LPS Reef Tank | Beginner Guide To Saltwater Aquariums 231 17

Reef tank 8 years ago 30,055 views

In this video i go over everything you need to know to run a LPS reef tank. I discuss water parameters, lighting, dosing and several other factors that will guide you in running a successful lps reef tank. I will also talk about what good starter LPS corals to get along with Reef safe fish. Please enjoy the video. Please Subscribe to be notified of future videos. I enjoy making these videos and hope they will provide helpful information to better guide hobbyist. Everything you see on this channel will be my personal way of doing it. Please Enjoy and any feedback is welcomed. 125 Gallon Reef Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-qZiboMWjYNtQNMLlxiHhVF Zeovit Tank Build Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-rtT_B_gLcyWBWUdbvlBgEJ How To Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-qTgkRrs5wrIE086wL9Gikd Aquatic Log Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-rjb4q8rB1S-ZwnEuCCR2Ga Neptune Apex Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-rwKS3T-gW-eQAT-skoi92m Beginner Guide Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-o8wXkbVMIZUd9eYVfo0P-T 60 Gallon Freshwater Planted Tank Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-ppGwibzUjAkuGqum4mUb64 Tips & Tricks Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-oPvUGif9tzAGJL4xaVv00w Follow me on Aquatic Log: http://www.aquaticlog.com/users/hexdex Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fish-Of-Hex-389648551215254 Twitter: https://twitter.com/FishOfHex Intro: https://flixpress.com End Thumbnail: http://pizap.com Music: Epic - http://www.bensound.com

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Fishyfredz 7e - 6 years ago

fish of hex love ur channel i subbed pls sub back

Teri Sullivan - 7 years ago

what is" wet" and "dry" skimming? Gee, am I new to this process?

Teri Sullivan - 7 years ago

Thank you so very much!

Teri Sullivan - 7 years ago

Thank you so very much for the information.

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

wet and dry skimming is based on how fast you fill the collection cup. When you wet skim you tend to pull more nutrients out of the tank and the skimmate has more water in it.

Dave Green - 7 years ago

Thanks I test my water every other day and my water is all spot on I have put it in the middle of the tank is starting to look really good now after the iodine dip thinking of doing this with all the corals from now on before I put them in thank you for replying to me cheers

Dave Green - 7 years ago

Hi mate my frogspawn is not happy at him about two weeks but him halfway towards the top seem to be fine for a week but then started to receive back in its body moved it down a bit it's not getting too much flow but seems to be getting worse I Give It A iodine bath for 10 minutes and put it back in any other tips you can recommend it's getting medium light and medium flow don't know what else to do any tips would be very grateful

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

when getting new corals you need to give them some time to adjust. If you dipped the coral thats all you need to do regarding that. I would put in the mid of the tank with med flow and let to adjust to the system. Make sure your cal, alk, mag and sg levels are all in the correct range.

Lidia Rodriguez - 7 years ago

Hi, I like your informative videos what you think about the Hanna checkers instead of reading color change yourself .. do you think the Hanna checkers are accurate enough for lps. Am a new year doing reacher:)

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

I use hanna for alk and red sea for cal, mag

reef guy 92 - 7 years ago

what will I have to dose on the 2 parts? how many water changes a week if I I want to keep lps

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

If you are doing water changes every week and your alk isnt dipping you are fine without dosing.

Dave's Reefing Addiction - 7 years ago

Great info here. Thank you. Subbed!

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

Thank You

Ryan Bondoc - 7 years ago

Are you sure you can put a hammer and a torch next to each other? How about a frogspawn? I thought it's only if it's the same exact species, i.e. Torch next to a torch

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

You would know in a few minutes if they dont get along. But just keep torch away and you will be fine.

Ryan Bondoc - 7 years ago

FishOfHex thanks i'm afraid they're going to start killing each other

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

Hammer and frogspawn can be next to each other and some torches do ok but they should be kept with eachother.

Nam Truong - 7 years ago

Great video! can you mix ricordeas with LPS? not next to each other but in same tank?

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

Yes i have both in my system.

10. comment for LPS Reef Tank | Beginner Guide To Saltwater Aquariums

Aquarismo - 7 years ago

a beautiful aquarium, I liked a lot, thank you for sharing, I Subbed, visit my first aquarium, and give me your opinion

Troll Doll - 7 years ago

Why do you skim wet?

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

To remove more nutrients from the water.

AngrySkateNerd - 8 years ago

i have a 15g nano reef, its my first reef tank! its established (April 2nd 2015 - Present) my salinity is 1.026, 100w heater, hydor koralia nano, and a filter. i want to add stuff like a protein skimmer, auto dosing, etc. i just dont have enough real estate for all that though! i do weekly 10% water changes with oceanic salt. i change the filter once a month. i test my water once a week. (test on water change day, before the water change.) and the corals are doing awesome with just that. i do have led's for lighting about 6" about the tank. i see some growth in some corals and not a whole lot of growth in others. mostly acans and stuff. i do have a frogspawn that ive had for about a year now. i havent noticed any growth! whats the deal with that

AngrySkateNerd - 8 years ago

+FishOfHex
im content with the tank for right now, its definitely stable the way im keeping it. as for moving on to bigger and better things, 300ZX PROJECT BUILD!!!

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

When it comes to smaller systems you can get away with just weekly or bi weekly water changes to keep the system healthy. I wouldnt be to worried about adding a skimmer but if you must you can always find a small hang on the back that would work. Im not a fan of having a skimmer on the back of a tank but a lot of people like them. Either way if your corals are growing i wouldnt try to make any major changes i see no reason on trying to fix something thats not broken. I can see on a bigger system maybe trying new equipment or methods but with a smaller system you are limited on what you can get away with. As for frogspawn not growing fast that is normal, LPS are slow I struggle to get much growth out of my hammers or frogspawn and most of the time you really dont notice the small heads growing in under the big ones. Take a look at it during the night when its closed up. I would say you sound like you are ready for bigger and better things. I would save your cash and not put anymore money into the current system. Best of luck

Dos Maiz - 8 years ago

Howdy,

Where do you recommend acan and Duncan placement? I was thinking of glueing my small acan frag to a rock and putting the smallish rock on the sand bed. But I heard that if sand gets in a acan head it can die off. So I'm wondering if i should just glue it to a larger rock. Do duncans and acans like light and flow?
Thanks!

Dos Maiz - 8 years ago

Yep! Thanks for the helpful response. The hardest part about my new tank is figuring out where to place the damn corals! But so far they're all doing great. I only keep my lights at 15% and I'll increase a little next week. Mostly LPS and a zoa, so I don't need too much light in my 40B.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Coral placement is so hard to give specific advice for just bc every systems light intensity is different along with flow. But the general advice would be to place the acan on a piece of rock that you can move around to see how the coral reacts to different spots in the tank. Start low and i wouldnt keep it directly on the sand bed also if your sand is blowing around id adjust the power heads to prevent that from happening. If the acan is full and starting to grow new heads id leave it alone but if in a few days is sucked in and not looking happy id try a different spot. FYI general rule is Softy and LPS can thrive from mid to bottom of tank and sps is mid to top of tank again this can be different based on your lighting. If a coral bleaches its getting to much light if its brown its not getting enough. Hope this helps you out.

Gino Salvatelli - 8 years ago

So you're running the blackbox LEDs on your LPS tank? I'm currently running the 300w MarsAqua over my 40 breeder and it's LPS dominant. What percentage do you run your box at? I'm new at this and my concern is running the LEDs too high and shocking the Euphyllias and Acans I have (which weren't cheap). I've been running blues most of the day at maybe 45% and whites minimum as all my corals are relatively new to the tank...

Gino Salvatelli - 8 years ago

Sure, here is the torch shortly after I got it, with good coloration under white light:
http://imgur.com/ad6Z0IA

And here it is three weeks later, with pigment loss: http://imgur.com/a/ga6QP

For the past two months I had been running my blues at maybe 40-45% (think 8 o'clock on the dial) and my whites at minimum power. A day or two ago, I turned my blues down to maybe 15% (6 o'clock on the dial) and my whites at minimum to see if color comes back. I run blue channel for 10 hours and white for 4 hours currently. Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I really only use the T5s for filling in any shading from the led boxes i have noticed corals that are directly under the t5s are darker basically not getting enough light but its not that big of a difference. As for your corals bleaching 9 out of 10 times indicates to much light. Any way you can upload a picture to photobucket and send me the link? Also what % do you have the light at?

Gino Salvatelli - 8 years ago

+FishOfHex Thanks for the info. Do you feel the T5 makes a significant difference? Currently my Torch seems to be bleaching (looks a bit transparent with whites on) and I'm trying to figure out why... parameters are all great.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Correct but, I have taken my aqua mars leds and switched out the pcb board to sb reef lights i have also replaced one with an sb reef light and connected all of them to the apex. I have all those videos posted, I currently run whites at 40% and blues at 70% but i also run T5 HO in along side everything.

Anthony's Malawi Predators - 8 years ago

I threw gsp and xenia in my fowlr just for fun and my hydrometer had been busted for a few weeks and I assumed my salinity was low since I was always keeping just fish. well I finally got annew hydrometer and the salinity was literally off the scale well abaove 1.03whatever. softies can survive nuclear warfare

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+Anthony's Marine and Malawi yea man ill check them out thanks for watching.

Anthony's Malawi Predators - 8 years ago

+FishOfHex agreed lol i've added some zoas and a blasto! check out my vids if you get a chance

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+Anthony Parente O yea mushrooms, gsp and xenia wont die lol

Adrian Wayne - 8 years ago

What eel have you got please.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+Adrian Wayne Snowflake

TheFishTank Doc. - 8 years ago

I do less than 1 hour maintenance a week!!.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+TheFishTank Doc. If only i could get everything done that quick id probably have more tanks.

NEMO20G - 8 years ago

tank is looking amazing pal :)

NEMO20G - 8 years ago

+FishOfHex no worries man its been a while :)

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+NEMO20G Thank You for taking the time to watch the video.

iSim0641 - 8 years ago

Hahahah the part about people trying to sell expensive reef tank equipment on craigslist is so true

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+iSim0641 I always msg them saying good luck bro!

20. comment for LPS Reef Tank | Beginner Guide To Saltwater Aquariums

CJ'S AQUARIUMS - 8 years ago

Nice info.. How long have u been in the hobby? I love my LPS... I Have higher than your recommended parameters.. So far so good.. This hobby has so many diff ways of doing things..

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+CJ'S AQUARIUMS About 13 years or so. Every tank is different I'm basically putting out recommendations or starting points.

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