SnowMan's shallow SPS tank

[picoreefguy]

what brand of frag domes did you end up going with?

 

[snowmansnow]

Picoreefguy;1095712 wrote: what brand of frag domes did you end up going with?

I used the ones you posted.
Those things are SUPER light and porus. They FLOAT, until water logged. Kinda like matrix


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[snowmansnow]

10 month and 2 day update!
10 months ago...

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Just now

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So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[xilez]

I-spy frag domes! Sweet tank, It's cool to see your success with SPS growth in that time frame.

 

[picoreefguy]

SnowManSnow;1095714 wrote: I used the ones you posted.
Those things are SUPER light and porus. They FLOAT, until water logged. Kinda like matrix


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

yea they look like they're made of the same stuff that marine pure is made of which is good, thatll give you some extra biofiltration, until they get covered up anyway lol

 

[kirkwood]

I like the domes. Didn't know about them. I have a XXL slimer colony a magnetic plug in my BB. I still can't crank the flow or the piece will turn. Is the expectation that the stag will cover the dome and encrust to the BB?

 

[snowmansnow]

Kirkwood;1095739 wrote: I like the domes. Didn't know about them. I have a XXL slimer colony a magnetic plug in my BB. I still can't crank the flow or the piece will turn. Is the expectation that the stag will cover the dome and encrust to the BB?

Nah. I'd waste a bunch of corals when I got a bigger tank if that was the case. I just want heavier bases that will stay put and not blow around


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[snowmansnow]

Par reading
I have bumped the PAR down from what it was to a more conservative level.
the PIC is a good bit bluer than the actual tank color
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[danh]

That's a lot of info. What's that piece in the back at 220?

 

[snowmansnow]

Danh;1097424 wrote: That's a lot of info. What's that piece in the back at 220?

back right?
225 is a spongodes

 

[snowmansnow]

I actually brought the light up and swapped out a few higher PAR lamps to get these levels. With a lower NO3 level I think i can get away with it. ALK is also middlish at 9.4. NO3 is 2.5.

 

[snowmansnow]

to be clear i took OUT a few higher PAR lamps and replaced them with some with lower Par.. the above statement could have been confusing

 

[xilez]

Whats the general consensus on PAR #s and SPS... I have seen 200-400 and 300-500. Do you have a preference?

 

[snowmansnow]

Some sps need higher par.. i've seen some millipora that seem to thrive under high PAR. That being said a lot of sps have a bit of a varied range as far as PAR seems to go, at least in my experience. With my limited experience sps will grow and color up just fine anywhere between 5-300. (or even higher)
The part of the equation I've been working on is balancing a controlled NO3 level / alk and PAR.
The higher the PAR level the corals receive the more energy they have to color up and grow, but they also need elevated levels of NO3 to do this or I've gotten photoinhibition (I think that is the right context). I don't want to raise my PAR and thus need to raise NO3, because it will promote algae growth.

The point of lowering my PAR on purpose is to be able to keep my NO3 around 2ppt (red sea pro) and my alk around 9.5 in an attempt to see if things balance out and compliment each other.

B

 

[snowmansnow]

xilez;1097439 wrote: Whats the general consensus on PAR #s and SPS... I have seen 200-400 and 300-500. Do you have a preference?

Maybe one of the sps experts in the bunch will chime in with a better answer than what I gave

 

[reefcharger]

Yeah lots of factors... nutrients, types, colors. Smooth skin is lower par. Darker colors can be lower par. Brighter colors higher par. A lot of the higher end stuff has slowly been acclimated to higher par to bring out more intense coloration. Everything should grow to some extent around 250-300. 200-250 and 300-500 is usually the range you fine tune depending on your system and corals. If you have the freedom to experiment, I'd say continue to raise until you get good growth/colors or you start to see bleaching or a loss then go down from there. The more PAR the better usually until you see a decline lol.

SnowManSnow;1097463 wrote: Some sps need higher par.. i've seen some millipora that seem to thrive under high PAR. That being said a lot of sps have a bit of a varied range as far as PAR seems to go, at least in my experience. With my limited experience sps will grow and color up just fine anywhere between 5-300.
The part of the equation I've been working on is balancing a controlled NO3 level / alk and PAR.
The higher the PAR level the corals receive the more energy they have to color up and grow, but they also need elevated levels of NO3 to do this or I've gotten photoinhibition (I think that is the right context).

The point of lowering my PAR on purpose is to be able to keep my NO3 around 2ppt (red sea pro) and my alk around 9.5 in an attempt to see if things balance out and compliment each other.

B

 

[snowmansnow]

Been a while since I did an update. Pics coming as soon as I figure out why it's looking SOOOOO BLUE


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[xilez]

SnowManSnow;1114565 wrote: Been a while since I did an update. Pics coming as soon as I figure out why it's looking SOOOOO BLUE


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

If using iphone stock camera with no gel filters, it helps to open the camera with your phone already pointing at the tank. this helps the white balance a bit.