Should I change my aquascape (SPS)?

[Impavidus]

Hi All,

I'm new to the hobby and I'm trying to figure out if I should change my aquascape to better suit SPS. I will add water next week so I want to modify now if need be.

My goal is to have an anemone, mainly SPS and about 6 fish.

I have several reef saver foundation pieces and a 5-10lb single piece to go along with what you see in the pic. I really like the left rock, but my concern is if the shelf rock will be too much light and flow for SPS. I'm not sure what to think about the right rock.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[DC Reefer]

Welcome to R2R!!!!

Overall I like the scape - I think it is well balanced and has some nice places for fish to hide/chill.

Most SPS will welcome strong flow and strong lighting. So as long as they are not being blasted with narrow direct flow, they should be ok. I think the art will be having the flow for SPS and a low flow area for the anemone. If you have not done so already, I would check out the current reef of the month. He has an MP 40 on each side of his tank and those will really push some flow. reef-of-the-month-march-2021-florida_reef_keeper-brandon-mchenrys-amazing-aio-sps-reef.799

Hard to tell from the picture but I would make sure my scape isn't too close to the glass so you are able to clean it easily and if if you plan on vacuuming your sandbed make sure whatever you are using to vacuum you can get around the scape also so you can get access to any potential spots where detritus collects.

Not sure how tall your tank is, but with SPS I alway try not to go too high in the water so there is adequate room for growth.

Another thing I like to do is to keep some additional rock cycled (you can put in the sump) so you have live rock down the road if you want to change something or start running out of room on the current scape:)

 

[Rick5]

What do you have planned for lighting?

I’d remove the top flat piece of rock and make sure you have enough space from the tank glass.

Edit: Anemone and SPS is a tall order, particularly in a smaller tank. People do it and many run into issues at some point.

 

[Impavidus]

What do you have planned for lighting?

I’d remove the top flat piece of rock and make sure you have enough space from the tank glass.

Edit: Anemone and SPS is a tall order, particularly in a smaller tank. People do it and many run into issues at some point.

Thanks for the feedback. Viparspectra 165w. Yeah that right rock has that one point that is an inch from the glass but sharply curves away. Tank is a 55g SCA.

Yeah, it's definitely going to be a challenge, but that's my main goal and motivator. Probably at least 7 months away from my 1st sps frag. I'm going to start with soft coral and try to establish my tank as much as possible with a lot of checkpoints along the way.

My top priority is to set the tank up for success. Lights off primarily for first 4 months, no fish cycle, establish a refugium (not right away), 10% water changes each week, add good bacteria, monitor levels like crazy and be prepared to change dosing.