Neuratox
Active Member
I recently decided that it was time to restart the tank. There has been so much that I've learned in the last 2 years that I wanted to be able to implement, I wasn't crazy about the aquascaping that I had done in my established tank, and I wanted something that looked nicer (not second hand or hand made by myself). So, I bought a Red Sea Reefer XL300. Its a downsize from my current 90gallon tank and 35gallon sump, but I wanted to take a different approach and go for a more densely packed reef rather than spread out. I understand that even a massive tank will eventually look full of coral, but I also wanted to reduce the number of corals that I would have to buy to reduce the overall cost... We'll see how well that works out since I've got a taste for some of the more expensive specimens as of late.
The plan for the tank is to have it heavily focused toward SPS, with a fair number of euphyllia and other LPS scattered throughout. I'd also like to include a few soft corals such as zoas, palys, mushrooms, and the like, while staying away from leather corals. As I understand it, this is considered a mixed reef tank even though I'm really focusing on the SPS. In either case I have a few questions and would love input and suggests as well!
Just for the record, this tank currently only has 2 AI 32s, but I will be adding a 3rd before I start adding coral in a few months. I'll also be renting a PAR meter from BRS at the same time that the light is purchased and before adding corals. I just realized that I can add video in here, so just to show you what I'm working with...... (oh, looks like it gets forced to the bottom)
1) While I love my fuzzy sticks, I also like a lot of movement and seeing diversity throughout the tank so I'm going to add in 4 euphyllia. I'd really like to spread these out throughout the tank so that movement can be seen from every angle... I've not had any of them near other corals so I'm not sure what the general reaction of a stung coral would be. Would the coral (such as an acro or monti) stop growing in that direction or is it more likely that the euphyllia would kill the entire coral? Would it be better to cluster these together?
2) With a 90gallon tank I've always had a decent amount of space between coral, although some are encroaching on each other's space recently. How worried should I be when putting things like an acro near a monti? Will the monti start growing over the acro at some point down the road? Are there other corals that are prone to growing over sps?
3) How much space would you typically put between your SPS frags? What about between Euphyllia and any other coral?
4) What are some good corals for near the surface of the water (if there are any) and what are some good ones for the low light areas that won't spread up the rockwork like wildfire and become an issue? I've considered things like blastomussa for fairly dim locations and sun corals for dim and dark.
5) Any suggestions or advice that I should consider when setting up this new tank? 2 years was enough to learn some new tricks, but not everything.
I'm getting rid of all my anemones except for a mutated mini maxi. Its a neat specimen that tried to split or something before I purchased it and never completed the process so it has two mouths and each with their own plate of tentacles. Just wanted to mention this cool guy.
The plan for the tank is to have it heavily focused toward SPS, with a fair number of euphyllia and other LPS scattered throughout. I'd also like to include a few soft corals such as zoas, palys, mushrooms, and the like, while staying away from leather corals. As I understand it, this is considered a mixed reef tank even though I'm really focusing on the SPS. In either case I have a few questions and would love input and suggests as well!
Just for the record, this tank currently only has 2 AI 32s, but I will be adding a 3rd before I start adding coral in a few months. I'll also be renting a PAR meter from BRS at the same time that the light is purchased and before adding corals. I just realized that I can add video in here, so just to show you what I'm working with...... (oh, looks like it gets forced to the bottom)
1) While I love my fuzzy sticks, I also like a lot of movement and seeing diversity throughout the tank so I'm going to add in 4 euphyllia. I'd really like to spread these out throughout the tank so that movement can be seen from every angle... I've not had any of them near other corals so I'm not sure what the general reaction of a stung coral would be. Would the coral (such as an acro or monti) stop growing in that direction or is it more likely that the euphyllia would kill the entire coral? Would it be better to cluster these together?
2) With a 90gallon tank I've always had a decent amount of space between coral, although some are encroaching on each other's space recently. How worried should I be when putting things like an acro near a monti? Will the monti start growing over the acro at some point down the road? Are there other corals that are prone to growing over sps?
3) How much space would you typically put between your SPS frags? What about between Euphyllia and any other coral?
4) What are some good corals for near the surface of the water (if there are any) and what are some good ones for the low light areas that won't spread up the rockwork like wildfire and become an issue? I've considered things like blastomussa for fairly dim locations and sun corals for dim and dark.
5) Any suggestions or advice that I should consider when setting up this new tank? 2 years was enough to learn some new tricks, but not everything.
I'm getting rid of all my anemones except for a mutated mini maxi. Its a neat specimen that tried to split or something before I purchased it and never completed the process so it has two mouths and each with their own plate of tentacles. Just wanted to mention this cool guy.
