It has fascinated me for some time now that the reefing community is so split on being successful with higher (0.2+++) phosphate vs. lower (0.03-0.05) phosphate. It seems well documented on R2R that folks can have success with SPS carrying both higher or lower phosphates. The question arose on another thread with @jda and @Charlie’s Frags as to what, if any , SPS would have more trouble handling higher phosphates. In an effort not to hijack that thread, I'm starting one here as I'm interested in what folks think.
My personal experience was that I had trouble keeping many types of acros (I'm not knowledgeable enough to know their scientific names - Tyree Red Dragon, some tabling acros, PC Rainbow, SC Orange Passion, to name a few), but was able to keep monit's, stags, birdsnests, and a few others just fine. My phosphates were roughly 0.2 for a while, and when lowering them to 0.03-0.05, I was able to start keeping the aforementioned acros alive. I didn't change any other parameters, and I dropped them after my tank was 18+ months old, so it strikes me that the phosphate drop was the trick. I could, however, be convinced otherwise.
Curious if other folks have any insight or experience related to SPS that may or may not thrive in a high phosphate tank. I'm also interested in why some folks are able to be successful with SPS in high nutrient tanks and some are not - is it maturity, some other variable that pairs well with the higher nutrients, or just poor tank husbandry in other areas?
Thanks for any insights anyone might have!
Cheers,
Scott
My personal experience was that I had trouble keeping many types of acros (I'm not knowledgeable enough to know their scientific names - Tyree Red Dragon, some tabling acros, PC Rainbow, SC Orange Passion, to name a few), but was able to keep monit's, stags, birdsnests, and a few others just fine. My phosphates were roughly 0.2 for a while, and when lowering them to 0.03-0.05, I was able to start keeping the aforementioned acros alive. I didn't change any other parameters, and I dropped them after my tank was 18+ months old, so it strikes me that the phosphate drop was the trick. I could, however, be convinced otherwise.
Curious if other folks have any insight or experience related to SPS that may or may not thrive in a high phosphate tank. I'm also interested in why some folks are able to be successful with SPS in high nutrient tanks and some are not - is it maturity, some other variable that pairs well with the higher nutrients, or just poor tank husbandry in other areas?
Thanks for any insights anyone might have!
Cheers,
Scott