Some SPS not doing well

[fish_collector]

I love it ,
SO i just turned on basic wave maker for amazon jacob or something but its more stronger them my 2 xf350 combined , i m thinking getting some TBS live rock live sand bundle to add it ? is it a good idea ?

In Randy's words, "That would be a fine idea".

Live rock from Florida waters has been decent, but you'll get A LOT of crabs and things. It has to be put into observation while you get all of them picked out. I know there's a huge cost difference, but the recent imports of rock from the South Pacific would be a better option, that's where most of the corals we keep come from and that's where the rock comes from so it's a better match IMO. But in the end it's what works for the individual budget wise. For me, 100 lbs of South Pacific rock would be a no-go

 

[CHSUB]

I like to keep nitrate between 10 and 50, and phosphate between 0.1 and 0.5

So the advice is to dose up nutrients to something close to 50 ppm no3 and 0.5 ppm po4?

 

[kratosxxl]

In Randy's words, "That would be a fine idea".

Live rock from Florida waters has been decent, but you'll get A LOT of crabs and things. It has to be put into observation while you get all of them picked out. I know there's a huge cost difference, but the recent imports of rock from the South Pacific would be a better option, that's where most of the corals we keep come from and that's where the rock comes from so it's a better match IMO. But in the end it's what works for the individual budget wise. For me, 100 lbs of South Pacific rock would be a no-go

Any recommendations on where to get trusted live rock ?

 

[56longroof]

Any recommendations on where to get trusted live rock ?

TBS or KP Aquatics

 

[fish_collector]

So the advice is to dose up nutrients to something close to 50 ppm no3 and 0.5 ppm po4?

No sir, I didn't say that. My SPS system has a nitrate level that floats about 50, and a phosphate level that floats about 0.5 or maybe a bit higher. I said nitrate between 10 and 50, and phosphate between 0.1 and 0.5 will grow corals. The moral of my statement was not to chase a particular value, it isn't that critical.

 

[kratosxxl]

Just wondering how do resellers handle it ? Wwc or any other grower who does this for living ? This will be equal to filing for bankruptcy

 

[James CNM]

Your tank is much too young to support SPS corals. Wait a year and then try some stylo, poccillopora or any number of inexpensive stags to test with.

I hope this helps. But yeah your tank is too young for SPS in general.

Good advice if you don't know what you are doing

 

[slingfox]

Any recommendations on where to get trusted live rock ?

The well-known Florida live rock providers into Tampa Bay Saltwater and KP Aquatics. If you want Australian live rock (best looking and superior structurally to any other rock, but expensive) is TankStop (there is a large thread on this board about this rock which is sold by Eric Cohen). Best live sand I have seen is Tampa Bag Saltwater. Much cheaper alternative is the Caribsea Ocean Direct.

If you want to see what the Australian live rock looks like you can check out My Tank Thread. I have ordered live rock and/or from all the vendors in this post. The only exception is I have never tried the Caribsea Ocean Direct sand but the microbial diversity testing BRS did on it several years ago was solid so it is something I would recommend if trying to keep budget in check.

 

[James CNM]

Any recommendations on where to get trusted live rock ?

Forget about that! Find yourself dead rock. Don't waste your time with rock that is painted coraline etc. It is $hite!
Seek dead coral or dead rock and cure it.

Ill sell you some live rock, It will cost you!

 

[fish_collector]

Just wondering how do resellers handle it ? Wwc or any other grower who does this for living ? This will be equal to filing for bankruptcy

WWC has been in business for decades and has mature facilities. Other farm startups typically monitor water quality very closely while they wait for their systems to be mature enough for SPS. The more water volume one has, the easier it is to get up to speed.

I used perhaps 50lbs of Fiji live rock I collected from various sources and I still killed a lot of corals until about the year mark, then it leveled off and my acros would survive. I then had to figure out what they wanted before they really took off.

The biggest game changer for my tank was adding more fish so I could feed more, it was almost instantaneous. That also caused my nutrients to rise, so perhaps my system was nutrient limited

That takes the discussion down the rabbit hole so no telling where it’ll go from here

 

[fish_collector]

Forget about that! Find yourself dead rock. Don't waste your time with rock that is painted coraline etc. It is $hite!
Seek dead coral or dead rock and cure it

Sure, but that defeats the purpose of using live rock.

It is expensive, so much so that a good number of hobbyists only buy it in small quantities and use it to seed what they already have. Using dry, previously real ocean rock and seeding it with some good stuff is probably the happy medium.

 

[fish_collector]

Good advice if you don't know what you are doing

I’d tend to agree with that, but even advanced, seasoned hobbyists would use the real stuff given the opportunity. I’d love to buy 300lbs of Eric Cohens live Pukani and Australian rock but it’s cost prohibitive. I’ve got literally 1500 lbs of dry Pukani that I plan to use in a new tank, but with that comes a year of serious algae control, and maybe losing some of the acros I’ve had for a while.

 

[kratosxxl]

Forget about that! Find yourself dead rock. Don't waste your time with rock that is painted coraline etc. It is $hite!
Seek dead coral or dead rock and cure it.

Ill sell you some live rock, It will cost you!

So good old “givit more time “ :)

 

[James CNM]

Sure, but that defeats the purpose of using live rock.

It is expensive, so much so that a good number of hobbyists only buy it in small quantities and use it to seed what they already have. Using dry, previously real ocean rock and seeding it with some good stuff is probably the happy medium.

But it is live!

Is live sand live? yeah!...but what is also live in there? It is a hype. Greed! Something that is happening and very much present to day!!

 

[fish_collector]

But it is live!

Is live sand live? yeah!...but what is also live in there?

I’m not sure I’m understanding your vibe here. Can you explain it more in detail?

 

[kratosxxl]

I thi

I’m not sure I’m understanding your vibe here. Can you explain it more in detail?

this is how i understand that statement. There are no shortcuts in this hobby , yes using live rock/sand can speed up things its not necessary. You will achive exact same thing with dry rock.

 

[James CNM]

I’m not sure I’m understanding your vibe here. Can you explain it more in detail?

Not a problem. Everything is dead, you just need bacteria .

 

[slingfox]

I’d tend to agree with that, but even advanced, seasoned hobbyists would use the real stuff given the opportunity. I’d love to buy 300lbs of Eric Cohens live Pukani and Australian rock but it’s cost prohibitive. I’ve got literally 1500 lbs of dry Pukani that I plan to use in a new tank, but with that comes a year of serious algae control, and maybe losing some of the acros I’ve had for a while.

Wow, what a collection! I am jealous!

 

[slingfox]

I thi

this is how i understand that statement. There are no shortcuts in this hobby , yes using live rock/sand can speed up things its not necessary. You will achive exact same thing with dry rock.

I have started tanks with 100% dry rock and 100% ocean live rock. The live rock setup is so much easier to get up, running and stable. You can definitely get to a mature state with dry rock and sand but it is without a doubt more challenging.

 

[James CNM]

I’d tend to agree with that, but even advanced, seasoned hobbyists would use the real stuff given the opportunity. I’d love to buy 300lbs of Eric Cohens live Pukani and Australian rock but it’s cost prohibitive. I’ve got literally 1500 lbs of dry Pukani that I plan to use in a new tank, but with that comes a year of serious algae control, and maybe losing some of the acros I’ve had for a while.

In for the money then once that's matured