Tank planning-65 gallon sps build (1 Viewer)

[NarnyTheGreat]

So, I promised my husband that this new tank was going to be low maintenance. I told him it would be a VERY easy set up that I would make sure didnt fail. I can not have an algae problems or any other big headache issues and I CAN NOT be forced to work on it while hes home.

So obviously I have changed my mind lol.

Now is the perfect time to start buying things to prepare for a SPS dominate tank.

I was planning on setting up a continuous auto feeder for my fish like you see here.... http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-aquariums/automatic-continuous-feeder-20896/

But my question is, should I buy the dosing pumps/kalk/2part from BRS or should I set up the auto feeder first? This all has to be done low key so there is no "Oh I'm just gonna run out and spend 500$ on this pump or light" and it all has to be very much the whole, "Oh, I want to add this coral now, and I can because its all running smoothly with no need to buy more stuff".

I will have to work with the lighting I have. One tank is 2 T12 VHO's and one is 4 T5s. Of course the 4 T5s are on my octopus tank that I was thinking of turning into a sea horse tank for a while.

Bottom line is, what should I get into first? It will be months before I can add any kind of SPS so I have plenty of time. I just need to start preparing.

 

[flexrac]

The continuos feeder you linked to was really designed for nps tanks, if you do that with your tank, you will have to do lots of water changes, which means lots of salt mix and a huge skimmer.
for lighting you really should look into a setup like mines. the aquastyle leds are truely easy to setup and cost way less than other setups out there.
and you won't have the cost of changing bulbs and losing spectrum when the bulbs are running out.

if you go to the diy section of rc, there is a guy that made a nori auto feeder, that one is really nice.

may i also suggest a kalkreactor or 2 part setup.
you won't need it in the beggining but, as the tank matures you will. avast marine has the cheapest kalk reactors i have seen.

by the way what size tank are we talking, i forgot the size of your new tank.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

Its a 65 gallon with the same foot print of the 55 gallon.

Unforutantly I can not upgrade my lighting if it costs more than 300$. He will flip his lid since I am making all these other changes. Plus new lighting would be a sure tip off that I am making other plans. I have had PC's T5's MH and VHO T12's all in the last 2 years.... I just couldnt make up my mind as to which I liked so no new lights for me, he simply with not go for it and I cant blame him.

I simply have to work with what I have.

 

[Ostentum]

Unless you are running a large volume SPS dominated tank, then it will require more work than anything else. SPS definitely need TLC and very stable parameters. I think you can ask anyone that has done SPS dominated that it can be a huge pain in the butt, and stuff goes wrong even when you have perfect parameters. Like in my tank right now. 0 phos 0 nitrate and I still get hair algae and algae growing from the liverock. Auto topoffs, alk and ca stability, salinity stability, temp stability and great flow and the correct lighting and you will be fine. I have thought about automating feeding for the fish also but havent done anything like that. Maybe when the 300g is underway I will think about it.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

As far as the auto feeder goes, I dont plan to feed every other min, but I do think the fish would do better with many smaller feedings. Not to mention that I have read that the wrasses do better when they have 2 or 3 feedings a day... thats a bother sometimes so having the set up do it 2 or 3 times a day for me would be nice.

 

[flexrac]

Its a 65 gallon with the same foot print of the 55 gallon.

Unforutantly I can not upgrade my lighting if it costs more than 300$. He will flip his lid since I am making all these other changes. Plus new lighting would be a sure tip off that I am making other plans. I have had PC's T5's MH and VHO T12's all in the last 2 years.... I just couldnt make up my mind as to which I liked so no new lights for me, he simply with not go for it and I cant blame him.

I simply have to work with what I have.

I paid less than for my diy led setup, and what i have is way to much for your tank.

you can get two of these:
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Aquarium-24--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

Unless you are running a large volume SPS dominated tank, then it will require more work than anything else. SPS definitely need TLC and very stable parameters. I think you can ask anyone that has done SPS dominated that it can be a huge pain in the butt, and stuff goes wrong even when you have perfect parameters. Like in my tank right now. 0 phos 0 nitrate and I still get hair algae and algae growing from the liverock. Auto topoffs, alk and ca stability, salinity stability, temp stability and great flow and the correct lighting and you will be fine. I have thought about automating feeding for the fish also but havent done anything like that. Maybe when the 300g is underway I will think about it.

Well, grr.. does anyone have a small sps tank that i might be able to mimic? If I show my husband that the tank can run and run well with out me always messing with it when hes home and causing the whole house to be in a state of upheaval then I am sure he would be open to it.

I just can not continue to do things like I used to. It drove him crazy.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

Its a 65 gallon with the same foot print of the 55 gallon.

Unforutantly I can not upgrade my lighting if it costs more than 300$. He will flip his lid since I am making all these other changes. Plus new lighting would be a sure tip off that I am making other plans. I have had PC's T5's MH and VHO T12's all in the last 2 years.... I just couldnt make up my mind as to which I liked so no new lights for me, he simply will not go for it and I cant blame him.

I simply have to work with what I have.

I paid less than for my diy led setup, and what i have is way to much for your tank.

you can get two of these:
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Aquarium-24--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html

Hmm thats interesting... I am not the most DIY competent person. How easy do you think this will be to put together?

 

[BigRick]

My ( over one year temporary tank til i setup my 135 cube) 40 gal mixed reef, lots of sps , takes a lot of maintenace cause it is so small. 2 leopard wrasse, spoted madarin, 2 pipefish, clown goby, starry blenny, Tenniti Tang (2"). You have to have very stable parameters and good clean water. You will need all the equip before you start buying sps or you will be losing a lot more money in dead corals then equipment costs. GFO is a must for SPS unless you want even more tank maintenance.

 

[flexrac]

if you send them an email and ask them to assemble it for you, they will. just email them prior to ordering. show them the kit you want.

i got a quote of just $10 for assembly on a kit for my 20 long. you may have to attach the wires to the drivers once they arrive, but that's the easy part. also tell them you want the blues and whites on seperate drivers. so you can dim your colors.

 

[flexrac]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2035404

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

if you send them an email and ask them to assemble it for you, they will. just email them prior to ordering. show them the kit you want.

i got a quote of just $10 for assembly on a kit for my 20 long. you may have to attach the wires to the drivers once they arrive, but that's the easy part. also tell them you want the blues and whites on seperate drivers. so you can dim your colors.

Thats AWESOME! Thank you! That I think I could do... little at a time.

Thank you for the link... I am not sure that any of the fish I will be adding are omnivores, so I am not sure if the nori would be needed but its def good to know information.

Heres my list of fish thus far,

3 or 4 Golden Rhomboidalis Wrasse

2 gold assessors

1 diamond watchmen goby

1 clown goby

 

[flexrac]

$1000 worth of fish + shipping, wow!
you will be crying when and if one dies for sure.
I love rhomboids but, i'm waiting for a hookup on them. they are cheap to buy from vanuatu, but shipping cost. so you would need a group buy like the one gabe offered a few months back.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

I am planning on making a shopping list for BRS in the next few weeks so I can stock up and be ready.

Having everything on hand will def make things run smoother.

 

[flexrac]

I need to order my mesh from them, and some gfo but, i'm not ready, group buys save on shipping.

 

[flexrac]

oh, yeah, dennis has gfo from them now. no shipping for me.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

$1000 worth of fish + shipping, wow!
you will be crying when and if one dies for sure.
I love rhomboids but, i'm waiting for a hookup on them. they are cheap to buy from vanuatu, but shipping cost. so you would need a group buy like the one gabe offered a few months back.

Yes its pretty costly, but still less than I have spent on octopuses. Plus, these fish will live a hell of a lot longer than any octopus I have ever had. But youre sure right! If I lose this tank I would be crying for sure.

oh, yeah, dennis has gfo from them now. no shipping for me.

Oh cool! Wait, I still have to get the 2 part :-( lol so I have to spend on shipping anyways.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

Question, will a ReefKeeper Lite L1 Basic be able to run 3 dosing pumps?

I dont need it for lights or anything just dont want to have to deal with dosing so much. I would like to just set it up, check it once a week and be done.

I would be setting up 3 Drew's Doser Peristaltic Dosing Pumps from BRS

 

[flexrac]

I would get the apexjr instead, there is enough members in here with apex that can help you set it up.

 

[Ostentum]

Do your research on GFO, I had some unexplained STN in some of my sps, did some research, found a couple threads discussing how GFO can cause STN, took the GFO offline and havent had an issue since. I do use Prodibio to keep my nitrates and phosphates undetectable.