Subeti's 80-gallon SPS tank

[Subeti]

NOTE: My English and experiences are not good enough in this area, so if I make any mistakes, I hope you can directly point it out to help me improve.

Hello everyone, I'm Subeti. I started my first LPS tank in 2023, and it ran well, so I set up an SPS tank in early 2024. At first one or two months, I faced many challenges with SPS, like unexplained bleaching and fish nibbling on corals. I was hesitant to share at that time, but now that the tank is stabilizing about two months, and I finally feel confident to share all of these. I'll gradually fill in my journey from the past seven months and update the tank progress about twice a month (I hope so).

So just see some pics about my tank! (These overview pictures will update about half a year)

2024.1

2024.7

=======================OTHER INFORMATION=======================​

Tank Size:
90*60*55 + 63*48*39.5 (cm)

Equipment：
Light: 2*XR30 G6（with high intensity lens）+ 4*ATI T5 Blue Plus
Wave: 2*MP40 QD
Pump: ZKSJ DC55Q-8000L
Skimmer: Tunze 9410
Dosing pump: Kamoer F4 Pro
Zeolite reactor: Jet 0.7L

 

[Subeti]

Here are some recent short videos.

 

[Subeti]

2024.1
I've successfully maintained an LPS tank, and it looks great, so I realized it's time to move on to SPS corals. I set up a 90x60x55 cm tank in the basement, stacking live rock with cement to create the aquascape. When building it, I mainly considered fish passage and neglected coral placement. You can see in my latest photos that I've adjusted part of the layout to better suit SPS corals. Additionally, you'll notice that I replaced some equipment, including buying new T5 lights and a mp40, which have proven useful as well.

My LPS tank

The Overall view

Live rock buliding

Final image

 

[the bomb]

Looks amazing!

 

[Subeti]

2024.2
Nothing of value to say, just waiting......

Bacterial bloom！

2024.3
This month, I completed the phase (I'm not sure what this period is called in English; in the Chinese community, we call it "暴藻," which refers to the process of waiting for the organic matter in live rock to convert into inorganic salts and using algae to remove it).

I also added many coral branches. Unfortunately, during this stage, most of the corals I kept died for unknown reasons in about 2-3 weeks(I now suspect it might be due to the low nutrient levels leading to a bloom of dinoflagellates). At the same time, I bought a lot of products, such as products from AF and ZEO, and many from TM, but they had little effect on my tank.

This stage was very difficult to endure; I couldn't help but check my tank every hour, and if I found something wrong, I would get very frustrated, which severely affected my mood for the month...

During this period, I tested the nutrient levels in the tank daily and used a range of products from different brands. This experience taught me how to assess the health of my corals, understand the effects of various products, and observe how different nutrient levels impact the tank's condition. Overall, while suffering, this time was far from wasted; it provided me with invaluable firsthand experience.

RTN of corals branches

RTN of corals

STN of corals

 

[Gumbies R Us]

2024.2
Nothing of value to say, just waiting......

Bacterial bloom！

2024.3
This month, I completed the phase (I'm not sure what this period is called in English; in the Chinese community, we call it "暴藻," which refers to the process of waiting for the organic matter in live rock to convert into inorganic salts and using algae to remove it).

I also added many coral branches. Unfortunately, during this stage, most of the corals I kept died for unknown reasons in about 2-3 weeks(I now suspect it might be due to the low nutrient levels leading to a bloom of dinoflagellates). At the same time, I bought a lot of products, such as products from AF and ZEO, and many from TM, but they had little effect on my tank.

This stage was very difficult to endure; I couldn't help but check my tank every hour, and if I found something wrong, I would get very frustrated, which severely affected my mood for the month...

During this period, I tested the nutrient levels in the tank daily and used a range of products from different brands. This experience taught me how to assess the health of my corals, understand the effects of various products, and observe how different nutrient levels impact the tank's condition. Overall, while suffering, this time was far from wasted; it provided me with invaluable firsthand experience.

RTN of corals branches

RTN of corals

STN of corals

So sorry you dealt with RTN!

 

[Subeti]

2024.4 - 2024.5
There’s nothing particularly noteworthy. I've returned to my daily routine and no longer check the aquarium's progress every hour, only maintaining it when necessary. Some of the corals that previously experienced RTN have gradually stabilized and are no longer losing tissue.

So, in May, I added some aquacultured coral frags, and they are thriving. For the first time, I feel like I'm regaining control over the aquarium.

I added a refugium, and every month, it exports a significant amount of nitrates, phosphates, and magnesium.

After regaining my confidence, I added several large corals, and many of them are growing quite well.