Do I really want to switch to an SPS dominant system?
- Thread starter BAMatter
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homer1475
Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
The problem with forums, you will get all kinds of answer. @((FORDTECH)) wasn't wrong with the information provided, same as my initial response. Once we delve further into it, we see what your intent was.
Remember, written word never reflects tone, and often times what seems harsh to you, may not have at all been meant to be presented in that way. Just keep a cool head, and don't respond to what you perceive as a threat, just try to explain yourself.
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Parameters will range alot but the ranges the average hobbyists find success and also where my coral do well are:
Temp 78
Salinity 1.025-26
Alk 7.5-9
Cal 420-480
Mag 1350-1500
Nitrate 3-15
Phosphate 0.03-0.10
The parameters i find most important to hold stable are alkalinity, calcium and phosphates. You can find success outside these values but i run all of my tanks around these areas and have success keeping every kind of coral. At high alk above 10, lps and softies dont seem to grow as well but Sps does fine.
Par ranges for sps dominant systems will want the floor to be around 250-300 and the higher areas at 450ish. That way you can keep sps even at the lower areas
Flow is probably the hardest to get down for new sps keepers. Montis dont need a lot of flow they just dont want detritus settling on them. Acros should have as much random flow as possible. If your looking at an open acro polyp it should be constantly blown around lightly preferably in multiples directions but sometimes when theyre near a pump its not always possible. As long as the polyps are moving frequently on all the corals and theyre not being directly blasted theyre usually pretty happy for me.
homer1475
Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
Also keep in mind....
People always want pristine looking reefs. The natural reefs are not pristine, there is always something that we consider undesirable growing somewhere. In our tanks, it's the biomass(corals fish, microfauna, etc) that uptake nutrients before algae has a chance at them.
With that said, if you don't have algae growing somehwhere, you can't grow corals.
People always want pristine looking reefs. The natural reefs are not pristine, there is always something that we consider undesirable growing somewhere. In our tanks, it's the biomass(corals fish, microfauna, etc) that uptake nutrients before algae has a chance at them.
With that said, if you don't have algae growing somehwhere, you can't grow corals.
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BAMatter
Valuable Member
I understand that. It’s all good. Just looking for help and some responses I was getting seemed like they were based on me directly saying something entirely different.
Duncan62
Valuable Member
If you used live rock and have a scrubber or some other nutrient control method you can pull it off. But it's a gamble. I've done it and got away with it and another time I melted a birdsnest first thing. Up to you. Good luck.
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BAMatter
Valuable Member
Thanks. I used dry rock to start and the Red Sea Reef Mature dosing kit to cycle- not looking to drop 20 sticks in my system at the time being- considering over time. I do feel my filtration can handle it
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Biggest part of this hobby is research and finding the right balance for your tank. With sps, make sure you have good flow, lighting, water stability. They hate swings of alkalinity, so plan to have that one measured regularly. Dosing will be necessary as they grow and use the elements and minerals of the water.
Live rock will get you some great biodiversity. Even if it is a small amount.
Good luck!
Live rock will get you some great biodiversity. Even if it is a small amount.
Good luck!
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BAMatter
Valuable Member
Thanks. Trying to do as much research as I can. Was thinking of adding some of the MarinePure bioballs from my other tank tank that’s been up for a little over a year.
homer1475
Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
The best advice I was ever given oh so many years ago....
Were not keeping fish and corals in a box, were keeping water in a box. The fish and coral are just "window dressing"/"awards" for keeping that water.
In other words....
Keep the water pristine, and everything else will fall in line.
Were not keeping fish and corals in a box, were keeping water in a box. The fish and coral are just "window dressing"/"awards" for keeping that water.
In other words....
Keep the water pristine, and everything else will fall in line.
I’d chk out the sps forum and hit some guys up there who know what they are doing and are willing to share methods, helpful advice and images of their tanks and set ups. I’m always leery of advice without seeing the proof. Just saying. Good luck in the transition when ready.
If you want to try SPS then I say go for it… just start out easy. Cliffs acro is a great starter piece for acros… try some montis or birdsnest, mint pavona, and stylo.
Ya you had some problems but you just got to work to catch and fix them. If you started with dry rock then it may be challenging to do SPS for a long while.
Don’t go SPS cuz everyone else does though. Only if you really love those corals. I am pulling my SPS and adding more soft corals and finding I love the softies more.
Ya you had some problems but you just got to work to catch and fix them. If you started with dry rock then it may be challenging to do SPS for a long while.
Don’t go SPS cuz everyone else does though. Only if you really love those corals. I am pulling my SPS and adding more soft corals and finding I love the softies more.
homer1475
Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
Thats what build threads are for!
And as they are linked to the badge under the username, makes them super easy to search out.
Pm me if you want some help.
Check my build thread.
I also have a nano cube all sps thats 3 months old.
I have helped a few in the past.
This way you get dirrect access to my 30+ years of reefing.
This is my 120 that I just took down. Also my current frag system and nano.
Check my build thread.
I also have a nano cube all sps thats 3 months old.
I have helped a few in the past.
This way you get dirrect access to my 30+ years of reefing.
This is my 120 that I just took down. Also my current frag system and nano.
There ya go. See that was ez
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BAMatter
Valuable Member
ThanksPm me if you want some help.
Check my build thread.
I also have a nano cube all sps thats 3 months old.
I have helped a few in the past.
This way you get dirrect access to my 30+ years of reefing.
This is my 120 that I just took down. Also my current frag system and nano.
terraincognita
Valuable Member
TLDR All responses but saw a few...
You can keep SPS in a month old tank if you're an experienced reefer. I only bring this up as there's a lot of time's people just throw out "Your tank's not mature enough" Which in all honesty I've only seen trouble with Nem's and ACTUAL tank maturity ever. which is because I've a hunch Nems are very Bacteria and microbiome sensitive, which a lot of new reefs have these out of wack Microbiomes.
I've never been able to link coral dying to a "tank" being too new. Rather the tank was "new" and so was the reefer.....
Case in point. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-new-sps-tank.674002/page-23#post-10115245
Look at this guy's bare bottom. But he's an Experienced reefer. He packed his tank with SPS after 50 days and I'm pretty sure he used dry rock as well.
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With that said. You also are having problems keeping LPS alive, Euph's to boot, which in MY experience have been some of the easier to keep alive LPS.
you can keeps LPS and SPS in the same system, you can have a mixed reef. They will all be happy and survive just fine and grow if you know your stuff.
Anyway point is. Slow down a bit, if you're having trouble with LPS there is a REASON why. You need to find the REASON, that's the biggest learning curve in this hobby and where a lot of people give up is not being able to "solve" whatever it is that's actually going wrong, and then moving on to " something else" in hopes it'll work, but eventually it all spirals and snowballs into crashes and people leaving the hobby and they never post here again. If you're having trouble with your LPS you'll have STN on all your SPS and then be posting back here "Why are my SPS tips bleaching out" etc etc. Which we'll help you then, but it's better to just figure out what you're not fixing in your current system now.
With that said my TIPS for SPS is STABILITY is KING with SPS. It's not about #'s it's about Stability in your system, finding your own systems "equilibrium" and then planning and working to make sure it stays in that band with the smallest margin of error possible. (Ideally as naturally as possible too, which is why a lot of people refer to "maturity" with a tank as the more mature the easier that becomes to achieve naturally). As your tank grows, ages and changes, you will have to constantly adjust your schedules and dosing etc as well, and if you're not ready to be in a never ending chemistry/science world, (At least til the tanks a few years old and you've got your thick reefer skin by then) then don't do it.
You can keep SPS in a month old tank if you're an experienced reefer. I only bring this up as there's a lot of time's people just throw out "Your tank's not mature enough" Which in all honesty I've only seen trouble with Nem's and ACTUAL tank maturity ever. which is because I've a hunch Nems are very Bacteria and microbiome sensitive, which a lot of new reefs have these out of wack Microbiomes.
I've never been able to link coral dying to a "tank" being too new. Rather the tank was "new" and so was the reefer.....
Case in point. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-new-sps-tank.674002/page-23#post-10115245
Look at this guy's bare bottom. But he's an Experienced reefer. He packed his tank with SPS after 50 days and I'm pretty sure he used dry rock as well.
-----------------------------------
With that said. You also are having problems keeping LPS alive, Euph's to boot, which in MY experience have been some of the easier to keep alive LPS.
you can keeps LPS and SPS in the same system, you can have a mixed reef. They will all be happy and survive just fine and grow if you know your stuff.
Anyway point is. Slow down a bit, if you're having trouble with LPS there is a REASON why. You need to find the REASON, that's the biggest learning curve in this hobby and where a lot of people give up is not being able to "solve" whatever it is that's actually going wrong, and then moving on to " something else" in hopes it'll work, but eventually it all spirals and snowballs into crashes and people leaving the hobby and they never post here again. If you're having trouble with your LPS you'll have STN on all your SPS and then be posting back here "Why are my SPS tips bleaching out" etc etc. Which we'll help you then, but it's better to just figure out what you're not fixing in your current system now.
With that said my TIPS for SPS is STABILITY is KING with SPS. It's not about #'s it's about Stability in your system, finding your own systems "equilibrium" and then planning and working to make sure it stays in that band with the smallest margin of error possible. (Ideally as naturally as possible too, which is why a lot of people refer to "maturity" with a tank as the more mature the easier that becomes to achieve naturally). As your tank grows, ages and changes, you will have to constantly adjust your schedules and dosing etc as well, and if you're not ready to be in a never ending chemistry/science world, (At least til the tanks a few years old and you've got your thick reefer skin by then) then don't do it.
Tonycass12
Valuable Member
This for me is a huge part of why I think I've done decently well with sps after coming back into the hobby from a 10yr absence. Testing too much leads to too much tweaking, things will be fine as long as the changes are slow. Hooking up a doser was a complete game changer for me, I can now keep my alk pretty stable through the week. Waterchanges every weekend have been big too, ill notice growth slow down without doing a WC for a couple weeks. Keep my nitrates around 15-20 and keep my hands out of the tank as much as possible. Ive got birdsnest growing so fast it needs monthly trimmings and my sps are getting large enough that when I do get in the tank its starting to become a challenge not to make accidental frags. Now all that came after adding things too early and suffering a good amount of losses until my system stabilized around the 7/8month mark. Keep an open mind to what everyone has to say and once you decide your route stick to it.
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