SPS Parameters?
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GillMeister
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Good question. All corals seem to have favored parameters. I run mine at 8 dkh, 35ppt salinity, 78 F temp, 440 Ca. I have good results with everything but, get this, birdsnest and stylos. The easiest ones for most people.
i have no clue what my Mg levels are. My test kit for this isn't repeatable.
Stability is key, particularly with alkalinity. Temp and salinity are as important.
i have no clue what my Mg levels are. My test kit for this isn't repeatable.
Stability is key, particularly with alkalinity. Temp and salinity are as important.
fachatga
Well-Known Member
They should like more light and flow than Lps. 200-300 par. Lots of flow. Parameters posted above work fine. But like he said stability is key with sps so it’s harder in newer tanks. Timeline will depend on lots of factors. But why not just try a few cheap drags to see what happens. If one doesn’t work try different kind.
missourimud
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off topic but wondering what the timeline between the two photos is?
looks great! someone has been busy!
looks great! someone has been busy!
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Coralcitos
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Coralcitos
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Thank you for the advice. I am having a hard time in keeping alkalinity constant with the rate the water evaporates. I get all my water from the LRS. I might test and add fresh water to keep it consistent.
PatW
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I hear an ALK between 7.6 - 8.5. I run about 8. What is much more important is stability especially for ALK.
Ca - I hear anything over 380. I dose daily and check once per week to 450.
Mg - 1300 -1500.
Light - depends on the SPS but most like a good bit of light so PAR of 200 - 500.
Salinity - I keep mine at 1.026 and I use an ATO. Plus, I top off with 0 TDS RODI water.
Flow - I usually hear about 40 times turnover per hour. I run about 60. I hear that World Wide Corals runs 100. I scuba dive and flow on reefs can get really, really high like 1000+. Often it is lower but it varies quite a bit and below 100 would be low.
Temperature - The reefs I dive on range from the high 60s to the low 80s. I run 78 degrees.
For nutrients, I run pretty low: 1 ppm nitrates and less than .03 phosphates. But have tangs and they poop a bunch and I have good export. As long as there is some nutrients in the water, corals do fine. Even my LPS corals never seem to have problems.
One thing to remember is tanks can be viewed as systems. Two tanks can seemingly have very similar parameters and one have corals that are struggling and the other have thriving and growing corals.
Ca - I hear anything over 380. I dose daily and check once per week to 450.
Mg - 1300 -1500.
Light - depends on the SPS but most like a good bit of light so PAR of 200 - 500.
Salinity - I keep mine at 1.026 and I use an ATO. Plus, I top off with 0 TDS RODI water.
Flow - I usually hear about 40 times turnover per hour. I run about 60. I hear that World Wide Corals runs 100. I scuba dive and flow on reefs can get really, really high like 1000+. Often it is lower but it varies quite a bit and below 100 would be low.
Temperature - The reefs I dive on range from the high 60s to the low 80s. I run 78 degrees.
For nutrients, I run pretty low: 1 ppm nitrates and less than .03 phosphates. But have tangs and they poop a bunch and I have good export. As long as there is some nutrients in the water, corals do fine. Even my LPS corals never seem to have problems.
One thing to remember is tanks can be viewed as systems. Two tanks can seemingly have very similar parameters and one have corals that are struggling and the other have thriving and growing corals.
blasterman
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Depends on the SPS.
A purple stylo is going to tolerate far different conditions than acropora.
You need stable nutrients - period. That's why most reefers fail at SPS. Phosphate needs to be around .03 for starters and nitrate around 5-10ppm. Younger tanks tend to swing these numbers to the extreme with algae blooms and over zealous water changes.
Calcium and magnesium are not as relevant as reefers claim. Calcium between 350-450 is fine. It won't move with beginner frags and isn't worth testing until you have a lot of SPS.
Alk is the tricky one because it can deplete very fast even without coral. Use the online reef calculator and a box of baking soda and try to keep it in the 8-10 range daily. Alk can drift without hurting SPS (mine changes 2 dKH per day), but it needs to average in that range daily.
You do not need a dosing pump for starter SPS and you don't need a two part. Calcium simply won't deplete fast enough to bother and sporadic water changes will replenish it.
A purple stylo is going to tolerate far different conditions than acropora.
You need stable nutrients - period. That's why most reefers fail at SPS. Phosphate needs to be around .03 for starters and nitrate around 5-10ppm. Younger tanks tend to swing these numbers to the extreme with algae blooms and over zealous water changes.
Calcium and magnesium are not as relevant as reefers claim. Calcium between 350-450 is fine. It won't move with beginner frags and isn't worth testing until you have a lot of SPS.
Alk is the tricky one because it can deplete very fast even without coral. Use the online reef calculator and a box of baking soda and try to keep it in the 8-10 range daily. Alk can drift without hurting SPS (mine changes 2 dKH per day), but it needs to average in that range daily.
You do not need a dosing pump for starter SPS and you don't need a two part. Calcium simply won't deplete fast enough to bother and sporadic water changes will replenish it.
If you don't have an ATO system, don't get any more SPS corals until you get one. When you don't have an ATO, your salinity (and all the rest of your parameters) will constantly fluctuate with your water levels. It's a Sisyphean task to try and keep anything stable without actively managing your water level, and the best way to do that is with an ATO.
Do yourself a favor and get the Tunze 3155. It's $200, but it'll occasionally go on sale. It's basically the gold standard as far as ATOs are concerned, and no single piece of equipment will do more to help you keep a successful reef, especially if you're trying to keep SPS corals.
If it's practical for you to do so, I would definitely invest in an RO/DI system as well. It'll pay for itself within a year, and having control over your water supply will be another important step in your long-term success.
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