What are the elements of a simple, successful SPS reef anyway?

I'm a biopellet guy and quite happy with them. I read a tonne though, and I like to think about the alternatives, the reasons why different things work, etc.

What I realised this morning I can't really define is what people would say is your "basic, stock, this is the system you should start with for a successful reeftank" system.

Now I understand fully, there are just too many variations out there to talk about hard and fast rules here, but, if you thought about it, what would you think a working, reliable, basic, tried and true SPS system is? Since I run bare bottom, would this all change much with or without a substrate?

Here is my guess...

1. Reasonably regular water changes.
2. Big Skimmining.
3. GFO.
4. Calcium and Alkalinity maintainance by kalk/two part/reactor.
5. Good, open structured live rock.
6. Lots of flow.
7. Enough light.

What do you all think?

 

Without getting into the debatable.. It just takes consistency and patience. The most important thing is to get a schedule and keep to it like the gospel. Don't make any sudden changes and watch your numbers... The most important being alk, stable alk is a make or break. After that low phosphate is the most important. (of course this is assuming you already have enough light and flow, and an auto top off so your salinity is solid)

It becomes about watching the corals though... After a while your sps will talk to you lol. I can look at certain corals and know something is wrong... I can see the tips of my acros and tell if my alk is off or look at the colors of my tabler and know my Phosphate has risen.

 

1.) Export method (one or more of the following)
1a) Water changes
1b) Skimming (with or without probiotics)
1c) Algae growth (algae turf scrubber, refugium, etc)
1d) Filter socks
1e) Chemical filters (GFO, Carbon, etc)

2.) Replenishment (one or more of the following)
2a)Water changes (in some cases it really is all you need)
2b)Dosing (BRS 2part, kent, etc) Manual or with a doser
2c)Kalkwasser (typically in auto top off or dripped)
2d)Ca Reactor

3.) Light (one or more of the following though I have seen sps under vho and pc before)
3a.) T5HO
3b) Metal Halide
3c) Led

4.) FLOW (the most under looked item IMO)
Lots and lots of it.. more smaller power heads are better than one big one.


so many ways to accomplish the same goal... But as long as you keep nitrate and phosphate low, alk stable and your cal/mag/sg in line... you will grow fuzzy sticks like it's your job.

 

Very well put and quite clear, thanks. I want to dig into this a bit though if you don't mind. We agree on all elements, but export takes a little thought. I don't think any one of these alone is in regular use (some people do water changes only, etc. but I don't think its common). What therefore are the popular combinations?

I currently use, aided skimming, water changes and gfo. I have no nitrate or phosphate at all. What is the most common regime?

 

salt water aquariums can be kept with wood stone bubble makers, live rock, salt water and lights thats how it all begun, simple water movement rock and light. back in those days they used ocean water for water changes, i'm thinkful that we have the tools that help us with expanding the life of the coral we keep. we can how grow frags and sell coral from a 20g tank and thats awesome to me. what i have tried to do is keep it as simple as i can. learn when enough is enough. i want to enjoy the hobby thats a part of my life.

 

I would imagine the most common would be what you are doing. Water changes / skimmer/ gfo combo is the most common. After that adding in a fuge. Probiotics (carbon dosing and biopellets) and Algae scrubbers are less common but very effective.

But there are people out there running no water changes and only algae scrubbers and a few years in they haven't wiped... I also know many only doing water changes and being successful... I personally use every method mentioned all on the same tank lol.

 

ive kept some successful reef tanks for a while now and while I am not an expert, I feel I do have a pretty good thing growing. SO MUCH of ur opinions can be debated till we are blue in the face. IMO, the main things your corals need is 1. LIGHT, 2. Good water quality and 3. Food and available nutrients and elements. Overall, Consistency!

1. Light - a good high intensity light that is kept in good condition is key. I have personally had very good SPS growth under VHO flourescents (way old school), Metal Halides (old school but still prevalent) and LED (the future IMO). I currently have LED and see great growth and color. I will never go away from LED back to either of the previous methods.
2. Good water - I DO NOT change my water. I started this several years ago on my previous tank. It started off as a cost savings mantra and just continued. the only times I have done them is due to a major issue caused by an external factor out of my control such as power outage or someone accidentally adding too much of something. That said, any water regardless of its purpose that goes into a tank MUST be RO/DI. From top off water to Water changes, use only RO/DI. I have seen the proof in the switch personally.

But good water is not just in water top off and changes. it is also in the filtration. for many years, I didnt run a skimmer on a no water change tank. it looked great. I use one now as I have much larger and more fish. My current tank is ULNS so a skimmer is a must. other filtration is also very beneficial like the algae scrubbers, bio pellets, GFo etc. it all depends on your goals. BUT, pick one and run with it. dont change it up every few months.

3. FOOD. Fish poop= coral food. Also having proper alkalinity, Calcium and other trace elements are essential. Keeping these dead steady will go a long way than dosing the latest and greatest additive to help your corals grow.

 

I like this answer, but lets get quantative. I have had success with SPS. Here is what I did.

1.) Export method (one or more of the following)
1a) Water changes
25% weekly with RODI and reef crystals
1b) Skimming (with or without probiotics)
yes
1c) Algae growth (algae turf scrubber, refugium, etc)
chaeto and other macro algae in refugium
1d) Filter socks
Never used the things
1e) Chemical filters (GFO, Carbon, etc)
GFO only

2.) Replenishment (one or more of the following)
2a)Water changes (in some cases it really is all you need)
Yes, as stated above. For a while I could get away without dosing by doing water changes. Eventually as the corals became larger, the WCs could no longer keep up.
2b)Dosing (BRS 2part, kent, etc) Manual or with a doser
BRS 2 part with a dosing pump
2c)Kalkwasser (typically in auto top off or dripped)
Never used it
2d)Ca Reactor
Never used it
3.) Light(one or more of the following though I have seen sps under vho and pc before)
3a.) T5HO
Yes
3b) Metal Halide
No
3c) Led
Just switched, too soon to say

4.) FLOW (the most under looked item IMO)
Lots and lots of it.. more smaller power heads are better than one big one.
I agree. The most under looked, yet CRITICAL IMO. 50X to 100X is good. I had about 60X in my old tank, 50X in my new 90g. Too soon to say about the latter.


so many ways to accomplish the same goal... But as long as you keep nitrate and phosphate low, alk stable and your cal/mag/sg in line... you will grow fuzzy sticks like it's your job.

Yes, all of the above.

To summarize, here is what you need (in addition to a non-SPS tank):
Flow 50-100X
Clean water
High lighting
Stability

 

some great posts thus far, so I will not bother covering any of those aspects as anything I would say has been said

couple of additional points from my own experience may be of use

1) I noted that my succes rate improved when I did focus on SPS , aside from a flow tolerant LPS ( acans and wellsos) at sand bed level, whilst I know many people do run succesfull mixed aquariums, I found that conditions that favour the SPS were not appreciated by softies or the more fleshy LPS, and in addition anything with the ability to sting and sting at a distance, is not going to work out very well for the poor unfortunate acro that the sweeper tentacles can contact
SPS corals in general lose in any battle with an LPS coral that can reach them.

2) constantly messing with the aquarium or as my friend Curtis (Inwall75) would say "the most dangerous coral in the aquarium is the arm and hand coral"
if your constantly in the aquarium, moving this, moving that etc, then you are going to experience issues on occasion as a result of this

Steve

 

For any tank, light stocking, "simple" filtration (it can be high tech and still simple to work on), and routine maintenance will result in the best success. Personally, I just do weekly water changes, empty the skimmer, and top off (daily) my 1og reef (in sig.). I currently have about 24 corals (only 2 of these are SPS, lots of LPS though). As I transition more into SPS, I do not have plans to run additional filtration other than (possibly) activated carbon in a canister, or HOB filter.

An ato is a must for any SPS reef. I also plan to begin dosing within the next year (only 3 months old right now) as I do intend to delve further LPS and many, many more SPS coral. I think a controller, which aids in tank automation, can make a breeze of what would other be a difficult task (or many tasks).

I'm not running a sump, so for me aesthetics are very important. All equipment takes up minimal space, and is black so it blends in. My skimmer just looks like a built-in overflow.