SPS Tank - waiting for maturity...

[Carnajo]

Hi everyone,

Couldn't find anything specific on this other than a myriad of suggestions/recommendations that SPS should only be added to a mature tank and the numbers range from 6 months to 2 years. What I'm wondering is what everyone does in the meantime if they're planning an SPS tank.

Is it just run as FOWLR until such point in time that it is deemed mature?
Run it with softies/LPS until it's ready (and then what, remove the softies/LPS?)

Would a tank even get "mature" without without some form of corals in it (by which I don't mean the nitrogen cycle but since it is corals that impact Alk/Calc/Etc. and have an impact on nutrients it would seem to me that until corals start being added it doesn't really reach coral maturity/stability, I mean I assume I am missing something and obviously maturity also refers to a healthy biome, healthy level of bacteria etc. )

 

[TylerHaworth]

To me maturity is as much about the aquarist as it is the aquarium.

Have you gone through all of the uglies? See coralline starting to take off? Got most/all of your fish/CUC in? Learned to manage all of your parameters? Found a sustainable maintenance schedule? Acquired all of your equipment? Planned for disaster?

If you’re still fighting/waiting for something to be resolved, you’re not ready.

 

[Lavey29]

Add a few pieces of real live wet ocean rock and greatly speed up that biome timeliness for SPS.

 

[Anthrax91]

I just went thru this. I let tank run 9 months before putting sps into it. I stocked it with fish early on. Added coralline algae about 5 months in. Ran normal room lights for a few hours everyday. Put an acro in 9 months in and left it by itself for a month. It encrusted and did good so I added everything else.

 

[exnisstech]

When i started my first acro tank I added coral early and had some losses. I filled the sump with as much live rock as i could fit and used all dry rock in the DT. As mentioned add fish and cuc. I wouldn't add anything that isn't part of your plan for the tank.

 

[Jimbo327]

I would run the tank just as you normally with, but start with easier corals.

 

[JerryB1232]

To me maturity is as much about the aquarist as it is the aquarium.

Have you gone through all of the uglies? See coralline starting to take off? Got most/all of your fish/CUC in? Learned to manage all of your parameters? Found a sustainable maintenance schedule? Acquired all of your equipment? Planned for disaster?

If you’re still fighting/waiting for something to be resolved, you’re not ready.

I couldn’t have said it better.

 

[Carnajo]

To me maturity is as much about the aquarist as it is the aquarium.

Have you gone through all of the uglies? See coralline starting to take off? Got most/all of your fish/CUC in? Learned to manage all of your parameters? Found a sustainable maintenance schedule? Acquired all of your equipment? Planned for disaster?

If you’re still fighting/waiting for something to be resolved, you’re not ready.

This makes perfect sense.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I’ve had SPS in my tank since month 2. Went through the uglies, and a ton of ups and downs, and have only lost two pieces. One of those pieces being lost due to shipping stress.

To answer the question on maturity, I believe it is having your nutrients stabilized, along with the major 3 (alk, cal, mag).

 

[Acroguy]

I put in live rock rock fresh salt water and after 1 week all acros went in from the old system ‍