SPS species

[DevilBoy]

I have been doing some intense research and reading on some SPS corals i would like to keep in my reef tank, specifically the Acros. And when i was researching the different types, some of the acro species indicated that they will flourish with strong intermittent current, and feedings of micro-plankton. I know they mean some type of wavemaker for intermittent current. I was thinking of either adding 3 seio 1500s on their controller. or spending alittle bit extra cash and going with the tunze wavebox. Would the wavebox be too much current for my tank, and would the tunze gimme the intermittent current ?

When they say feedings of micro plankton what are they referring too?? i have seen alot of different type of plankton food out there, but none of the specifically say "micro". Do you suggest any certain kind?

Thanks

[Wiskey]

Sps don't eat phyto.

I can't comment on the tunze wavebox, but I did just get the Tunze 6100 on a multi controler and I love them, though it may be a bit much for your tank running all out.

I think that you will be fine with 3 Seio 1500's, even 2, for your 75G tank, don't worry about the wavemaker, just angle them so the two streams collide in the front glass center, this will make the flow random.

Whiskey

[DevilBoy]

hmm.. 2 seio 1500s would gimme 3000gph plus my return pump at around 450gph that would gimme 3450gph which is about 46x turnover would that be enuff?

I didnt know what they meant by micro plankton either. But thats what some of the acro species said in the descriptions.

I still would like to know about the tunze wave box anyone have any comments on them?

I would think the tunze stream would be alittle to much for my tank also...

[Wiskey]

Originally Posted by DevilBoy

hmm.. 2 seio 1500s would gimme 3000gph plus my return pump at around 450gph that would gimme 3450gph which is about 46x turnover would that be enuff?

IMO it's plenty, especially in the begining, when they grow out into colonies and start to block each other's flow you may need more though.

IMO, SPS eat fish poo, and the bacteria assoicated with it.

Whiskey

[DevilBoy]

ewww fish poo....

here is one of them i was referring too, in the very last paragraph it states about the plankton.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...fm?pCatId=1606

Also Whiskey,
i hear people talking about chemical warefare with corals. in ur experince what type of SPS can be kept together? and what type of softies, lps, and sps. with out killing each other off

[Wiskey]

No one really knows for sure what SPS eat, but we do know that they do harvest bacteria on themselfs and eat that. If anything Phyto would be a source of phosphate, which you have plenty of already There are many types of planton though, (if you leave out the phyto part) it basically means small floating particles which could refer to about anything.

SPS don't usually cause a problem unless they are within stinging distance of each other, for the most part, SPS and LPS are ok together IME just give the LPS lots of room, however Softies should not be kept in the same system as SPS due to alopathy, if you do then take measures (aggresive skimming, UV, and Carbon) to try and lessin the impact, but there will still be an impact. Especially bad is sinularia.

Whiskey

[DevilBoy]

well dang it!! does that mean mushrooms and zoas are out?

[Wiskey]

no

[DevilBoy]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

no

thanks that answer made my day. im a zoa and shroom lover

[skeety]

Careful with the shrooms though. They tend to grow a little more uncontrollably than Zoo's.

Just keep them at the bottom, and watch out for when they start to take off, and you should be fine.

Stay away from Phyto.

[DevilBoy]

thanks skeety...

So i guess this means a toadstool would be outta the question then.

[PelagicMagic]

Wiskey gave you great advice.

3 guidelines to follow to keep a successful sps tank
1)Flow
2)constant parameters (temp, salinty, alk, Ca, Mg, etc)
3) proper lighting

I dont feed my corals but that does not mean those who do are wrong. I just never added any food/additive for my corals so I dont have experience with coral foods. I do think that those foods could be a danger to your water quality.

You should look into tunze nano streams or seio 1100's. 1500's my be too strong for a 75 and you may end up with sand storms. Try one 1500 and two 1100's. Also using a phosphate removing media like rowa phos is a good idea but not necessary. IMO the best thing you can do is to perform small weekly to bi weekly waterchanges

I am a firm believer in ozone. It cleans the water, clears the water and allows your lights to penetrate deeper.

Also I have noticed better health in my sps as I remove lps and softcorals from the tank and only keep sps

[DevilBoy]

Thanks for the info.

but some dumb questions.

1. 2 - 1100s and 1 - 1500 would gimme more flow then the 2 1500s. correct? 3450gph is what i would get with my return pump and 2 1500s.

2. Ozone?? could you please explain this alittle bit more in detail, since i also thought that ozone was for tanks with live plants.



Thanks again


#1 i will be able to achieve good flow.
#2 stable parameters i will try to do.
#3 the lighting i will be getting will be tons of light. So i know i will have the lighting for it.

[PelagicMagic]

I find it hard to count the return pump for flow, you do get more suction from the drains but the returns flow is narrow and high pressure, 2 things to avoid with sps. I was running a 3600gph pump for a return and it gave me very little flow. The seios and tunze have a wide angle flow that is not focused and is more gentle on the corals.

I suggested to go with the 1100's and one 1500 so you wont push water out of the tank. You may even want to get 3 1100's and loose the 1500 but I am not sure. you just want to avoid pushing water out of the tank


Also check out wave2k its a great wave maker

Ozone is great. It clears the water and can kill free swimming ich. Ozone, O3 is a oxidizer. you hook it to the air intake of a skimmer. the O3 only stays in the skimmers body not the tank. Some times it can be smelled in the air if used incorrectly. Do an internet search on it to read up more.

[DevilBoy]

i was actually looking into the wave2k. I asked the manufacturer about it, and he told me that is all i would need for flow. I would not need no seios or tunze streams, just the wave2k and my return pump. is this true? I was also considering a tunze wavebox, but that may be too much of a wave for my 75.

The cons i heard on the 2k is it is hard to adjust right, kinda noisy motor, and you will go thru alot of belts, and you have to adjust the tension on the belts often