new to SPS,LPS, sorties. what additives/ what to dose.

[tetra10]

hey nano reef, I want to have a mixed 20 galloon long. I'm pretty new to saltwater but I have a freshwater background. what do I need to keep healthy corals of all kinds? I am planning to use PAR bulbs from ledtric and would prefer to go without a skimmer because of the cost. thanks!

 

ps. would I need a reactor? I'm quite confused as you can tell but I UNDERSTAND THAT RESEARCH IS VERY IMPORTANT!

[mpg732]

Your kind of asking a very general question. I wouldn't skimp on the lights. Not sure which one you are thinking of buying, can you post the make and model? Skimmers are nice to have but you can get by with out one. You can always add one later. I would plan according to be able to add one. What reactor are you asking about? There are a few different kinds.

[tetra10]

Your kind of asking a very general question. I wouldn't skimp on the lights. Not sure which one you are thinking of buying, can you post the make and model? Skimmers are nice to have but you can get by with out one. You can always add one later. I would plan according to be able to add one. What reactor are you asking about? There are a few different kinds.

 

I'm talking about the PAR38 bulbs from ledtric.com I was also talking about a calcium reactor. I'm trying to find out the most cost effective and efficient way to grow ALL corals

[Dasani]

I would go with t5's or halides.

 

You can keep pretty much all LPS and softies without dosing or having a reactor or anything. Just do water changes.

But when you get SPS, all the dosing and stuff like that comes into play. Now if you have just a few SPS, you can easily get buy with water changes and running chemi pure elite (carbon and gfo). But if you get into multiple SPS colonies the you may need to consider dosing. You won't need a calcium reactor. Just a simple liquid 2 part works fine. I like ESV B-Ionic.

[jlbzixxer]

a calcium reactor for a 20g is overkill IMO you can keep the proper

levers with two part dosing, or even just doing your weekly WC

[tetra10]

I would go with t5's or halides.

 

You can keep pretty much all LPS and softies without dosing or having a reactor or anything. Just do water changes.

But when you get SPS, all the dosing and stuff like that comes into play. Now if you have just a few SPS, you can easily get buy with water changes and running chemi pure elite (carbon and gfo). But if you get into multiple SPS colonies the you may need to consider dosing. You won't need a calcium reactor. Just a simple liquid 2 part works fine. I like ESV B-Ionic.

 

are you talking about this? http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/esv-b-ionic-...fer-system.html

 

if not, could you send me a link? and btw, I really don't want to go with metal halides or t5's because they are pretty expensive. but everyone tells me that PAR38's are not the best way to go so I may do a DIY led kit from rapidled

[reefcowboy]

A Ca reactor is not only overkill, but it can literally kill everything if not set properly.

If you want to keep an sps tank, Mg, Ca and Alk are key to be checking and dosing. Everything else can be ok just with water changes. If you have time and patience to check your parameters everyday and supplement your tank, the two part dosing system is best, you manually dose alk+Ca to keep the system stable. If you prefer an auto system, check what Ca and Alk requirements your corals have and set up a dosing system(auto-doser). That is the best way IMO

Trace elements, aminos and other suppl. out there are used by some, but in my 60 gal sps tank it only helped to bring nuisance algae....wc's are really all you need....

[tetra10]

A Ca reactor is not only overkill, but it can literally kill everything if not set properly.

If you want to keep an sps tank, Mg, Ca and Alk are key to be checking and dosing. Everything else can be ok just with water changes. If you have time and patience to check your parameters everyday and supplement your tank, the two part dosing system is best, you manually dose alk+Ca to keep the system stable. If you prefer an auto system, check what Ca and Alk requirements your corals have and set up a dosing system(auto-doser). That is the best way IMO

Trace elements, aminos and other suppl. out there are used by some, but in my 60 gal sps tank it only helped to bring nuisance algae....wc's are really all you need....

 

 

did you see my link posted above? is it worth buying on a 20 gallon SPS DOMINANT tank?

[tetra10]

bump

[BigRok]

did you see my link posted above? is it worth buying on a 20 gallon SPS DOMINANT tank?

 

Absolutely, that is a dosing product.

An SPS dominant tank will use calcium and carbonate to build their skeletons and grow. B-Ionic is a good product that will replenish those for you. Magnesium should be kept stable enough with frequent water changes. Keep in mind that you will have to monitor your growth and consumption rates. A tank with a few frags won't be nearly as demanding as 10-12 full colonies.

 

As far as your light, on a 20 gallon long, I don't think you're going to see much overall price difference between a T5HO, MH, or LED setup. Maybe 30-50 bucks tops on a fixture, but considering the amount you put into your livestock, you should probably consider getting something that will make both you and your corals happy.

[uglyfish]

did you see my link posted above? is it worth buying on a 20 gallon SPS DOMINANT tank?

 

Reef tanks mature slowly... painfully slowly... you'll have months to decide on dosing etc. Don't buy dosing products now - you don't need them, and you may never need them. Start the tank with the basics and buy as you need (as determined by testing). The basics are good flow, good light, regular water changes, and an ro/di water filter. Don't skimp on hardware - spend the money once. Lots of good info on this site about DIY lights. Especially if funds are tight - stay away from expensive "designer" salts and magic elixirs and focus the cash on good quality hardware.

[Mojorizn]

Start the tank with the basics and buy as you need (as determined by testing). The basics are good flow, good light, regular water changes, and an ro/di water filter. Don't skimp on hardware - spend the money once.

 

Exactly

[tetra10]

any suggestions on good beginner corals, i would prefer something with a little color (not completely brown or something of that sort) . in freshwater, we always recommend a plant called Anubias to beginners, its hardy and easy to grow.

 

my LFS recommends mushrooms. are they just trying to get me to buy whats in stock or is this a good beginner coral?

[funkehouse]

biggest mistake i made and MOST new reefers make is thinking that the subpar equipment will be okay. it wont, you will spend the money on the par38 and then again have to buy the Halide or T5 or a better LED system. When i first started i was looking for a 17.4 gallon tank, ADA makes one with starfire glass, and so does Do!aqua with regular glass. the difference was about $40 between the 2 tanks. at that stage i thought, i will just get the cheaper one, it should be fine. biggest mistake ever. do you know how many times over i have put $40 into my tank? every time i go to the fish store to buy frags i spend $60-$120 bucks without even blinking. the hardware is the CHEAPEST part of this hobby, do yourself a favor, wait a bit longer, save up and get the good stuff, you will thank yourself later when your tank is kicking ass. I know from your perspective right now it seems like it will just fine to skimp here an there, its the biggest mistake you will make in this hobby. I dont mean you have to buy the most expensive of everything, you dont have to, but dont buy the cheapest of everything either, buy good quality hardware and you will be 10 steps ahead before you even get it wet !

[james1990]

Dont go with a DIY LED kit. I started out with one and yes it does the job but you will eventually spend the money and get a bigger light. Just save yourself the money and get the better stuff. I do run a par38 ledtric full spec zooman bulb but also a 12' blue and white led fixture for my sps. I run the par38 for a few hours during the day.

[Jackal_Knight]

You should check out the kessil led light thats what i wanna get. I also have the ledtric par38 on my 3 gallon and it works great but for a 20L you might need 2 or 3 to get good coverage for sps.

[tetra10]

Dont go with a DIY LED kit. I started out with one and yes it does the job but you will eventually spend the money and get a bigger light. Just save yourself the money and get the better stuff. I do run a par38 ledtric full spec zooman bulb but also a 12' blue and white led fixture for my sps. I run the par38 for a few hours during the day.

 

hmmm, a good friend of mine that has been reefing for years has been using DIY LED'S from rapid led. he grows all kinds of stuff and that's what lead me to wanting to go with DIY. but on the flip side of that, I saw that some people don't replace there bulbs that often on there t5 fixtures or metal halides. how often should you Change each bulb?

[Mojorizn]

Your T5 and MH's will need replacing every 9-12 months. If you have a friend that can help you design and build a good quality DIY LED...thats worth looking onto. There are some great threads on design here in the lighting forum. Another avenue would be a DIY T5 canopy. Check out Reef Geek for their retrofit setups. I've used that equipment on my tank. (MH+T5 setup). Nothing wrong with a good T5 setup and you can always add to it later as you need, especially if you DIY a canopy.

 

Far as good beginner corals ... shrooms, rics, zoas, palys, hammers, frogspawns, duncans, brain types, blastos, etc. Those alone will give you TONS of color and all are fairly bomb proof.

 

Just go slowly and resist the temptation to add the latest gadget or the "I gotta have this" syndrome.

And open aquascape with good flow, quality lighting and regular water changes plus an ATO (auto top off) will get ya pretty far.

The rest.... skimmer, controller, doser, reactors and all that can wait.

 

best-0-luck in your venture.

[fwadiver]

if you know you wanna go sps I would stay away from most softies people recommend as beginner corals, they will become a nuisance when you go stony. just starting out you need lights and water changes. For starter corals I would say euphillia (frogspawn/hammer/torch) which are cheap and pretty hardy, or duncan. Learn how to keep those happy first, get into the weekly maintenence routine, then start getting in the habit of testing mag, alk calcium. in the 6-8 months that will take you will learn a whole lot more about what you need to do.

[Tbone675]

good lights good flow and water changes are all you need to get started. no need to dose anything.

[tetra10]

if you know you wanna go sps I would stay away from most softies people recommend as beginner corals, they will become a nuisance when you go stony. just starting out you need lights and water changes. For starter corals I would say euphillia (frogspawn/hammer/torch) which are cheap and pretty hardy, or duncan. Learn how to keep those happy first, get into the weekly maintenence routine, then start getting in the habit of testing mag, alk calcium. in the 6-8 months that will take you will learn a whole lot more about what you need to do.

 

what do you mean they will "become a nuisance"?

[tetra10]

bump

[uglyfish]

bump

 

Stuff like xenia can grow out of control... will take up too much room in your tank.

[tetra10]

Stuff like xenia can grow out of control... will take up too much room in your tank.

 

thanks, anyone else know why sorties "will become a nuisance" if I go SPS? I thought that they could be kept in the same tank?

[mpg732]

thanks, anyone else know why sorties "will become a nuisance" if I go SPS? I thought that they could be kept in the same tank?

Its called chemical warfare. Corals will littly kill other corals if competing for space. I had a tank that was starting to be taken over by cult coral. The coral ended up killing my SPS corals, even ones they were no were close to touching. Once I removed most of the cult coral, every thing was fine and I was able to keep SPS for long periods. That was till once again the cult coral started to take over the tank and killing more of my SPS corals. That's why when you see pictures of beautiful SPS tanks, they have very few soft corals. Now Im not saying you can't mix them at all, you just may not want to get a species that can over take the tank.