Designing the perfect SPS display system

[TatumFan]

Hi all,
I'm mulling over a tank upgrade and wanted to get some feedback from members here. I would really like to have a tank filled with acropora, and I'm also looking to have a clean, "professional aquascape" display with minimal equipment. I've been going through the various tank-of-the-month threads on forums, tank features on ReefBuilders, and tours of various coral growing facilities, and trying to parse exactly what makes commercial aquaculturists have much higher growth rates and survival rates than I do. I would really like to achieve spawning in my system, but I feel like I need to bolster my growth rates and general coral health first.


So.... first on my list is the necessary volume of water: it seems that the largest volume of water tends to grow acropora the best. Is this because of availability of elements needed for growth, characteristics of fish kept in bigger tanks, stability of salinity, lack of shock experienced from 5 gallon water changes, or the character of water flow across a long distance when larger pumps are involved? I'm targeting at least 80 gallons for the display and 4' of length.


Related to volume is height; in my opinion, deeper is better for aesthetics, and possibly for inducing fish spawning behavior, but does a low surface to total volume ratio mean less O2 for corals and therefore less optimal conditions for acros? It seems commercial operations always have really low tanks where acros are right on the water line, or just a few inches below it. I think this would help with dissolved oxygen, in addition to being economical, but it's not the best for viewing, unless it's a top-down lagoon tank.


Water flow: I'm considering closed loop pumps instead of powerheads. If I can drill the tank and just have a few eductors in the display instead of powerheads, it would keep things clean and be one less wire in the tank. It seems the best hobbyist tanks have a lot of powerheads in the tank and a lot of churn at the surface of the water. I havent seen too many tanks built around eductors, but I'm hopeful they can match or exceed the flow from a powerhead.


Filtration: please correct me if I'm wrong, but SPS should be very efficient at nutrient export and capturing small particles given the amount of surface area they possess, and therefore minimal additional filtration should be needed. My ideal nutrient export comes in the form of coral growth! If possible, I'd prefer not to have a sump, but a sump and large skimmer seem to be a common denominator for virtually every successful hobbyist and commercial operation. Alternatively, if I were to have a sump, I'd be looking at a large skimmer, possibly some sort of biological reactor, and no filter roll.


Lighting: LED bars.


Sorry for the wall of text. I'll sum it up with these two questions: Do I actually need a sump and skimmer for a roughly 100 gallon SPS display system? Has anyone here used a closed-loops instead of powerheads on their display tank?

 

[Bao]

The growth rate of SPS doesn't depend on water volume as long as you keep the temperature and water chemistry stable and consistent. I once saw a 7-gallon tank full of SPS that even had a calcium reactor; it won "Tank of the Month," proving it can be done at any volume. I have grown plenty of Acro in 75, 90, and 120-gallon tanks and haven't seen any difference at all.

Most people can grow Acro or other corals in tall or shallow tanks without issues. A skimmer helps a lot by mixing air into the water.

Relying on the growth rate of Acropora for nutrient export isn't ideal. Corals only grow when they are happy; how are you going to export nutrients when they aren't happy or growing? I use a large skimmer, run GFO and carbon in a reactor constantly, and perform a 12% weekly water change, yet I still struggle to keep the tank clean. Even when they grow as fast as possible, corals cannot export enough nutrients to maintain a clean system on their own. I might be wrong, but they don't seem to consume inorganic phosphate—the kind that fuels cyano and hair algae—nearly as much as organic phosphate.

Almost all "Tank of the Month" winners and large-tank owners use a sump because it is a necessity. It provides a place for filtration and hides equipment you don't want in the display. An overflow is also essential for surface skimming; without it, your tank will develop an ugly film on the surface, which further prevents oxygen exchange. A skimmer is necessary for filtration, but it also helps oxygenate the water. I’ve read that oxygen levels can be significantly lower in tanks without a skimmer.

 

[Joe Rice]

Hi all,
I'm mulling over a tank upgrade and wanted to get some feedback from members here. I would really like to have a tank filled with acropora, and I'm also looking to have a clean, "professional aquascape" display with minimal equipment. I've been going through the various tank-of-the-month threads on forums, tank features on ReefBuilders, and tours of various coral growing facilities, and trying to parse exactly what makes commercial aquaculturists have much higher growth rates and survival rates than I do. I would really like to achieve spawning in my system, but I feel like I need to bolster my growth rates and general coral health first.


So.... first on my list is the necessary volume of water: it seems that the largest volume of water tends to grow acropora the best. Is this because of availability of elements needed for growth, characteristics of fish kept in bigger tanks, stability of salinity, lack of shock experienced from 5 gallon water changes, or the character of water flow across a long distance when larger pumps are involved? I'm targeting at least 80 gallons for the display and 4' of length.


Related to volume is height; in my opinion, deeper is better for aesthetics, and possibly for inducing fish spawning behavior, but does a low surface to total volume ratio mean less O2 for corals and therefore less optimal conditions for acros? It seems commercial operations always have really low tanks where acros are right on the water line, or just a few inches below it. I think this would help with dissolved oxygen, in addition to being economical, but it's not the best for viewing, unless it's a top-down lagoon tank.


Water flow: I'm considering closed loop pumps instead of powerheads. If I can drill the tank and just have a few eductors in the display instead of powerheads, it would keep things clean and be one less wire in the tank. It seems the best hobbyist tanks have a lot of powerheads in the tank and a lot of churn at the surface of the water. I havent seen too many tanks built around eductors, but I'm hopeful they can match or exceed the flow from a powerhead.


Filtration: please correct me if I'm wrong, but SPS should be very efficient at nutrient export and capturing small particles given the amount of surface area they possess, and therefore minimal additional filtration should be needed. My ideal nutrient export comes in the form of coral growth! If possible, I'd prefer not to have a sump, but a sump and large skimmer seem to be a common denominator for virtually every successful hobbyist and commercial operation. Alternatively, if I were to have a sump, I'd be looking at a large skimmer, possibly some sort of biological reactor, and no filter roll.


Lighting: LED bars.


Sorry for the wall of text. I'll sum it up with these two questions: Do I actually need a sump and skimmer for a roughly 100 gallon SPS display system? Has anyone here used a closed-loops instead of powerheads on their display tank?

ReefBum grows large beautiful colonies of acros. If you haven't already, I'd recommend checking out his youTube channel.

 

[SteveDola]

Youre more than welcome to try and grow acros with your methods but WWC, POTO and many others grow beautiful acros (making a lot of $$$) using the more modern methods outlined on their channels. Clean water with skimming and water changes, barebottom many cases, dosing trace elements based on ICP tests, high lighting leds, strong random flow, lower nutrients (.1 po4, 10 no3), careful QTing tanks, controller monitoring *which I wouldnt even attempt high end acros with out a controller, Calc reactor, UV, etc... the list goes on. I think youre setting yourself up for failure without running a skimmer or controller on a SPS tank.