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Do I have enough to realistically grow SPS?


kangadrew

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Planning on building a 24x12x12 15 gallon setup for my apartment. The plan is to build an overflow into one of the corners, and get everything over a media basket then stick a return pump underneath that and have it feed back out via loc-lines. Pretty much building an AIO setup. 

 

My plan for a media basket is polyfil on top for mechanical, purigen next for nitrates, then carbon. 

As far as a pump, thinking a Sicce Syncra 2.0 because of the footprint (puts out 568 gph at 0' head), returning through flexible PVC into two loc-lines or a similar fixture. To get varied flow, one will come out of the back wall and the other will feed through a pipe under the sandbed and come out of the rockwork, pointed the opposite direction. 

 

Other than that, a 75 watt heater, DIY LED fixture (8x 3w 7000K whites and 8x 3w 455nm royal blues), and manual dosing at the beginnings. Eventually I can get into auto top-off and auto kalk-dosing stuff, but I'll keep it simple starting things out. 

 

My main question - am I missing anything to get SPS to thrive? I've only ever kept softies, this will be my first SPS tank. My plan is to buy whatever cheap, dirty looking Acros are at the LFS that nobody will touch, and see if I can get some of those to grow and maybe even color up. If I can do well with those, then I'll move onto the higher-end stuff that I actually like. 

Take care,

Drew

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23 minutes ago, mitten_reef said:

Any pic, or sketch of this diy AIO plan?

sounds like plenty of light and flow.  

Nothing sketched up, but this is the video I'm loosely going to base the design off of. 

 

Basically I'll build the tank, mark off where the return, basket, and heater will go, then use thin black acrylic to build out the wall of the overflow. Where it will get different is I'll build the entire overflow wall from acrylic, instead of just putting a sponge in place. I'll have to cut teeth into it and everything, but I'm hoping it will turn out pretty slick, and give me a bit more freedom when aquascaping as opposed to if the entire back wall was made into the AIO. 

 

On the return - I'll have to look into fixtures to get some randomized flow. I considered rigging up some a small motor and some plastic and building a sea swirl, but I really don't want any visible equipment in the tank. That being said, it may end up being easier to just rig a sump and invest in a slightly beefier return pump, like @Scorched did on his build. 

Just tough trying to balance a somewhat tight budget, a desire to get excellent SPS growth, and a requirement of zero visible equipment in the tank. 

 

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Here's an idea I've got, depending on which apartment we end up moving into. There are four "desktop" things I love - aquariums, those super adjustable metal lamps with all the hinges, and mini palm trees. If I put two 15 gallons with back corner overflows, I'll have a 12x12 area to place things like an ATO reservoir, dosing station, etc. Then the rest of that back space can be filled up with mini palms that drape over both tanks. Could have one planted with a betta or dwarf puffer and one reef with a pair of clowns or something similar. 

 

 

countertop tanks.png

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6 hours ago, kangadrew said:

Planning on building a 24x12x12 15 gallon setup for my apartment. The plan is to build an overflow into one of the corners, and get everything over a media basket then stick a return pump underneath that and have it feed back out via loc-lines. Pretty much building an AIO setup.

Consider using a plain tank with a Tunze Reefpack setup for skimmer, filter, etc.  Very slick AIO setup in a non-AIO tank.

 

$30 for a 15 Gallon.  $165 for a Reefpack 100.  Add lights, heat and ATO.  Done. (Oh..noticed your DIY bent later in the thread.  Keep reading!)

 

6 hours ago, kangadrew said:

My plan for a media basket is polyfil on top for mechanical, purigen next for nitrates, then carbon. 

Can't plan for a nutrient load that doesn't exist....so go slow on this.  Start with nothing and see how it goes.  Base filtration on actual need.

 

Personally, I'd replace that whole shebang-mess with a protein skimmer....that way there's nothing disposable, adds aeration, cannot over-filter, etc.

 

The media basket concept is like running a Whisper power filter....great idea for a freshwater tank, but not quite the best option for a reef.  Slightly retrograde.

 

6 hours ago, kangadrew said:

As far as a pump, thinking a Sicce Syncra 2.0

think I'd use powerheads since they are far more flexible in how you can use them...no need to have your flow "perfect" before you even have corals since you can always adjust things.

 

Tying tank flow to the return pump is how folks pretty much HAD to do it before Tunze invented the modern powerhead.  Do it this way and you really have to have things perfect right out of the gate before you even have corals.  (Good luck on that!!!)  Adjusting things in the design you're thinking of may not even be possible, or at best can mean altering the whole rock structure.  You definitely don't want to set yourself up for that.

 

There's a GOOD REASON that most folks use powerheads.  (Lots of good reasons, really.)  

 

There are notable exceptions of tanks that don't use them, but very few.  Usually the tank is too small for a powerhead.

 

7 hours ago, kangadrew said:

My main question - am I missing anything to get SPS to thrive?

Nutrients and flow.

 

It seems like you're worried about nutrients so put some mind power in that direction.   No corals like tanks without nutrients.  This is extremely true for new, immature tanks.  Consider the study that was done on Acro's where frags were raised in REALLY high phosphate conditions.  They were healthier the higher the levels were.  Very contrary to the hobby's view.

 

SPS like lots of flow, so maybe reconsider using powerheads with some kick vs relying on return flow or ultra-soft powerheads like Hydor or Vortech....instead, pick something like the Tunze 6015 or 6025.

 

7 hours ago, kangadrew said:

My plan is to buy whatever cheap, dirty looking Acros are at the LFS that nobody will touch, and see if I can get some of those to grow and maybe even color up. If I can do well with those, then I'll move onto the higher-end stuff that I actually like. 

Weird plan unless those are the kinds of corals you'd generally go for.  

 

I can see staying away from over-priced corals permanently.  

 

I could see staying away from stony corals if it was your first tank (but I'd counsel you otherwise).

 

6 hours ago, kangadrew said:

That being said, it may end up being easier to just rig a sump and invest in a slightly beefier return pump, like @Scorched did on his build. 

Post if you decide to switch it up like that....we can help you figure out the proper return pump size for you based on your actual setup.  All details will be crucial to even have a shot at the perfect flow you'll need.

 

IMO, you'll want powerheads for sure in that case tho...cannot recommend a return-based closed loop...or really any closed loop.

 

I'd also consider modeling your DIY efforts after Tunze's Reefpack setup.  Look at the 250 or 500 for your example as they are more fully-featured than the tiny 100 model.

 

 

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