need best SPS keeping book reccomendations (1 Viewer)

[cobraden]

Setting up a new tank in 2011 and this time I am pretty sure it will be dedicated to SPS. Looking for references for the best book on growning them in the aquarium.

The people here on this forum and others are great resourses for info but I'd like to do a little study before I jump into this project. Still haven't even decided what size thank I'm going to use for this but it should be fun.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[flexrac]

How automated are you going to setup this tank.
I'm thinking a calcium reactor would be your best bet, and a reactor to keep phosphates down. you mostlikely already have a rodi system. what type of lighting are you going to use? that makes a huge diff as well, in terms of the colors you get from your corals. not sure i've seen anyone mention books. I think everyone, just feeds off of each other. reef central,dallasmas and reef2reef have good resources.

 

[cobraden]

Thanks Flexrac,

This is what I'm kind of thinking at the moment,

Tank: either (75 4'x18"x21") or 100 (5'x18"x23") gallon. Leaning toward the 75 but not sure yet.

Lighting: I have a few sets of 400w MH lighting but I'm thinking about putting together a LED set up based on some of the info I've been following here on the site.

I had planned to use a Calcium reactor but hadn't given any thought to a Phospate reactor. I need to look into that. May run a PM bullet or bullet2 skimmer. Need to look at what's out there.

I generally like crushed coral on the bottom of my tanks but am giving a little thought to going bare bottom. To be realistic, that idea will probably get squashed.

I do have a RODI system.

 

[BigRick]

If you're gonna do SPS do a wider tank then 18"

 

[cobraden]

I was hoping no one would say that...

 

[Scott]

If you're gonna do SPS do a wider tank then 18"

Any explanation as to why Rick? IMO the bigger the better but I am still curious about how it affects SPS

 

[soymilk]

prob a lot of light spill from a 400w MH. Prob better off with 2 250w

I'm not sure if you need books. Like felix said, there are tons of resources from people online. As well as just talking to people with nice sps tanks.

I would suggest doing a mix tank for a while before heading into sps. Its really a pain in the butt to get sps going in a brand new tank. You have to be meticulous in tank husbantry for a long long time.

 

[cobraden]

I will still have a softies tank and there may be a little mixing but this one is going to kind of be purpose built.

If I end up keeping my 300 gallon after I move, that will be my mix tank.

 

[flexrac]

crushed coral does not stay pretty long, it gets either dirty looking or coraline algae grows on it, then you will have issues. I know, i tried it.

look for special grade reef sand instead. and i would change the skimmer to a bubble magus or better. do it right the first time and you won't regret it. what kind of overflow setup are you looking to do?

 

[cobraden]

other than a standard RR tank, I haven't given the overflows much thought. I don't really like pipes coming out of the back of the tank unless it's a built in so I'll probably stick with standard RR.

 

[soymilk]

I would look into zeovit if you wanna start with sps right off the bat.

I've been having pretty good results with it so far.

 

[CBBSteve]

Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman.

Great overall coral book, not just SPS. I use mine all the time. I highly recommend it.

good luck,
Steve

 

[Scott]

Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman.

Great overall coral book, not just SPS. I use mine all the time. I highly recommend it.

good luck,
Steve

Hey look! Someone answered the question, lol.

 

[flexrac]

Found these as well
http://www.squidoo.com/sps-coral

 

[dark8nge1]

best "book" I've come across.

http://www.korallen-zucht.de/files/zeoguide_103_english-1.pdf

 

[flexrac]

best "book" I've come across.

http://www.korallen-zucht.de/files/zeoguide_103_english-1.pdf

just may try this, though all the pics i see of corals under this system all have pastel colors.

 

[soymilk]

i think zeovit is like that though. Makes the colors very pastel. I don't mind too much, as long as the sps are healthy and growing well.

I just wish the additives weren't so expensive.

 

[Mark L.]

I skimmed over the PDF document and this really stood out....

Or: Another real alternative is lighting strictly with T5. We achieve great results in our
tanks as far as growth and coloration is concerned with Korallenzucht Coral Light and
Fiji Purple bulbs. We use a combination of 2 ; 4 (Fiji Purple/Coral Light) at an intensity
of approximately 550 Watts per m2. The bulbs are replaced every 6-8 weeks to assure
best results.

That would get expensive very fast.

 

[soymilk]

i think they meant 6-8 months. Even so, that can add up real fast.

Par drops of significantly after about 8 months.

 

[Mark L.]

i think they meant 6-8 months. Even so, that can add up real fast.

Par drops of significantly after about 8 months.

OK I wondered if it was a typo.