SPS Corals and what is more important..

revhtree · Jun 9, 2017

I know there are MANY aspects to creating an optimal environment for healthy sps corals. (which I haven't done yet)

Would you say that these are the big three factors to growing healthy sps corals?

Lighting - Type of Lighting, PAR of Lighting, etc.
Water Flow - Type of Flow, Pump Placement, etc.
Water Chemistry - Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Salinity, etc.

If you can agree with me would you consider one to be more important than the other even if it's only by a little bit?

I feel like that has to be water chemistry. Would you agree? I mean flow can vary, lighting can vary, but water chemistry has to be the common denominator for us all right?

That being said, I want my reef to grow SPS like this!

@30reef

brett_schn · Jun 9, 2017

Yeah I agree with the water chemistry but the other factors are equally important. Also that’s such an amazing tank @30reef

DereksReef77 · Jun 9, 2017

Personally I think that water flow is the most important Rev. You can have the best water parameters and the best lighting but what good are they if you don't have enough flow cleaning the sps corals of waste produced by them and to bring new nutrients and food to them. Jmo but in my experience thats what I believe. It has been proven that sps can grow and thrive in all different kinds of water parameters, as no one reef tank is the same and no ones water chemistry is the same. And I don't think that lighting is the most important cause you can have 5 frags of the same sps from the same colony and put them at different places in the tank and chances are they will all survive even when placed at different par levels throughout the tank. But if you don't have good or adequate flow throughout your tank then chances are they won't all do well. Jmo

Xclusive Reef · Jun 9, 2017

I would say all 3 are equally important.

pa1ntbru5h · Jun 9, 2017

I believe it's a good balance of all of them combined.
Water chemistry just needs to be STABLE. Your tank could be ultra low nutrient or high nutrient and SPS could still thrive. Stability is key.
Flow comes in close 2nd for me. I've had pieces RTN/STN from too much or too little flow.
Lighting is all personal preference. SPS can grow under any light as long as its decently strong. (LED, T5, MH, or any combination)

When it comes to SPS tanks, I believe that there's a common misconception that you need the best equipment and tons of methods of nutrient export to achieve a low nutrient tank. GUILTY ;Sorry
Instead, I'm now learning that it's so much easier just to keep things simple. I was basically exporting ALL my nutrients and put my tank all out of whack.

BCSreef · Jun 9, 2017

I'm going to say lighting. When I started with SPS 23 years ago, I used VHOs and the only thing I measured was pH. I dosed 2-part according to label and occasional water changes. No poweheads and not a lot of current. SPS grew well. If I had done the same with NO T12s as lighting, I think the Acros would have died fairly fast. Maybe the Montis would have made it. Not sure.

Of course the 2-part and water changes did keep chemistry somewhat stable. Add in some dumb luck and you have success.

Now I'm much more focused on not just lighting, but chemistry and flow also.

hart24601 · Jun 9, 2017

It depends how far off those things are! Chemistry has to be 1st because if you have salinity of 1.001 the reef will be impossible, just like a dkh of 20. Chemistry has the power to totally kill off the life easily.

Now that being said if one can maintain chemistry in the "normal" range I think flow is most important and the thing that right now in the hobby isn't address enough compared to the other two. We beat lighting to death and people micro manage chemistry but it seems like we ignore flow too much - especially when talking about lighting and how they are related with bleaching and really how all 3 are interlinked. Lighting many years ago was a huge concern but we have so many great viable solutions now.

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 9, 2017

I agree with the chemistry being the most important for health. The flow being most important for polyp extension and in turn the ability for the coral to eat. The lighting would be most important for coloration and photosynthetic growth.
Of all these, I think a sub-item would be consistency. Constant change in any of the three could definitely lead to a demise although they may be within the "acceptable range"

luke33 · Jun 9, 2017

Chemistry>Water Flow>Lighting

jmerideth1 · Jun 9, 2017

I'm awfully new too this (hobby/addiction/life choices) but I think it would be like Liebigs law which basically states growth is limited by the scarcest resource. So, an example if flow and water chemistry were both perfect and you only had a small light bulb on your tank it could only grow as much as that light would allow.

happyhourhero · Jun 9, 2017

The only things I care about are flow, lighting and stability. Alk is pretty much the only parameter I watch like a hawk.

Martin Kuhn · Jun 9, 2017

Good Waterflow is nearly a must to keep nutrient levels low

Dosing plus waterchanges holds your Ca, Alk, Mg and trace levels where sps need them .... even if they consume it and thus reduce it steadily

This together is what makes your water parameters

So
- Low but not 0 nutrient levels
- Ca, Alk, Mg and traces where they should be
- enough light, from all sides and with the correct spectrum

Are the parameters that bring you outstanding sps growth

andrew james · Jun 9, 2017

Stability, flow ,lighting. In that order. I've seen it happen many times in my tank and friend's tanks with super stable chemistry and nice lights getting no growth or worse rtn/stn because the lack proper flow. A lot of time people are running 2 powerheads on a big tank when they should really have 6. It wasnt until I really went crazy and add 8 powerheads to my tank that growth really took off.

S&SReef · Jun 9, 2017

I think stability and gradual changes. My alk is currently at 5.6 which is way out of whack but the SPS are still thriving. This has been off for over a month

Martin Kuhn · Jun 9, 2017

It is not having xx powerheads or an excessive volumestream of flowpumps

It is about having a "flow in the tank that is really everywhere around"

Besides adding more pumps and maybe even more important is the 3D Design if your reef "allowing a proper flow" to all corners etc

Stones not to close to edges /walls

reefwiser · Jun 9, 2017

I find that with a reef tank you slowly work thru the issues of equipment. Finding the pieces of equipment that work for your particular system. Not every piece of equipment will work well in every tank. You see this all the time in treads.
Chemistry is very important once you have equipment that is working well in your particular tank. Stable water parameters is very important. I have been testing a new system of trace element dosing and even thou I do daily auto water changes it has really kicked the growth of corals into high gear. Much to my surprise. So this is a very important part of the chemistry of the reef aquarium.
Flow helps SPS the elements they need to grow into their system. Flow breaks down the water barrier at the surface of the coral. So the more flow you can give the corals in your tank the more they can grow.

Ty Hamatake · Jun 9, 2017

I look at it like the fire triangle. Heat+fuel+oxygen=fire. If you take away one side you won't have fire. This is an extreme, but if you were to take away one of the "big three" from your tank... you wouldn't be able to sustain SPS.