SPS in 28g?

[TheReefGeek]

Anyone running a successfull SPS tank in a similar sized (or smaller) tank? If so I would like to know the specs, and your experiences.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Sumpinfish used to run a very successful SPS smaller tank. You can ask him details.

[OCDP]

I keep lots of SPS in my 20g. I think the biggest problem is keeping everything stable, as this is harder to accomplish in a smaller system.

Basically.. I keep millepora, digitata, various acros, and they are all lit under my 150w HQI . I have had great success so far.. everything colours up great and grows wonderfully.

I do weekly water changes of about 2.5g . I top-up every second day, sometimes that changes though.. just depends. I dose calcium and alk. and that's about it. I am fugeless and sumpless.

Heh, you'll all think less of me, but I have had such great success so far with SPS.. and I keep 4 fish in my 20g. Some acros do not thrive though. But most do... it depends on the species I suppose.

Anything I forgot , just let me know... HTH

[TheReefGeek]

Is the 150 HQI the only light over the tank? What color temp is it? Where idd you get it?

I am going to drill the 28g and add a 10g or 20g sump to hide equipment and add volume for stability.

What fisihes do you keep in there?

[OCDP]

Yep the 150 HQI is the only light over the tank. It is a 20k Ushio bulb which will soon be replaced with a 14k of some sort.

Drilling it is probably a good idea.. my reef is in my bedroom and noise is a big factor for me.. so no sump for me.

And I keep two True Percula clowns, a Yellow Watchman Goby, and a Lawnmower Blenny. :D

[TheReefGeek]

Thanks for the info!

I hope to drill it AND keep the noise down because this is going into a shared office....

[OCDP]

Yeah, I am sure that won't be too much of a problem. I am an extremely light sleeper.. so that's why. Otherwise.. the sound of trickling water can be quite relaxing at times IMO.

Good luck! Let me know if I can help with anything else.

[untamed]

I think I have slightly more than 20gallons in my Hex..but it isn't more than 30 gal. I have a single 175W MH and 2 9W actinics.

I use a dosing pump to add Kalk. (On a small system it is really easy to overdose Kalk!) I started with two part Ca/Alk supplements, but couldn't keep up.

SPS are thriving.

I'll attempt a photo, but I've had trouble posting photos in the past.

Oh...my avatar is a reasonable shot of that tank...you just can't see the light above it.

[TheReefGeek]

What kind of gph are you running in these smaller SPS tanks?

[shotzee]

I have a 18 gallon high that I have been running for over a year (converted from a 10 gallon before that). The system has a 5 gallon sump and I use a 250W DE halide for lighting. I have been keeping SPS/clams since it was established and it has been going well. I have to agree though that it definately very hard to keep stable, and sometimes your coral color or growth will reflect this. But who doesn't like a challenge:)

[Funky_Fish14]

I am about to set-up a 28g SPS dominated tank. It will have about 3/4" of live sand, only one fish though(engineer goby), and only 10lbs of rock or so, I am putting on a custom venturi skimmer(prototype) and for circulation there will be a SEIO 1100, lighting will be a 400W 20K halide. I dont see any problems that should come up for me with this system, will let you know how it goes. It should be up and running within the month as all the rock is already cycled and I have all the equipment its just a matter of setting it all up.

Chris

[TheReefGeek]

Hmmmm, I do have a spare 400w ballast kicking around.... :mrgreen: Will have to think about that one..... What are you doing to fight overheating the water? What are you doing for a canopy?

My tank is just a little over 20g, the measurements from the guy I bought it from were off.

[Funky_Fish14]

I am simply going to get a couple 12v fans from princess auto or something, get a battery charger and run them off that, and let the fixture hang about 12-14" over the tank. There will be a box around the rim of the tank likely extending up about 2-2.5ft, with a lid. The fixture will hang inside that, then one one side, there will be an input fan, and the other side, and output fan. I have this set-up on my 75g right now which has dual 400W halides, and that works just fine. I dont anticipate the water getting heated by the light at all. This system may get a sump in the future, but will not have one for now.

Chris

[sumpfinfishe]

You have PM :biggrin:

[TheReefGeek]

Ok, I ordered a 24" reflector, and an XM 20K bulb. 400w it is!

[Funky_Fish14]

Sounds great! I am very happy with the XM 20K 400W bulb, and cant wait to set up this one over the 28.

Chris

[untamed]

What kind of gph are you running in these smaller SPS tanks?

My return pump is a Mag 7 split by SQWD into opposing tank inputs. I'm probably getting 500 gallons/hr out of it...plus there is one 600gph powerhead in the tank that activates every now and then....so I suppose I've got 20x tank volume at least.

That is a nice thing about the small tank...really easy to get LOTs of flow relative to tank size.

I also have a ER skimmer rated at 80-100 gallons. I like a lot of skimming.

[OCDP]

400w over 20-28g tanks? That's nuts! I have a hard enough time keeping up with evap. on my 20g, AND heat.. especially in the summer.

I think that's pretty brave haha.. and without sumps and so on. But, hopeully your fans help you out, in turn though.. only to have more evaporation. And in a small system, topping off is really important, because one day without topping off will seriously increase your salinity, and then that just stresses the SPS out.

Good luck!

[TheReefGeek]

I will be running a sump, and and auto-top off, with two fans in the hood.

I can also add fans over the sump if needed. This should be enough cooling.

[OCDP]

Well if you have a sump and auto top-off then I'd say your set. The fans will definately be a big, big help.

When do you plan on setting this up?

[TheReefGeek]

I dunno yet, lemm think out loud!

I just picked up the tank and stand earlier this week.

I am ordering some diamond drill bits today as I dont have the smaller sizes required for a tank this small. Thill will take some time to get here, then I have to drill and plumb.

I ordered the bulb and reflector today, and have the ballasts. But I need to build the DIY hood. The pumps, filter, skimmer, and heater I have.

The sump I have, but need to baffle it. I need to order the DIY auto-top off parts today. The rock and sand I have.

Biggest roadblock for me will be the DIY hood, I hate woodworking when it is so cold outside, I never got my garage furnace up and running before winter. :(

My goal is by the end of March or so, I will try to post pics as I go.

[rickjames]

If you put 400W on a 28 Gallon tank you are either going to have to run so many fans that the noise will drive you nuts, or have to run a chiller. I had a 250W bulb over my 30G with two computer fans in the canopy and in the summer I fought to keep the temp under 84F. And the 400W puts out WAY more heat. I have two over my 150G that drains into a 75G sump in the basement. I know the canopy has almost no ventilation but I need a full size room fan over my sump to keep it under 81F. And that is in a basement! And last summer it went up higher, so I have to get a chiller myself this year.

Anyways, 400W is not necessary on such a small tank, you would be much better off with a nice 250W configuration, at the maximum. Plus there are so many bulbs to choose from in that wattage, in both double ended and single ended configurations.

JMO...

EDIT: I see you already bought the 400W. Now all you have to do is buy a chiller! ;)

[OCDP]

Heh, I agree with you rickjames.

My opinion? Don't use a hood.. keep it open, pendant style. Way less heat!

[TheReefGeek]

In my hood I am going to seperate the bulb from the surface of the water with acrylic, and will be running a 4" fan that will move way more air than computer fans. So essentially it will be like hanging the unit. I would hang it if I could, but there would be too much light leakage for my co-workers. My office building is air conditioned, so summer wont be as much of an issue as in a house.

I would run 250w but the ballast I have spare is 400w. My 250 ballast are dual PFO in 1 box, so cannot easily pull 1 out.

I can add a 3" fan if that is not enough, plus misc. fans over the sump if required.

The 1 thing that might halt this plan though, is the noise of the fans. If it is too disturbing then I will have to go with VHO lighting, but I want to try out SPS corals, and I dont think VHO would be good enough for that, although I have never tried.

[muck]

Why not get a 150W retrofit kit?
Should be more than enough for a 28G tank.

[TheReefGeek]

It would be more than enough for sure. I was going to go that way because I have the ballast for the 400w. But a 150w would be easier to control heat.

I am going to put the bulb and reflector on hold for now, it has not shipped yet.

What is the magnetic ballast number for 150w? I know 175w is an m57. If I can find a cheap magnetic ballast I would go this route.

[TheReefGeek]

I found an m57 ballast for a 175w MH for $60 at a local electronics/lighting shop. I am going to change my bulb order to a 175w XM 20K. Maybe I can do with just a 3" fan this way, and keep the noise down. Thanks for the input everyone!

[OCDP]

Sounds good... I think you'll be just as happy if not more happy with the end results (less heat, etc..)

May I make a suggestion? I would try a 14k bulb , I am using 20k and it is quite blue (obviously you adjust to it) but I have heard really good things about 14k bulbs. Like it's the perfect mix of white and blue and brings out great coral colours... as well as good growth (so I keep hearing)

[TheReefGeek]

I have run 10K and 20K XMs, and I like the color of the 20K. BUT, for comparison I think I will order the 15K XM to check it out, good idea!

[rickjames]

In my hood I am going to seperate the bulb from the surface of the water with acrylic

That is going to seriously reduce the PAR output of the bulb and probably make it less intense then a 250W bulb.

[TheReefGeek]

I think I am going to to hold off and re-think the lighting. If I can't use my 400w, I might just do SPS in a larger tank in my basement, and go with a softie/LPS tank with VHOs or PCs, as I have an icecap 660 I am not using. I could run up to 4x75w VHO with that ballast, or would PC be better?

Does glass lower the PAR as much as acrylic?

[mr_alberta]

You can run T-5s off the IC660 too....

[TheReefGeek]

Yeah, but the cost of the individual reflectors added up quick! Unless you know where to get them cheaper.

Plus I have VHO endcaps, although if cheap enough I could buy T5 endcaps, havent found anywhere reasonably priced though.

How many T5 bulbs would you run?

[rickjames]

Does glass lower the PAR as much as acrylic?

Probably more because it is less clear. Basically you don't want anything between the bulb and the water.

History shows that those that start with fluorescent lighting eventually upgrade to metal halide. IMO it is simply the nicest and most versatile lighting for a reef system. :mrgreen:

[TheReefGeek]

For now I am going to go softy/LPS tank to keep the cost down, and just order 2, 75w VHO tubes.

SPS will have to wait until I setup my 3ft 50g.

[Reefhawk1]

I am using a 150watt HQI pendant from Coralife with a 20k Bulb over my 30 gallon cube. My tank is drilled and runs into a 33 gallon sump with a automatic top off system. I have some sps in the tank at this moment and I will be adding more in the future. 150 watt is the way to go IMO.

[TheReefGeek]

Reefhawk, how is your hood setup?

[OCDP]

I am using a 150watt HQI pendant from Coralife

I think he's using a pendant? :biggrin:

[TheReefGeek]

Impossible! Ok fine, I shouldn't read so fast.... :mrgreen:

[Reefhawk1]

This is what it looks like 150Watt HQI. hidden behind rock on the left is a sieo 1500 :mrgreen: I also use a mag 9 for return.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/canme.jpg

[TheReefGeek]

Very nice pic! That would blind my co-workers pretty quick!

How do you keep your sandbed still with all that flow!

[OCDP]

Your cube is the perfect dimensions for that pendant. I love that "beam" like look... just reminds me of a nice beam of natural sunlight . Very nice.

[Reefhawk1]

Thanks for the compliments :biggrin: I keep the flow of the sieo pointed upward to prevent the movement of sand. I also have a rio 1100 behind the rock at the bottom left corner to keep the deleterious from settling.

[Funky_Fish14]

Although rather late in the thread, lol, I wanted to adress the 400W heat issue. Over my 75g tank, I have 2x 400W Halides. The tank is covered with a full glass cover. My above tank fuge is not covered, however it doesnt get much flow, maybe 70-120gph. I only have 2 4" fans which remove heat from the closed canopy inside the setup, and my main tank never goes above 80 degrees when both halides are on. I have no doubt that a 400W bulb, pendant style inside a closed canopy over my 28g will do just fine and not cause heat problems, as I believe two 3 or 4" input and output fans should remove all the heat from the canopy. They can move alot of air and when there is nowhere for the air to go but in and out two holes, then you shouldnt get too many problems. My 75g's canopy is never warm, I never have a problem working under the lights even with the hood open.

Just my 2 cents...

Chris

[Funky_Fish14]

BTW, Reefhawk, the tank looks great!

[TheReefGeek]

Thanks for the input Chris. I might upgrade the lighting later, so good info.

When I work under my hanging canopy on my 180, I get a sunburn :)

[Funky_Fish14]

No problem.

Well, I meant that even having my arms within 6" of the bulbs is not hot, whereas typically it almost burns to do so.

Chris

[TheReefGeek]

Yeah, I have no fans on my hanging canopy, my tank doesnt overheat, so no need.