Mature Reef. Why SPS???

[Reef UP]

I've never been able to keep it dominant anything I set up my last tank to do the sps thing I've always liked sps long before it was named or expensive but I've always had to have Lps and softies for the variety I think that's what makes it a complete reef right? But I do know what it take to grow huge Lps colonies as well and I actually think in some aspects it's more difficult I've actually had more demanding Lps than sps so id love to see your Lps tank pm me a link I love all tanks in general everything is always different, most the time when I go see friends tanks they end up having to kick me out so sorry if I end up looking at your tank just get me a stool and a blanky and I'll stare at your Lps all night haha

 

[BlazinNano]

if your tank can grow sps and you choose to have lps good for you. who caresw what others think. Do you have some sort of complex? I jumped straight to sps in the beginning and my lps thrived only when my sps were doing well. IMO colored sticks always looked nicer so it's all opinion.

Whoa whoa whoa. No I don't have a complex. This all started because someone asked for my advice. They are just starting to get into SPS. When I mentioned that I don't really keep SPS just a couple pieces. They would not listen to my advice at all. "Well if you don't keep SPS then you don't know what I am talking about". This coming from someone who has had his tank 6 months. He actually told me that SPS is the hardest. To have a tank full of SPS means you are the best of the best in this hobby. I started this thread because a newbe told me I did not know what I was doing.

 

[steamer51]

Every creature that is thriving in a reef tank is a testimony to the skill of the reefkeeper. If you are not providing proper care the tank will be a mess with the animals barely alive. Whatever you keep, a good reefkeeper will learn what their needs are and meet them. The skill level to perfect those requirements is the same no matter what you keep, only the requirements are different. It is difficult to keep the water pristine enough for SPS but it is also difficult to find the happy medium of water that is full of "food" for LPS and Softies but still clean enough for the health of the animals. Whenever I go to a club meeting or visit another reefer I bring my jeweler's loupe (magnifying glass) so I can get a close look at the tiny life in their tank. Diversity of the ecosystem is what I enjoy about the hobby. Once you see how pretty the corals and fish are, you're done unless they are doing something interesting like feeding or interacting with each other. Finding new tiny creatures in the sand and rock is a never ending process that I enjoy and appreciate when I find diversity in other's tanks. You are obviously a very skilled reefkeeper and should pay no attention to snobs.

 

[drainbamage]

Whoa whoa whoa. No I don't have a complex. This all started because someone asked for my advice. They are just starting to get into SPS. When I mentioned that I don't really keep SPS just a couple pieces. They would not listen to my advice at all. "Well if you don't keep SPS then you don't know what I am talking about". This coming from someone who has had his tank 6 months. He actually told me that SPS is the hardest. To have a tank full of SPS means you are the best of the best in this hobby. I started this thread because a newbe told me I did not know what I was doing.

oooh, so you got trolled :tongue:

don't argue with fools, as they tend to have experience on their side :bigsmile:

 

[Troylee]

Well you should have started the thread with this post it's a whole different ball game now..... Why in the world would you let someone asking for advice who doesn't have a clue tell you your wrong??? Just sayin....:squigglemouth:

Whoa whoa whoa. No I don't have a complex. This all started because someone asked for my advice. They are just starting to get into SPS. When I mentioned that I don't really keep SPS just a couple pieces. They would not listen to my advice at all. "Well if you don't keep SPS then you don't know what I am talking about". This coming from someone who has had his tank 6 months. He actually told me that SPS is the hardest. To have a tank full of SPS means you are the best of the best in this hobby. I started this thread because a newbe told me I did not know what I was doing.

 

[Reef Pets]

I have seen MANY definitions of what people consider to be mature, some say 3 months while others say a year and a half. From my experience if you are growing coraline algae in your tank then it ready for SPS. I have had to move around a lot due to my wifes schooling. Each time we relocate I have to set up a new system and within 2 weeks of the system cycling I start putting in SPS and never have an issue..

Troylee does not do water changes because he is always on R2R! Look at his stats, joined in Jan 2010 and has over 7100 posts, he is a R2R junkie, he can't help it. :wink:

 

[Troylee]

ThAt statement is so true Gary haha..... I don't get a lot of things done now because I'm always on here..:tongue:

 

[ronnie]

Yay - I'm a snob. :nerd:

This shot is why I'm an SPS guy (and red planet to boot!):

I love their growth, their finicky-ness, the looks - just everything about them. Plus, apparently now I'm upper echelon! :tongue:

 

[Reef Pets]

I know! I knew you would reply within minutes... Is it one Vodka dose for the tank and two for Troylee? I have heard other reefers state that once they start dosing their tank they enjoy their reef a little more once they take a couple swigs for themselves.

 

[SunnyX]

Blah....

That is all.

Thank you,

Sonny

 

[BlazinNano]

Yeah this turned it to something I was not trying to do. I was not saying you have to have a mature reef to have SPS. I was trying to say you can have a mature reef and not have SPS. SPS is not an indication that your reef is mature IMHO. Sorry if this thread went the wrong way.

 

[SunnyX]

I agree with you. A reef does not need to have sps to be great or mature. There is a thought among some in the hobby that sps are hard to keep , thus giving the sps setups a higher standing and appreciation than justified.

While this may have been true in the past, before aquacultered sps and technological/scientific advancements, it is no longer the case.

I would just run your reef the way that you like to. If you are doing all the right things it won't matter what type of corals you add.

While I'm a stick head, I have been adding many lps over the years. I'm now technically run a mixed reef as I have added many acans, zoas, etc.

Good luck,

Sonny

 

[johnanddawn]

i don't think type of coral or even the age of the tank really defines a display as mature looking
i see frag plugs as a sign of lack of maturity

my own tank for example looks immature right now dispite the fact i have corals more then 10 years old in there
i've recently rearranged things, brought in a bunch of new frags and thinned out a large section of zoa colonies and some lps that had grown out of control

i have frag plugs showing everywhere again and it makes the tank look new again

i do have some sticks and have respect for those who have mature sps in their tanks (large home grown colonies not frags) but i respect anyone with large colonies of any type of coral

i think many lps people suffer from this syndrom as well. so many lps tanks are full of tiny frags of really expensive corals their tanks never really look mature

as far as the snobbery advice question that the op asked about - its simple - if someone disregards my 20 years of experience because they see a tank with frag plugs in the pic well thats their loss

 

[swannyson7]

I agree with what everyone else has said. I've had many tanks over the past 10 years including softy tanks, LPS tanks, and now a mixed reef. While I do consider myself currently addicted to SPS, I think every reef needs some softies and/or LPS for movement. I never had success in keeping SPS in the past beyond green slimers & birdsnest, but my LPS flourished. Now I'm able to get good growth and coloration out of my SPS, but can't keep acans & chalices happy. I think each type of coral requires a certain set of skills and growth in any coral shows skill in this hobby. There are finicky corals in nearly every genre.... melting zoas, NPS softies, and RTN-prone sticks. I don't feel that I'm superior to anyone else because I can keep SPS... I actually miss my LPS dominant tank a lot of times.

As for the noob that got under your skin, I think it's part of the evolution of any reef keeper. Just about everyone has gone through the phase in the hobby right around the 1 year mark where they thought they knew it all. It isn't until you've been around a while that you realize that there's always someone who knows 10x more and that very few of us know that much. There's a few people that I would consider subject matter experts in a certain aspect of the hobby, but many of us are just "jacks of all trades, but masters of none." Keep your reef for yourself, and who cares what others think!

 

[Troylee]

nope i have not had a drink in a few years.... i actually stopped dosing vodka and went with the np pellets had problems and now back to the vodka..... for what ever reason back in the day i used to envy the sps keepers i tried and tried and would always fail then came along sunnyx with his mb7/vodka routine i tried it the minute he posted about it because i was desperate at the time and my success rate went up to about 89 percent and there has been no looking back since...:tongue:

I know! I knew you would reply within minutes... Is it one Vodka dose for the tank and two for Troylee? I have heard other reefers state that once they start dosing their tank they enjoy their reef a little more once they take a couple swigs for themselves.

 

[SunnyX]

nope i have not had a drink in a few years.... i actually stopped dosing vodka and went with the np pellets had problems and now back to the vodka..... for what ever reason back in the day i used to envy the sps keepers i tried and tried and would always fail then came along sunnyx with his mb7/vodka routine i tried it the minute he posted about it because i was desperate at the time and my success rate went up to about 89 percent and there has been no looking back since...:tongue:

That mb7 & vodka is good stuff! I'm doing the pellets and mb7 now. So far, so good. the pellets really kicked in after I started dosing mb7.

Sonny

 

[swannyson7]

That mb7 & vodka is good stuff! I'm doing the pellets and mb7 now. So far, so good. the pellets really kicked in after I started dosing mb7.

Sonny

Sorry to sidetrack, but...
What type of pellets are you using Sonny? This past weekend I listened to a presentation by Murray Camp about carbon dosing and his research seemed to imply that the solid vodka dosing wasn't as effective as other forms of carbon dosing such as vodka/MB7, zeovit, etc. That being said, I'm using EcoBak & a maintenance dose of MB7 with good results.

 

[Troylee]

That mb7 & vodka is good stuff! I'm doing the pellets and mb7 now. So far, so good. the pellets really kicked in after I started dosing mb7.

Sonny

keep us updated bro love your success stories also your not afraid to admit when something goes wrong etc.... I have much respect that most people will stay hush if there tank crashes or this it that.... Everyone is quick to talk about the success but never hear about failures that much.... If I have problems I'm quick to talk about it so others can learn from my mistakes I mean hell that's why were here....:tongue: hopefully more and more people step up and share as the hobby progresses....