Perfect SPS tank

Mr. Roboto · Nov 21, 2023

What would you say is the perfect SPS tank?

Talking just the right size for both stags and plating sps corals.

bakbay · Nov 21, 2023

Mr. Roboto said:
What would you say is the perfect SPS tank?

Talking just the right size for both stags and plating sps corals.

Easy: it depends… on budget, space, invested time, etc. I’ve seen it done on nano to humongous tanks! For me, it’s around 100g +/- 20%

F i s h y · Nov 21, 2023

I love my big tank. plenty of room for a large variety. Costs def have to be figured in, SPS can be more expensive to purchase, and the bigger the tank the more costly the equipment.

Gill the 3rd · Nov 21, 2023

I started with a 180 and i thought that was a great size. Plenty big, but not too big where lighting and filtration was crazy expensive. The 6x2x2 footprint allowed a lot of room for corals and fish. I had a 125 freshwater, which was only 18 inches deep and I found that extra 6 inches in depth made a huge difference.

RedoubtReef · Nov 21, 2023

I wouldn't go smaller than 75-gallon display with an internal overflow(s). Then there's the refugium space and sump space which I like to go as big as possible on because larger water volumes tend to have more stability.

Mr. Roboto · Nov 21, 2023

So we have established large tanks cost a lot to maintain and unless you have the money to throw at them over 100 gallons seems excessive.

The at least 24" wide and tall for good room to grow out also seems legit.

Large sump area for maximum water volume as well

Gill the 3rd · Nov 21, 2023

F i s h y said:
I love my big tank. plenty of room for a large variety. Costs def have to be figured in, SPS can be more expensive to purchase, and the bigger the tank the more costly the equipment.

Totally agree. I upgraded to a 300 and it’s great. The additional lighting and flow requirements definitely make it a challenge

Gill the 3rd · Nov 21, 2023

Mr. Roboto said:
So we have established large tanks cost a lot to maintain and unless you have the money to throw at them over 100 gallons seems excessive.

The at least 24" wide and tall for good room to grow out also seems legit.

Large sump area for maximum water volume as well

I disagree that 100 gallon + is excessive for sps. Depending on what you are keeping, many sps are fast growing such as Montis, birds nest, etc. They can quickly take over a smaller tank. A larger tank also means your parameters don’t shift as much. They are easier to keep stable than a smaller tank which is important with sps.

Mr. Roboto · Nov 21, 2023

Gill the 3rd said:
I disagree that 100 gallon + is excessive for sps. Depending on what you are keeping, many sps are fast growing such as Montis, birds nest, etc. They can quickly take over a smaller tank. A larger tank also means your parameters don’t shift as much. They are easier to keep stable than a smaller tank which is important with sps.

I didn't say it was excessive for SPS. I said it was overkill for the required maintenance and cost. Unless you have the funds a 300 gallon system isn't something everyone can keep up. About 100 is still manageable.

Gill the 3rd · Nov 21, 2023

Mr. Roboto said:
So we have established large tanks cost a lot to maintain and unless you have the money to throw at them over 100 gallons seems excessive.

You literally said it was excessive. There’s plenty of people who run 100 + gallon systems easily. There’s plenty of people running sps tanks in much smaller tanks. We simply posted why we think larger tanks are better for sps. You asked a question and we politely gave our opinion for the perfect sps tank. Not sure why you are taking it so poorly.

mattdg · Nov 21, 2023

Lot's of great options. The key to finding a good SPS reef, is height that works with the lights you plan on choosing. Low enough for proper penetration, but deep enough for low light species. Depth. You want as much as possible front to back. That way you can place your reef structure centrally for 360 degree flow around all coral and rock with enough space that coral don't grow into the front glass too quickly. Length, enough to place pumps at a comfortable distance from your coral. Great examples IMO are 75 / 120 / 180 and some cubes.

Mr. Roboto · Nov 21, 2023

Gill the 3rd said:
You literally said it was excessive. There’s plenty of people who run 100 + gallon systems easily. There’s plenty of people running sps tanks in much smaller tanks. We simply posted why we think larger tanks are better for sps. You asked a question and we politely gave our opinion for the perfect sps tank. Not sure why you are taking it so poorly.

You don't have to come here to argue bruh. 100+ gallons is excessive. You don't need it. I asked for the perfect SPS tank. Not your dream tank... you don't need 300 gallons to grow out a stag. You also said that a monti and birdsnest would take up a 100 gallon tank

Mr. Roboto · Nov 21, 2023

mattdg said:
Lot's of great options. The key to finding a good SPS reef, is height that works with the lights you plan on choosing. Low enough for proper penetration, but deep enough for low light species. Depth. You want as much as possible front to back. That way you can place your reef structure centrally for 360 degree flow around all coral and rock with enough space that coral don't grow into the front glass too quickly. Length, enough to place pumps at a comfortable distance from your coral. Great examples IMO are 75 / 120 / 180 and some cubes.

This is what I am getting at. Even 120 or 180 but the sizing. Is it 24" tall for a fully grown out slimer. Do people have any that exceed this and need 30"+... width is the other thing. My last tank was 36" front to back and I loved it but it was very hard to do the maintenance on it without a ladder and leaning down into the tank sometimes with a snorkel mask on.

Gill the 3rd · Nov 21, 2023

Mr. Roboto said:
You don't have to come here to argue bruh. 100+ gallons is excessive. You don't need it. I asked for the perfect SPS tank. Not your dream tank... you don't need 300 gallons to grow out a stag. You also said that a monti and birdsnest would take up a 100 gallon tank

I dont think I was being argumentative at all, I was genuinely answering your question. You asked the question "what is the perfect sps tank?" , not what is the most affordable sps tank. A few of us gave our opinion. Of course you could keep sps in a 5 gallon bucket if you wanted to. Theres plenty of people who run 100 + gallon tanks easily, and plenty of people who keep sps in much smaller tanks sucessfully. I dont think anyone would argue that proper flow, lighting and stable parameters are key to keeping healthy sps. I think most people would agree that keeping stable parameters is much easier in a larger tank. I also never recommended a 300 gallon tank, I was responding to another post in this thread. I said i started with a 180 and I recommended that. I think the 6 ft length gives plenty of room for fast growing corals. And the 24 depth x 24 height is good for easy maintenance.

In regards to the corals - yes if you are doing everything correctly, then many sps can grow fast and take over a tank. It simply means you have to be more on top of coral aggression and frag more often. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, but something to consider.

I don't think anything I said was controversial or agrumentative and I'm at a loss as to why you took this so poorly. Im bowing out of this one since this seems to be unnecessarily argumentative. Good luck with everything.

bakbay · Nov 21, 2023

At the end of the day, the OP's question, "What would you say is the perfect SPS tank?", is rather broad hence the answers may be very subjective: That's why I responded with "It depends...". For context, I run 4 tanks + QT at home, from cubes to (curved) rectangle tanks. They all have SPS in them. I think the sweet spot would be 6x2x2 as @Gill the 3rd mentioned above, regardless if it's SPS or not. It's long enough for fish to swim, SPS colonies to grow out, plenty of space underneath for gear, ease of maintenance, better viewing (to me), etc.

My dream tank for me would be a 10x3x2.5 to be a "perfect ~~SPS~~ tank"!

exnisstech · Nov 21, 2023

As big as you can afford to setup up with lighting flow etc. Then be able to fill it with frags. Maintenance is really a non factor except for salt cost and if a person can't afford salt they can't afford to setup an sps tank IMO. I have 3 tanks a 40g reefer 170, 75g reefer 300 and a 180g 6x2x2ft with basement sump. Maintaining the smaller tanks are more work and cost more than the 180.
Im just mentioning this because the OP mentioned more maintenance and more maintenance cost for larger tanks and I don't find that to be the case except for salt which is cheaper than 2 part. My 180 is rock solid on dosing kalk 24/7 and I don't think I could accomplish that on my smaller tanks because the evaporation rate isn't high enough so I have dosers now (more $) I was manually dosing but that got to be a hassle as consumption started to increase.

PeterErc · Nov 21, 2023

I want my tank up higher so I don’t have to bend down to look in it, and I am closer to a stump than tall. I build the stand higher with easy access to remove equipment if needed. The tank is 150g std. and I can almost reach the bottom with my arm. If I had to replace the tank I would use a 125g.

Another issue is with the 18” width. It does not leave a lot of room for rock work. Pretty much always ends up like a vertical wall.

I could make a 6” joke, about going to a 180g. However the 180 is not an option, although the same equipment would be used so no cost difference, other than new stand canopy, living room floor, paint the walls, touch up the ceiling, remodel a bathroom and whatever else it would take for domestic tranquility.

There is no perfect tank, I don’t care if I spent years designing it, and longer building. Once up and running I would find something that could have been done different.

Mr. Roboto · Nov 21, 2023

exnisstech said:
As big as you can afford to setup up with lighting flow etc. Then be able to fill it with frags. Maintenance is really a non factor except for salt cost and if a person can't afford salt they can't afford to setup an sps tank IMO. I have 3 tanks a 40g reefer 170, 75g reefer 300 and a 180g 6x2x2ft with basement sump. Maintaining the smaller tanks are more work and cost more than the 180.
Im just mentioning this because the OP mentioned more maintenance and more maintenance cost for larger tanks and I don't find that to be the case except for salt which is cheaper than 2 part. My 180 is rock solid on dosing kalk 24/7 and I don't think I could accomplish that on my smaller tanks because the evaporation rate isn't high enough so I have dosers now (more $) I was manually dosing but that got to be a hassle as consumption started to increase.

I have ran upwards of 300 gallons. I know for a fact that that 250 with 100 gal sump cost more per month than any smaller tank I have ever ran WITH the cost of salt.