All sps vs mixed vs all lps etc....

[Troylee]

I know that alot of us including myself run a certain tank like mine is strictly sps....
I have been trying to figure out why, when a mixed reef truly brings out diversity and looks more natural but I just can't sucumb to adding anything but sps lol... Is there alot of others out there who devote there tanks to one species or is the majority running mixed reefs now??? I have seen some recent softies like theses orange tip cloves that were just incredible looking and I had to turn and walk away...

 

[BlazinNano]

I have all LPS and Zoas. But I sooooooooo badly want one of those tri colored shrooms. I do not have any SPS and will not be getting any more for who knows how long. I have killed every frag I have had. So I still will not have a "mixed reef" because i have no SPS. But I will say this my tank is 75% zoas. I just think it is what you are into. I have noticed the people who truly truly truly love SPS tend to completely dominate their tanks with it. Eventually I think they just sell or trade off whatever is not SPS and that is what they love.

 

[Troylee]

Ya that's where I am.... Everytime something catches my eye I feel like I'm doing something horribly wrong if it's not sps like I'm cheating lol.... It sure would be cheaper to fill my tank if I went mixed...

 

[gilmour01]

i have softies and sps mixed, but my next tank will be almost all sps. softies just grow too fast and tend to over-run sps IMO. if i add any softies to my next tank, i will be very particular about which ones and where i place them.

 

[BlazinNano]

I think alot of people just have it in their head what they want their tank to look like. So people see the tank that just looks a Dr. Seuss painted a forest for them and they are just completely in love. Other people see these brightly colored flowers all bunch up on the rock and can't help but stare at them for hours (quilty). I think it is just everyone is different which makes this hobby fun.

 

[650-IS350]

Mine is mixed reef, all SPS on the top rocks with lots of flow, polyps mid to low in the tank, and LPS on the sand.

 

[Mavjoy]

My tank is a mixed reef but pretty much 80% SPS:bigsmile:. I used to have more LPS on my previous tank but SPS is what I like best for my current tank. I do like to add some gonis and more acans. Is just a matter of preference and being patient on my side 'til I see all my SPS starts to grow and eventually fill my tank....i hope and wish

 

[lvsuckerfish]

I like mixed tanks but I tend to go toward sps and chalice thats all my 240 will be. in the 100 I will have my true mixed reef (wife likes acans) some of all the things that I like at the time. lol but Lee your gonna have to make room i have some blue hornets coming your way next week so then you can have a mixed tank lol.

 

[Bugg_zy]

I like to run a mixed reef myself. I really like the diversity it has. Chalices, acans, monti's, a few sticks tossed in for good measure. All seem to be doing well and growing. If you have the room you can always add a smaller tank for those other corals you do not wish to put in your themed DT.

 

[johnanddawn]

i've done both themed tanks and mixed tanks of all shapes and sizes
themed tanks are a lot easier - flow/light/scaping can be matched much closer to the needs of a type of coral
- softy/leather tanks can be really cool with their movement but the color combos tend to be a little limited
- zoa/shroom tanks can be really nice but usually are better in smaller tanks and cubes
- many of the lps tanks i have seen look like fruit stands too me with each coral given its proper space on the rock or sand- just don't care for the look myself
- sps tanks are always awesome once they mature but that takes years and patience

mixed tanks can be difficult - always something getting too much or too little light/flow whatever ... but are highly rewarding

when i decided to cut back to just one main display at my house, i had to go mixed because i like many dif varieties of corals and what they have to offer
my DT has zoas, LPS and SPS.
i personally need a mix of size, shape, color, texture, growth form etc. to get that look i like
but i must admit, i still find myself wanting to set up one or two smaller theme tanks because there are so many cool corals and so little space in a tank

 

[Paul_N]

SPS is what got me into the reef end of the hobby but I love the mixed reef just for the motion in the tank and wouldn't have it any other way now. With all the sick colors out there with lps and some softies you can't go wrong.

 

[whip1]

I love them all
sps's on top lps's in the middle
zoa's and softy's down low
I just need lots more:tongue:

 

[Churchboy]

I keep a mix reef because there are just too many wonderful colors to ignore from each group!

 

[SDguy]

Mixed to the max here. Plus a pant load of fish. You eventually figure/weed out sensitive species of corals that can't deal. Still worth it, IMO.

 

[Troylee]

hmmmm.. descions, descions...lol maybe i will donate a part of my tank to some different species, i can always pull them if i dont like it...i always kept a mixed reef till my last 2 tanks they have been strictly sps besides like 3 chalices lol....

 

[Typhon]

My tank is mostly SPS, but do have a good number of LPS too. SPS are great, but they lack the motion that LPS create. Also, the wife feels the same way. And I have to keep her happy..

 

[roscoe]

I am mainly a SPS with some LPS guy. Up until recently I was 80/20 SPS/LPS. Now I think I am at 60/40 however I still like the colored sticks more. Nothing beats the sight of a giant SPS colony. My tank was designed for SPS though as I have some major flow! Softies never really did it for me.

 

[twinspots_goby]

Mine is LPS dominated tank with some my favor encrusting montis on the very top as well as some zoas on the rock and yumas on the bottom.

 

[aalvarado87]

I have mine sectioned off The left island of my tanks is almost all sps just some candy canes and duncans for motion and the right side I have a huge 10 in cap in diameter and the rest is just all zoas and then on the ground I have some ric tonga branches and two acans which were given to me in rough shape and i milked them back...

 

[stunreefer]

Really depends what you're trying to replicate/want/like/obsess with. Personally I like "biotope-esque" tanks that replciate a certain region, area of the reef, depth of a reef, etc. You could take a chunk of reef crest from a given area and every coral there could be an Acropora or Montipora species. Or you could go inland more to a lagoon area and have sparsely situated elegance corals and so on. I truly enjoy and love the colors of various Acropora species, but I prefer more movement out of corals, and an attempt to keep a biotope of sorts, replicating what you might find I nature.

I will be a happy man when generalizes like "SPS, LPS" and "softies" are no longer common ground, however I don't see that ever happening in the hobby.