Planning A Nps Tank

[sorgan]

righteo later this year i am hoping to set up a tank for azooxanthellae corals (non-photosynthetic, now shortened to NPS) which i have just relised is going to be a trifle more difficult then i first thought but he who dares wins LOL

the plan is to have a cube shaped tank roughly 30g that has a small part along one side sectioned of and chambered, in these chambers i will try to install some kind of platic grid to grow algae on (much like an algae scrubber) i hope to have ALOT of algae growing in these chambersso it should be quite dense. this will be either lit through the side of the tank (light boxed in) or with submersible's, not sure yet.
i want to do this as i will need a way to soak up all the nitrates and phosphates produced by an almost constant feeding regime but i want to avoid skimmimg as it will pull alot of particulate food from the water column. if the algae doesnt fully sort the nutrient levels out i may have to put a skimmer in but who knows until i give it a go.

righty so thats the 'filteration' sorted, i will be using LR aswell of course but who doesnt
as for lighting ive decided on a very low lit tank either done using a single blue T5 and a few LED spot lights to pick out particular corals or i may use all LEDS (aquaray stip in blue and spotlights) i am not sure what effect this will have on the coral but the idea is if it isnt very bright in 'day' mode then hopefully all the nocturnal corals will open during the 'day'

heating wil be via a standard heater but set to 22-23c

fish stocking - ive um'd and ar'd about this and i may put a few cardinals in there as they are the only reef safe nocturnal fish i can think of and i am sure they will not miss bright lighting to much (the eyes suggest to me they prefer dark)

flow will need to be quite strong but i am not sure yet how i will arrange it.

so what do we think? any ideas or concerns? it should be a fun project but its gonna take some work

 

[seffieuk]

How exciting, cant wait for you to get started, when is it going to start?

You might also think of Solider fish, they are also nocturnal, but not sure if you can get ones small enough for the tank. Are there some spieces of seahorse that are nocturnal, now that would be cool

Seffie x

 

[sorgan]

hoping to get started after the summer, i was thinking of seahorses but the tank will have high flow and they have the habit of stripping gorgonians by using them as hitches.

 

[seffieuk]

i was thinking of seahorses but the tank will have high flow and they have the habit of stripping gorgonians by using them as hitches.

Oh yes, both good points, what a shame - I wonder what too much flow is for a seahorse?

 

[seffieuk]

Removed by Seffie x

 

[sorgan]

aye i have read that, chucks tank is amazing. mine will be darker though, almost like constant twilight.

 

[seffieuk]

aye i have read that, chucks tank is amazing. mine will be darker though, almost like constant twilight.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your tank, dont think I have seen the like before

 

[sorgan]

just been looking at tube nems, also relised they would make an almost perfect inhabitant if i can keep the nutrient levels low

the more i look into this the more i see its actually being done (mostly in the US and germany)

 

[seffieuk]

Tube nems would look amazing, I havent seen any in ages though

Seffie x

 

[sorgan]

Just been to lfs and they have a nice stock tank that's about 72lt which I think would be a good size to start, I've decided against using an algae scrubber and will be fitting a skimmed recommended for a 250lt tank to (hopefully) pull the excess out. the lights where 2x compact T5 that we think we can exchange out for blues to twilight the tank up.
I am considering sectioning the back of to put in a refugium (and cheato nursery)
The tanks always in stock so I can start as soon as I've got the funds, I get to treat myself to some new LR aswell.

 

[ozzie2011]

Just been to lfs and they have a nice stock tank that's about 72lt which I think would be a good size to start, I've decided against using an algae scrubber and will be fitting a skimmed recommended for a 250lt tank to (hopefully) pull the excess out. the lights where 2x compact T5 that we think we can exchange out for blues to twilight the tank up.
I am considering sectioning the back of to put in a refugium (and cheato nursery)
The tanks always in stock so I can start as soon as I've got the funds, I get to treat myself to some new LR aswell.

Hi

Have you thought about a hang on fuge, I use a big one as I didnt have the space for a sump, but I know they do smaller and are fairly cheap.
That way it wouldn't encouch on tank space

 

[sorgan]

Was thinking about it but the tank will be upstairs so I would prefer the water to stay in the tank lol.

Tbh size isn't much of an issue as smaller water volumes will be easier to dose and skim and this is really just going to be a trail run before I invest in a larger tank.

 

[-Nemo-]

Oooo I love NPS corals... Sorgan I really encourage you to look into some form of carbon dosing such as the vitamin C that I do... almost all people I know with NPS tanks say that they almost need to dose it to keep up with the nutrients, especially if you get into the more difficult NPS like sea fans. I know that my nitRATes would be through the roof from my NPS feeding if not for dosing...

Looking forward to this

 

[sorgan]

Vit c hey??? Can you elaborate for me? I was considering vodka but am not sure so another option would be great.

Also going to be growing caulerpa as a fast nitrate expo as with the tank being so dimly lit I believe it shouldn't escape the fuge that may or may not have a DSB.

 

[-Nemo-]

Here's a topic I made about when I first started using it on my old tank.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/326409-vitaminc-c-dosing/page__p__2709450__fromsearch__1&#entry2709450

The only con of it is because it gets rid of so many nutrients, it causes macro to melt and die off very quickly. I'm not sure if vodka is the same way. Vitamin C dosing has many advantages though, keeps my dKH buffered at 10 and my nitRATes and phosphates at 0.