Starting new SPS Reef tank. Am I doing it right?

perchpsk

perchpsk

Member
I just wanted to get some feedback before I get started here. My goal for the tank is to be an SPS only reef tank with about 10-15 fish (Anthias, Chromis, Gobies) and some basic inverts like shrimp and snails. Here is what I have in play so far:
125 gallon acrylic tank with 2 overflows and 4 returns
Redsea Wavemaker
Lighting Unit with 3 250 watt metal halides bulbs and 4 T5 bulbs and some LED moonlights
Eshopps Refugium R-300 with Eshopps Skimmer
RO/DI unit for making water
***adding NP biopellet reactor and carbon reactors***
I am in the early stages of building this into my wall, so nothing is set up yet. My question is, where do I go from here? Do I really need all of the fancy bells and whistles like a controller, reactor, auto top off, chillers, dosers etc....
I hope to be able to run this as simple as possible. I know I'll need to dose for calcium, alkalinity, etc. Can someone help me plan the best and most cost effective way to do this? I'd prefer to avoid the expense of adding expensive controllers and the like if possible. What do you think I need to add to my system from here? Also, anyone use the Zeovit system or have opinions on it?
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Following!!
This should be a real cool build. I am not an SPS expert by any means (more like a beginner). But of the stuff you listed (Controller, reactor, auto top off, chiller, and dossers) I would say that you want an auto top off. From my research you want very stable parameters for SPS. An auto top off will help keep the salinity swings down. As for the other stuff it will depend. A lot of that things that the fancy equipment does can be done manually, but the equipment makes it a lot easier. IDK about the chiller, 3 250w MH lights can make the tank hot. I guess it depends where you are located and where the tank is located. I have a 125g reef tank with 3 MH (1- 250w and 2 150w) and I do not need a chiller, but I live in Michigan and the tank is in my basement. So I guess it depends.
What kind of skimmer do you have now? You might want to look at some people who have some nice SPS tanks and see what kind of skimmer they have and what other equipment they run. How big is your sump/fuge?
I plan on getting into SPS pretty heavy and plan on getting a BRS dual reactor (for carbon and GFO). you might want to check those out.
Do you have any pics of the tank and equipment? I would love to see what others have to say about what is needed and what is not. Keep us updated!!!
 
perchpsk

perchpsk

Member
The tank is going into a wall in my basement / theatre room. The backside where the tank will live is unfinished storage room, and since I live in Pittsburgh and it is underground the temps in there stay pretty cool. , When I had my old tank in my basement at my old house, which also ran MH lights, all I needed to keep the temps down was a simple fan.
My sump is rated for a 200 gallon tank. 36x16x16 I believe are the dimensions. I have the Reef Octopus Extreme 200 skimmer that is also rated for a 200 gallon tank. There is a refugium area in the middle and I have a light for that. I am thinking about getting an in sump UV sterelizer as well. Any thoughts on this?
Here is a pic of the tank and light hood, empty of course. Tank is 125 tall. 60"x24"x18".

This is the sump/refugium.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
"125 gallon acrylic tank with 2 overflows and 4 returns
Redsea Wavemaker
Lighting Unit with 3 250 watt metal halides bulbs and 4 T5 bulbs and some LED moonlights
Eshopps Refugium R-200 with Skimmer
RO/DI unit for making water" Very nice start
I am in the early stages of building this into my wall, so nothing is set up yet. My question is, where do I go from here? Do I really need all of the fancy bells and whistles like a controller, reactor, auto top off, chillers, dosers etc.... No, chiller depends your location and creature needs.
I hope to be able to run this as simple as possible. I know I'll need to dose for calcium, alkalinity, etc. Can someone help me plan the best and most cost effective way to do this? I'd prefer to avoid the expense of adding expensive controllers and the like if possible. What do you think I need to add to my system from here? You have added coral, simple is gone from your hobby. You will need test kits B4 you start dosing, Heater, Live Rock, Salt mix, Start cycle with raw food, Live sand or Bare Bottom (for you Seth), return pump (1250gph) and create a wish list of fish and corals.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
On a UV the only place it really works is on your RO system, because you will never get all your tank water to pass threw the UV, thus it will never completely do its job.
 
perchpsk

perchpsk

Member
I plan on using a thin layer of sand on the bottom of the tank for aesthetics only and miracle mud in the refugium. The liverock is a given and my corals wish list is mainly acropora and montiporas. I kept both briefly in the past in my mixed reef tank, but since I'm starting from scratch again I figured I'd do it right and eliminate all of the leathers and softies and just go for a full on SPS tank. I am also going to avoid larger fish like tangs and just focus on smaller fish like gobies and schooling fish like anthias and chromis.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Sound very peacefully and colorfully, you may want to do some reading from a site called reefkeeping.com good articles about dosing and others. There was one about the miracle mud you may want to definitely read.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Go barebottom if you can. It will keep the system much more sterile which is what you need in an SPS tank. Use your fuge for chaeto and other macros. Use a good strong light on your fuge and keep it changed. Just use live or dry sand in the fuge. Your return pump should be rated for somewhere between 1200gph to 1800 gph. If you don't have a closed loop system, I highly suggest getting a couple of vortech mp40 powerheads. You can dose your tank manually with trace elements (ca,alk,mg) but its much, much easier just to bite the bullet and get a calcium reactor. It will dose your tank not only with the big three elements. It also other trace. I also highly recommend to get one of those brs dual reactors for the carbon and GFO medias. The more stable you can keep the system, the better. A controller would just add extra security for such a complex system. It would help monitor your ca reactor, adjust your pH, monitor water on the floor, if your water gets too hot it will figure out if it's the heater goin bad or your lights are getting too hot. It also monitors your electric uses and let's you know if a piece of equipment is running a a higher watt then normal. Controllers are almost a must have on large expensive setups like yours.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I'm going to be following this thread!
Btw, if you like the white look of the sand, maybe look into getting some starboard.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
Perchpsk: I live in Shadyside and have a 125 w/ similar lights to yours and don't have a chiller. It's something I may invest in this year, but my tank is on the first floor; in the basement I don't think you'll have any problems.
I just converted a mixed reef to a SPS reef, though there are a few corals I still need to get out of my tank. Right now I just have an ATO. I think they are important in any reef but especially in an SPS dominated reef. Are you a PMASI member?
 
perchpsk

perchpsk

Member
I'm not a PMASI member. Are there any advantages to joining? I live near Peters Township / Canonsburg.
As I mentioned earlier, I kept reef tanks for 10 years, but I have been out of the loop for the past 5 years because I moved and had a couple of kids. I always figured when I got back in I'd do it right and go for a larger SPS only tank built into a wall.
 
perchpsk

perchpsk

Member
The tank is drilled with 2 overflows and 4 returns. I am running a sump/refugium with a Mag 1800 return pump. Do I need to split the return piping 4 ways to accomodate those 4 returns? If I do that, will the water flow be strong enough for all 4 returns? Should I instead consider 2 Mag 1000 pumps each split 2 ways, or 4 Mag 600s each going to it's own return?
I think the previous owner had the 4 return pumps hooked to his wavemaker. Any ideas here????
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Four pumps would use more electricity than two or one. Btw, they don't make 600 and 1000 models in may drives. I'm assuming you are looking to get a submersible pump. Two mag 12s or one mag 24 would do it. I personally would go with two pumps than one large one. Then again, that's a heck of a lot of flow through the sump and may be unnecessary.
 
perchpsk

perchpsk

Member
Mag Drive makes a 1200gph and 1800gph, I was going to use one of those until I figured out there were 4 returns. I think now I will maybe use two 700 gph pumps, each split 2 ways. That would be 1400 GPH for a 125 gallon tank which should flow just about right through the sump/fuge, right?
 
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