sps advice.....................

kingfish8302

kingfish8302

Member
i need a little help i'm going to start keeping sps corals now and already have a few. I have a skimmer, fluval, mh lighting. I cant afford any more equipment. I have all the normal test like Ammonia, PH, Nitrite, Nitrate,Calcium, and alki . I almost have alk buffer, ph buffer, Calcium buffer and Essential Elements. I also have a couple for different foods for them too. My turn over is 17x. The tank is over 4 years old and have been keeping a corals for 6 months and only have lost one frag.
my question is do i need anything els that i really need????
 
candycane

candycane

Active Member
The alk buffer should raise your PH as well. The thing that makes me wonder a bit is the amount of buffers that are being added. What are your other parameters and how often are you doing water changes? Also what are the other members of your coral civilization? Some SPS corals are rather easy to keep, those might be the best ones to start out with. Especially frags and see how quickly they encrust.
Edit: Also, do you tend to your fluval regularly? You just DEFINETELY don't want your nitrate level rising unless you have something that can eat it, like clams.
 
kingfish8302

kingfish8302

Member
i'm thinking about taking the fluval offline and replacing it with another powerhead. I just have those buffers if i need them. I bearly use them but i do use the ess. elements every two weeks. i have a orage cap, pink birdsnest, and a pink/tan monti dig. i also have a 3" Crocea Clam.i test everything every few days and do the normal 10% water change every week. I plusing xenia i know keep them far from sps and keep it trimed, a few shrooms and zoos.
Originally Posted by candycane
The alk buffer should raise your PH as well. The thing that makes me wonder a bit is the amount of buffers that are being added. What are your other parameters and how often are you doing water changes? Also what are the other members of your coral civilization? Some SPS corals are rather easy to keep, those might be the best ones to start out with. Especially frags and see how quickly they encrust.
Edit: Also, do you tend to your fluval regularly? You just DEFINETELY don't want your nitrate level rising unless you have something that can eat it, like clams.
 
jmick

jmick

Active Member
Yeah, I'd probably ditch the fluval all together unless you clean it out every couple of days or use it to run carbon.
In your situation, the one thing I think you should invest in is Kalk and you can get it cheap at Wallmart if you look for Mrs. Wages Pickeling Lime (a big container is less then $5). ALso, I'd probably ditch the essential elements all together and I'm curious what "foods" you are feeding your sps? IMO, all they really need is lots of light and fish poop.
Also, a great way to save money is find out if you have a local reef club. Great place to trade for frags and buy them cheap.
 
gatorwpb

gatorwpb

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jmick
ALso, I'd probably ditch the essential elements all together and I'm curious what "foods" you are feeding your sps? IMO, all they really need is lots of light and fish poop.

B-ionic 2-part is the great stuff for regulating calc and alk. Those are the only things I check for now, but not even that often. I think the buffers could lead to a problem balancing the two parameters. Im not familiar with essential elements but b-ionic should contain all the elemnts besides calcium that youd need.
If you have a good skimmer and perform the weekly WC, ditching the fluval is probably fine. I also recommend more flow, I have about 40x in mine.
But if youre sps you have now are doing well, then you should be gtg for more.
 
gatorwpb

gatorwpb

Active Member
Kalkwasser is a powder used as a way to balance calc and alk. Some people mix it into their top off water. For me it never worked because kalk powder would never dissolve fully and so the water would be cloudy and upset the corals.
There are also kalk reactors that stir the kalk and constantly drip the mixture into the sump.
 
gatorwpb

gatorwpb

Active Member
Hmm, well that stuff isnt Kalk powder. It just seems to maintain alkalinity and magnesium, but not calcium. Kalk does calcium and alk, which are in higher demand than Mag. You get magnesium from your WCs. Magnesium is important in the balance of calc and alk, but it doesnt needed to be added in large quantities. Usually WCs are enough to keep magnesium at proper levels. Or 2-part solutions like b-ionic have magnesium in them at low levels, or the one I use is by Natureef.
I think the point of candycanes comment earlier is that stuff like buffers and other additives can add things to your tank that you may not need. The general rule is only add things that you can test for. Calc and alk are the main additives and sometimes mag if the levels get low. But mag and the other trace elements are usually replenished to the required levels just through WCs.
 
kingfish8302

kingfish8302

Member
i have a test for every buffer i have. I have cal buffer along with a test for it too. I know that rule really will
. I never put in anything in my tank unless i have a test for.
 
gatorwpb

gatorwpb

Active Member
SPS is short for small polyp stony corals. It actually means something a little more scientific sounding, but I couldnt find the answer quickly.
They are the acropora and similar species that are more difficult to keep and require strong lighting, generally.
 
big

big

Active Member
Do not mean to steal the thread but on Kali, you never use the milly part. Mix it , let it set, then use the clear off the solution.
Here is the Kips Kali thread with more than anyone could ever need to know about using it.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/f/
 
kingfish8302

kingfish8302

Member
i just got a mh lighting system of 2x150watts over 2 months ago. I about to drop the fluval and get a Koralia 2 in its place. That would give me a turn over of 21X.
 
nietzsche

nietzsche

Active Member
i think a member on here has like 80x or more (teen). we both have two modded tunze nanostream 6025s that supposedly puts out 1,200gph after it being modified. i cant say that it is 1,200 or more but i know its a lot in my tank. i have 2 of those, plus 1 koralia#1 and im going to have my return line from my iwaki pump... so its about 80x in my tank as well. im also finally getting into sps too and my new frags have polyp extension and doing good so far. ill see how it goes
forgot to mention his is a 29 i think and mine is 28g tank. had to mess with the powerheads to find a good spot in order not to blow my sand around
 
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