one. Like a nano.

 

[ReeferBill]

Oh if its a nano, I was thinking that would be a good solution, except I want a long shallow tank, as opposed to the normal cube sized tanks.
It sounds to me like to make this successful long term, and to make it aestheticall pleasing, I will need to make it with a sump.

 

[Tab28]

Oh if its a nano, I was thinking that would be a good solution, except I want a long shallow tank, as opposed to the normal cube sized tanks.
It sounds to me like to make this successful long term, and to make it aestheticall pleasing, I will need to make it with a sump.

Why are all nano tanks square? Looks like they were designed for college dorms. Well with a sump you would not have to worry about leaking HOB unit. And everything is hidden below.

 

[ReeferBill]

Yeah, I guess that kind of answers my question. It would also give me more water volume/stable parameters. Maybe I could make a nice piece of furniture out of it with a nice sump underneath.
Anyone have any dimentions or anyone know where to get frag style tanks like this? I do want it to be 12" deep, but a longer wider tank. Something like a lookdown style that would be lower and people could look right into the tank. I LOVE lagoon style tanks like that.

 

[Tab28]

A LFS installed a counter style tank. It is same height as the check out counter. It is not as deep, mostly made for frags. But 8' long looking down at all those frags. For many corals mostly chalices that would be perfect. They always look better viewed from top.

 

[ReeferBill]

Yeah they always look better like that.