Wanting to venture into SPS.

[Scorchx1245]

Been looking and drooling. Upgraded my lighting but I dont think my 250 par at the top of my rocks is enough, 40g breeder. I have LEDS corallife autic life S fixture I got for dirt cheap and thinking of adding a dual T5 fixture. But was wondering with out supplemnting the t5 could i start or wait?

 

[SPS Reefer]

Well I guess it comes down to how much money you have to spend?
If you want to get into SPS I would make sure any LPS or encrusting corals are doing well. Then I would also suggest that you know how to add alkalinity and calcium in appropriate dosages with two part, calcium reactor, etc. Also, make sure that your nitrates and phosphates are stable. You also have to ask yourself do you have enough flow sufficient for SPS? Then the lighting. You can do LED or T5 with good success. Metal Halide you may need a chiller. 4 High Output 36 in T5 bulbs would be a good place to start. I do not think that 2 T5 bulbs with a coralife LED would be sufficient.

LED: 36in Photon V2 ($500), or 2 kessil A360 ($700) , or Maxspect RAZOR X R5 150W LED FIXTURE ($530)

T5: I would go with a ATI 36in 4 bulb Sunpower ($462) ATI bulbs are $20 a piece

If I was in your position I would purchase one Ice Cap Gyre 1k for great flow ($130), one 36in Photon V2 LED made by ReefBreeders ($500), BRS Pharma Two part pre-portioned ($80), and a good test kit. Then if you want to get some stunning SPS buy a battlebox from Adam at Battlecorals.com or hit him up on Reef2Reef.

That is just my advice but there are other ways to success.

 

[Scorchx1245]

Been researching dosing, my nano has been running lps for a while but just basics, hammer, Gsp, palys,5 star polyps been running well. I've set up my 40 breeder, 2 powerheads pushing a decent amount of flow alternating 1 hour on off each side plus my return. I ordered two koralias to replace them. And have my reefkeeper hooked up as well when i order my dosing pumps. So the light fixture is trash? Even 2 t5s supplementing it making it a hybrid fixture? I like the hybrid idea cause i love the shimmer but not the shading.

 

[Scorchx1245]

Powee heads are the 750 series.

 

[Richard_Cheung]

Research dosing kalk. I am doing fine with kalk in my top off and testing. That will work for most monti's and acros with decent lighting. You probably will need to upgrade lights, but I don't think you need to jump to spending $1k on lights. Look at the Kessel or reefbreeders have a good Nano light. You can pick up their Nano light plus for 180 on sale. Since your tank is long, you might want to get 2.

You can start with some easy Monti caps. Those are really tolerant of low light. Then move up to the encrusting monti's. Then acros.

 

[SPS Reefer]

From my experience those cheap LED lights are not sufficient for SPS. I own four 18in Current USA LED fixtures and I wish that instead of spending over $400 dollars on them I wish I would have bought 1 Reefbreeder LED or an ATI T5 Sunpower. You do tend to get what you pay for in this hobby. My Ice Cap 1k is doing amazingly well compared to my Hydor and my Current USA Loop Powerheads. I bought cheap equipment starting out but I have found the much better option is to get quality equipment that performs better out of the box and lasts longer.

Your LED fixture is not trash it can be used for moonlighting or for light acclimating your corals when you first get them in if you decide to go T5 instead of LED. Some T5 fixtures are not dimmable so when they are on they are on and it can make light acclimating more difficult. Where as if you have a dimmable T5 unit or a good LED fixture like a Reefbreder, Kessil, Maxspect Razor, or a Radion then you can easily adjust the light intensity.

 

[SPS Reefer]

Research dosing kalk. I am doing fine with kalk in my top off and testing. That will work for most monti's and acros with decent lighting. You probably will need to upgrade lights, but I don't think you need to jump to spending $1k on lights. Look at the Kessel or reefbreeders have a good Nano light. You can pick up their Nano light plus for 180 on sale. Since your tank is long, you might want to get 2.

You can start with some easy Monti caps. Those are really tolerant of low light. Then move up to the encrusting monti's. Then acros.

This is good advice. +1 on Kalkwasser researching. Kalk can kill your tank easily if you are not careful just like a lot of other things can. But it is a cheap way to dose Calcium and Alk that can give you great results.

 

[Scorchx1245]

Thank you! I will research better lighting! And I'm just scared of of kalk because I did have my ato trip out on my nano. Luckily it's only half gallon res.

 

[Richard_Cheung]

Thank you! I will research better lighting! And I'm just scared of of kalk because I did have my ato trip out on my nano. Luckily it's only half gallon res.

You might want to upgrade your ato to one with a safety shut off. I really like the tunze 3155. You can probably sell your old one used on Craigslist too recoup some of the upgrade. That's what I did. I think It costed me about $40 to upgrade my ato.

 

[SPS Reefer]

I would consider a high quality gyre type powerhead too. I was seriously impressed with how much water my gyre moves. And I have found that water flow is very important for SPS like Acros.

 

[Richard_Cheung]

I would consider a high quality gyre type powerhead too. I was seriously impressed with how much water my gyre moves. And I have found that water flow is very important for SPS like Acros.

+1 on water movement. I went cheap with a couple of jebao WaveMakers.

 

[SPS Reefer]

I really like the tunze 3155.

I hear this is the best ATO but I am still scared of any ATO. Any issues with it not shutting off or the original pump failing?

 

[Richard_Cheung]

I hear this is the best ATO but I am still scared of any ATO. Any issues with it not shutting off or the original pump failing?

I've had no problems. It's got a double safety feature. A float valve for shut off and it will also stop after 3 minutes of continuous running. No problems with the pump breaking after a year and half of use, and pumping kalk. But I keep an eye on it. The replacement pump isn't expensive.

 

[Richard_Cheung]

I've had no problems. It's got a double safety feature. A float valve for shut off and it will also stop after 3 minutes of continuous running. No problems with the pump breaking after a year and half of use, and pumping kalk. But I keep an eye on it. The replacement pump isn't expensive.

I don't expect the pump to be faulty. Just that it is pumping kalk...

 

[Scorchx1245]

Mine runs with double float valves, but little bit of neglect and the safety float never triggered due to a build up of salt. And a tiny snail wedged himself in the float. But yes a timer would be a must for kalk i feel.

 

[Venator]

I hear this is the best ATO but I am still scared of any ATO. Any issues with it not shutting off or the original pump failing?

I don’t know about that product, but I reeeaaally reccomend the auto smart ATO (forgot the actual name, but the sensor has blue LEDs, is magnetic, and is the size of a penny). I have never had a problem with it, and it’s really discreet. The wiring might not be long enough for some systems though, and I doubt it would work well placed in a tank with variable water levels and waves at that spot. I put it in my AIO return chamber.
Good luck!

 

[MrPike]

Personally, I wouldn't dabble in SPS without a quarantine tank. I think most long term successful sps keepers would agree with this but correct me if im wrong. LPS just don't seem to have the same level of bugs on them that acropora do, and you can get more color, less costly equipment, more room for error. You get 1 AEFW in your reef tank filled with stonies that you have spent thousands on, it can drive you out of the hobby, it will take all of your hair and most of your money.

That being said, I don't find reefkeeping without Acropora dominance enjoyable, but I quarantine

 

[Scorchx1245]

I have a 20 long that is my QT tank....never said I didnt have one. Dont have a light for coral over my QT tank but will be turning my nano into my new QT tank. Dont know if the 56 watts of CFL will do, one 10k and one actinic.

 

[MrPike]

Dont know if the 56 watts of CFL will do, one 10k and one actinic.

Should be enough, put them up high by the light obviously and give em good flow. Most important though to be able to see them and inspect them daily for a while.