General SPS questions...neewbish I know

[turbois300]

Ok. Well I've just gotten a few more SPS from a local buddy (who I'm trying to get onto this forum) I have a piece of superman monti and a little piece of Bali Green Slimer. What I got from him was an orange/pink cap, green branching digi, blue polyp cap (huge) a 4"+ bali slimer frag (which is 10x as green as the one I had (it was given to me white and in 1 month has regained a ton of color and has good polyp extension)) and a tri-color.

Questions are:

1- Is the slimer slime bad if it touches other corals? It didn't stay on them but it spued that stuff everywhere and I got it all off with powerheads but it did touch almost everything. All looked good this morning.

2- do the slimer polyps and the tri-color polyps come out all the time? or at night?? randomly??

3- The monti's and digi's and caps polyps seem to stay out all the time. Is that normal? The superman monti has had killer growth

4- I have a really mixed tank with everything from zoa's to micros and acans and xenia and SPS. Should I separate the stuff or can a mixed reef work. I imagine my nutrient levels are a bit higher than the tank the frags came from but I skim 24/7 and I have a ton of cheato and micro algae in my fuge that grows like crazy. only 1 little patch of algae in the tank about the size of a quarter that the little brittle stars seem to love to live in.

Sorry in advance for all the questions and the aparent lack of knowlage...just a bit new to the SPS world..sorta.

:color:

 

[twon8]

Ok. Well I've just gotten a few more SPS from a local buddy (who I'm trying to get onto this forum) I have a piece of superman monti and a little piece of Bali Green Slimer. What I got from him was an orange/pink cap, green branching digi, blue polyp cap (huge) a 4"+ bali slimer frag (which is 10x as green as the one I had (it was given to me white and in 1 month has regained a ton of color and has good polyp extension)) and a tri-color.

Questions are:

1- Is the slimer slime bad if it touches other corals? It didn't stay on them but it spued that stuff everywhere and I got it all off with powerheads but it did touch almost everything. All looked good this morning.

2- do the slimer polyps and the tri-color polyps come out all the time? or at night?? randomly??

3- The monti's and digi's and caps polyps seem to stay out all the time. Is that normal? The superman monti has had killer growth

4- I have a really mixed tank with everything from zoa's to micros and acans and xenia and SPS. Should I separate the stuff or can a mixed reef work. I imagine my nutrient levels are a bit higher than the tank the frags came from but I skim 24/7 and I have a ton of cheato and micro algae in my fuge that grows like crazy. only 1 little patch of algae in the tank about the size of a quarter that the little brittle stars seem to love to live in.

Sorry in advance for all the questions and the aparent lack of knowlage...just a bit new to the SPS world..sorta.

:color:

1. a little slime shouldn't hurt anything

2. the polyps may come out during the day but normally come out more at night.

3. yes

4. micros or acans will sting sps if they come in direct contact, but otherwise you should be fine.

 

[surfn]

1) wouldn't worry about the slime unless its still profusely sliming. its usually a sign of stress. yes it can affect corals, but if it blows off after a couple min no big deal

2) polyp extension depends on the coral.....but in general yes they do come out at night. if they are under direct flow from powerheads they may not come out at all. be sure to place them in indirect flow that is turbulent.

3) yes, thats normal

4) mixed reefs can work, but they do get complicated as your reef ages. but this mostly has to do with the light, flow, and nutrient levels.

also, since you are starting to add sps.....you will need to monitor your KH and calcium levels. the main key to keeping sps is to keep that KH value as stable as possible. kalk is a good starting point.

 

[turbois300]

Thanks my friends!! I need to get a salifert Calcium test kit. I have an PH test kit but it is old and crappy so maybe I'll get both Alk and CA.....Salifert the way to go?? I think Chris has them out at UA.

I have my powerheads pointing toward the middle and they seem to be causing turbulence but it may be a bit too direct.... I'll have to monkey with it this evening. My acan and micro are on the sand so they are far away from the sps. I have a brain though that is close to the slimer and it has some long tentacles when feeding so I may need to move it away some.

Surf - I say your thread on the tri-color and mine looks like yours. Whitish blue all the way to the tip and the tip is bright purple. Should I be feeding the corals at night? I feed phytoplex from time to time...is that good to do for SPS? I use Reef builder and Reef calcium (powders) but my buddy gave me some liquid 2 part stuff to try. I don't have a calcium reactor either but my tank is small...29 Gal. Is dosing ok or do i have to have a reactor?

 

[twon8]

you dont' need a reactor, and yes, you need to get some alkalinity and calcium test kits.

 

[turbois300]

Will do. Sorry I missed the meet at your house (or in your area) ade went and said it was a really good time! I wish I could hav egotten one of those clams. My buddy that hooked me up with the SPS got one and it looks KILLER!!!!