new to SPS

[donduncan]

I am new to SPS. I am thinking of getting into SPS. I have a 135 with 2 250 mh lights. What things do I need to know before making this jump. Tank is very stable.

Thanks

[swjim]

Your lighting should be good. SPS like a lot of flow and you'll need to make sure you maintain your calcium and alkalinity.

What do you currently have in the tank? If you have softies you should plan on running carbon if you aren't already doing so.

[donduncan]

I have softies, some LPS. Fish are clowns, sailfin tang, coral beauty, wrase, and clown goby.

I have carbon in my sump. Is that good enough?

[Bill S]

Your coral beauty may or may not be a problem...

Aside from that, you look good to go. Start slow & cheap...

[donduncan]

I will keep an eye on the coral beauty. Is 150 for 10 frags a good deal?

[donduncan]

What would you suggest about calcium dosing. Kalk or B ionic. What is the best method for dosing?

[donduncan]

I would like to avoid a Calcium reactor if possible

[donduncan]

What parameters on the calcium should I keep the tank at

[blindside]

You should make sure your water is top knotch quality. Sps likes very clean water. Get an ro/di unit if you do not already have one. I keep the calcium in my tank at 460ppm. It should range from 400ppm to about 460 I believe or around there. For a tank that big I wouldn't avoid a calcium reactor. It will be cheaper in the long run compared to dosing for a tank of that size. I use 2 part b-ionic. Your lighting seems sufficient.

[BioCube14]

Yup like bstreep said start slow and cheap do Milli's and montis first

[Bill S]

Is 150 for 10 frags a good deal?

It can be. It can also be a total waste of money and time. Try getting something easy at first, and see if it does ok. A green slimer and/or a piece of cap are good choices.

As for the reactor, it really depends upon how much SPS you are going to keep. Bionic isn't cheap. You can also do the DIY thing.

Personally, Ca reactors can be a bit of a challenge. If you have a lot of SPS, they are the way to go - but they HAVE to be set up right, and they HAVE to be monitored. They can melt down, crashing a tank.

[donduncan]

I already have some red cap and green monti. The red cap is new. The green monti is growing slowly. What DIY system are you talking about.

Can you use Kalk to dose calcium? What are the drawbacks to using kalk instead of a Calcium reactor?

[donduncan]

Hey Blindside. I have a RO/DI unit. I mix my own water and do water changes every 2 weeks.

[BioCube14]

You should just dose manually its not hard to do and there is less risk for crash

[Bill S]

DIY:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

Kalk and Ca+ reactors are 2 very different things. They generally coexist nicely.

[swjim]

The two part solution from bulkreefsupply.com is much less expensive than Bionic, I use and would recommend it.