The SPS Q&A Thread.

[Daniel@R2R]

Bumping this thread and calling all #SPSExperts! Please subscribe and help us with SPS questions!

 

[mcarroll]

OK, I am having noticeable growth from some of my first SPS corals.
birds nest and cat's paw are slowly but surely growing and both look full and bushy. Favite/war corals are growing slowly. One Favia on the sand bed doesn't seem to be spreading, but is definitely holding its own.

I have a couple of places a bit higher up than my birds nest. One is about 6" from the surface, the other is about 4" from the surface close to light. My question is if I am doing OK with the birds nest and cat's paw, what might I be "ready to try" on these higher ledges?

Get a light meter and measure the light in those spots.....now you can put anything there that also comes from an area with similar light.

If you're looking at frags, then still measure your light so you know what you're dealing with....but placement of frags is much more flexible in general.

 

[shollis2814]

Get a light meter and measure the light in those spots.....now you can put anything there that also comes from an area with similar light.

If you're looking at frags, then still measure your light so you know what you're dealing with....but placement of frags is much more flexible in general.

Thanks for your reply, but not quite what I am asking. I have done a lux reading at various heights (I know PAR is more accurate but it's what I have at the moment).

I am asking for some suggestions of medium-difficult coral species that would do well if catspaw and birdsnest are doing well.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

My frogskin acro is surprisingly easy. not a super pretty but.... a ponape birdsnest. cyphastrea....leptos low light. pavonas. branching or encrusting montis, and digitatas.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fro...sAQILA&biw=1920&bih=950#imgrc=QN2kV0D-Vprz7M:

 

[mcarroll]

If you have stony corals doing well and your numbers are stable, there aren't too many other stony corals that won't do well in there.

I know that's still not a specific suggestion, but I have no idea what you like.

Are there any you've been looking at? @saltyfilmfolks makes a great list to start – you hopefully get the idea that you have a considerable number of corals to choose from.

One way to look at it is that "lagoon corals" are considered hardier and more adaptable to changing water quality, so you could focus on those.

Try the Search on the Corals Of The World website for the term "lagoon" and see the results. It's not a shopping list, but again you'll have a great starting list to browse from and get the idea.

I'd buy something you really like from a local reef shop (that you also really like) and try it. You should be good to go!

What do you get for lux readings?

 

[prsnlty]

I have both T5 and LEDs. For example I placed a bonsai about 2 feet from the LED and it was a very unhappy little camper it didn't grow and it started to bleach out. I moved it to the other side of the tank away from the LED the same distance away from the T5 and it grows beautifully with great color. The point I'm trying to make is that acro's can be finicky bunch LOL Some Like It high light and some like it lower, some just don't like LED and prefer T5 and vice versa. I would say to put it where it's medium light and above and move it if it looks unhappy. But with acros you have to give them a little bit of time to get used to their conditions. Sometimes this is only a couple of weeks and sometimes it's a couple of months or more.

 

[mcarroll]

@prsnlty I can't recall, do you use a light meter of any kind to gauge these kinds of moves around the tank? What do you consider medium, for example?

 

[prsnlty]

@prsnlty I can't recall, do you use a light meter of any kind to gauge these kinds of moves around the tank? What do you consider medium, for example?

No I don't have access to a meter. In my case I have a 180g 72x24x24 with a canopy. 6 t5s and ai sol blue LEDs down the center (3xt5- led-3xt5) on each side t5s are ATI blue+ coral+, purple+. I also have a 5" sb. Being a peninsula my rock runs down the center to give an idea of the layout. My "middle" is about 24-25" from the bulbs where I have bonsai, cali tort, setosa and a few others. For me I just learned by trial and error how strong the lighting is for that depth. I watched how the coral responds, color changing, bleaching and such. Maybe I've been lucky at winging it this way or maybe I just know my tank but so far so good.

 

[prsnlty]

 

[mcarroll]

Nice pics!!!

If you could grab a free lux meter app or $15 handheld lux meter you'd have numbers to share along with the experience!

Just take measurements at the water surface – you can judge somewhat from how the shadow from your light sensor falls in the tank what area/which coral's light you are sampling.

"galactica luxmeter" for IOS is one example of a free app, but there are many. They use the light sensor on the smartphone's camera to compute a regular lux reading. If you want the handheld, search for the "LX-1010B" or similar. Better readings and safer to use on the tank.

Anyone who can take a similar lux measurement on their tank (like me!) can have a better shot at replicating your advice.

I know a lot of people would actually appreciate the detail.

 

[prsnlty]

Thank you Yes, I'll probably get the hand held. I tried to do the app one or 2 phones ago but it didn't do well or I wasn't doing it correctly. I may also try again with my newest phone Galaxy S7 and see if it'll do better this time.

I understand the need for good detail and you are correct I just felt the need to help if I could But that's how I do it without a meter lol (oh and actual research on the corals requirements).

It's late here so I'll get an app sometime tomorrow and try that first

 

[mcarroll]

Awesome!!

 

[Scott.h]

I picked this frag up the other day from a small LFS that doesn't have the right setup to keep sps. I'm not sure if it's a goner yet or it can be saved. Has anyone seen something like this recover?

I'm not sure what the parameters were where it came from but I know they use reef crystals, probably high alk, and their nitrates are really high (like more then 50), with sub par led lighting. So even though I did a 2.5 hour drip and dimmed my lights so it's getting 75 par and staring there, I'm kind of wondering if it will make it. It's not terrible yet but I'm sure switching systems will result in another change a week from now. Any thoughts?

 

[prsnlty]

I picked this frag up the other day from a small LFS that doesn't have the right setup to keep sps. I'm not sure if it's a goner yet or it can be saved. Has anyone seen something like this recover?

I'm not sure what the parameters were where it came from but I know they use reef crystals, probably high alk, and their nitrates are really high (like more then 50), with sub par led lighting. So even though I did a 2.5 hour drip and dimmed my lights so it's getting 75 par and staring there, I'm kind of wondering if it will make it. It's not terrible yet but I'm sure switching systems will result in another change a week from now. Any thoughts?

Yes I have had acros recover. Just slowly raise your lighting. Give it 2-3 weeks in between.

 

[prsnlty]

This one was one tiny little 1" stick that looked completely dead for nearly a year. One day a polyp showed up. This picture is 6 months later. Hard to tell in the picture but it is teal green inside and pink outside. Just goes to show there's always hope

 

[Scott.h]

This one was one tiny little 1" stick that looked completely dead for nearly a year. One day a polyp showed up. This picture is 6 months later. Hard to tell in the picture but it is teal green inside and pink outside. Just goes to show there's always hope

Thats some pretty good growth. It kinda looks like the same family as the one I have. I wasn't sure if that was a lower light acro or not. Part of the reason I also turned down my lights. Hopefully it makes it. I know sometimes changing systems even to better environment is enough of a shock when it's already been shocked. I've been target feeding roti feast 2 or 3 times but it's degrading a bit more at the edges and base. Time will tell I guess.

 

[prsnlty]

Thats some pretty good growth. It kinda looks like the same family as the one I have. I wasn't sure if that was a lower light acro or not. Part of the reason I also turned down my lights. Hopefully it makes it. I know sometimes changing systems even to better environment is enough of a shock when it's already been shocked. I've been target feeding roti feast 2 or 3 times but it's degrading a bit more at the edges and base. Time will tell I guess.

I found that acropower is a fantastic product and has helped several of my acros do much better. I try to keep a very small amount of no3 also and feed my whole tank at night once a week with all pumps off for an hour or two with reef roids, reef chili (they love), coral frenzy and sometimes marine snow. I rotate the food. I also follow with a water change the next day. Good luck

 

[burtbollinger]

I am keeping a few moniporas in a new tank set up in December 2017...so far they look good...for background, here's a very brief video. But I have a few questions...
(red digitata, tyree sunset montipora, and a WWC Cherry tree) and I have an unopened jug of BRS Rox 0.8 Carbon.

I am currently running Chemi-Pure Blue switched out every 4-5 weeks. If I stop using the Chemi-Pure and move over to the Rox is there any damage I can do to the few SPS I have? Can too much carbon running hurt things? I was thinking of replacing the carbon weekly because I heard Carbon loses effectiveness. Is this overkill? Can too much carbon being run hurt anything?

I am not going more advanced than montis, which I love the look of and I am scared of acros.

• Tank is a 43g Red Sea Reefer 170
• Filtration is a BM Curve 5 skimmer + Filter socks changed 3x per week + Chemipure Blue
• Flow is 2x MP10 running very low + a Sicce Syncra 2.o return (560 gph)
• Lighting is a Nanobox Duo running 75% blues/25% white/90% violet
• sg is 1.026 measured by calibrated refractometer.
• Weekly water change every Friday of 5g Fritz RPM salt
• My nitrates are steady currently below 10 via a difficult to read Red Sea basic kit.
• Phosphates read as 0.00 on the Hanna Phosphate (not Phorsporus) Checker
• My alk stays steady at 8.7-9 (Hanna Alk. Checker, tested daily)
• Calcium @ 460
• No magnesium test kit yet.
• CA/Alk suppliment of ESV Bionic every other day...@ 5ml to keep it steady at @ 8.7-9.0
  
• Bioload is 2 perculas and 1 royal gramma (not adding any more)
• Tank is fed small amounts daily of LRS Reef Frenzy Nano and a small amount of BRS Reef Chili every other day.
• SPS corals are red digitata (was told forest fire but I doubt it), JF Tyree sunset montipora, and a JF WWC Cherry tree
• Other corals are a duncan, 2 types of JF cyphastrea, raptors peace favia, purple tip torch, blasto, bam bam zoas (no more zoas will be added), small green crown leather, miami hurricane chalice.
• Not adding any other corals to tank until September/October...then was going to add only two more monti digitata colonies as toppers and a space invader pectina...then full stop, letting it all grow out.

One more question...I'm trying to be as simple as possible. Is there anything glaringly wrong that you see, or something I should be adding? I know I need to test my Mag. Anything else?

 

[mcarroll]

I am currently running Chemi-Pure Blue switched out every 4-5 weeks. If I stop using the Chemi-Pure and move over to the Rox is there any damage I can do to the few SPS I have? Can too much carbon running hurt things? I was thinking of replacing the carbon weekly because I heard Carbon loses effectiveness. Is this overkill?

Probably. It sounds like you may be doing most of that "just becuase" vs for a specific purpose. I'd feel free to scale back (to zero) on anything that has an ambiguous purpose. I use carbon and GFO only as-needed. Both can definitely be overdone.

Sicce Syncra 2.o return (560 gph)

It's a sunk cost, but in case you can make a switch somehow to your benefit, that's a huge pump for that 34 gallon tank.

All you need is from 120 GPH to 240 GPH of actual flow. So a Syncra 1.0 or 1.5 would work for your system height.

The 0.5 would almost do it if the tank were a little shorter.

But either the Syncra 1.0 or 1.5 would be almost perfect. Those are <$50 pumps vs the $100 Syncra 2.0, so that's a pretty good cost difference. Might tempt you to switch!

Your tank should be getting something like 340 GPH from the current setup, so all kinds of room to go down.

The main benefit at this point would be lowering power use.....probably a small priority. If you were still buying new (or were willing to switch), then a different pump would be in order.

Now, it's really just FYI.

• My nitrates are steady currently below 10 via a difficult to read Red Sea basic kit.

• Phosphates read as 0.00 on the Hanna Phosphate (not Phorsporus) Checker

That PO4 level is going to be a problem in the long term. I would probably eliminate or reduce the usage of ChemiPure (which has GFO in it) and see where PO4 levels out to.

"Low PO4" is good....near-zero or zero are bad. Very bad.

Zero or near-zero nitrates can be a problem too, but not usually as bad.

BRS Reef Chili

I'm not a fan of dried foods and it's usually very debatable how much of this stuff gets eaten vs just settling out or being filtered out. I say it's a good thing you're only feeding this infrequently.

There are a ton of non-dried options, including freshly hatched brine shrimp and even decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. All very simple and inexpensive.

I would see if you can get away with just feeding your fish MORE and BETTER but without blowing up your PO4 or NO3 number.

To do this, make small changes you your feeding routine no more than once every few weeks and monitor your numbers for changes. Changes to the tank as well as changes to the numbers can take weeks to finally balance out, so be patient when making changes.

I'm trying to be as simple as possible.

Not adding any other corals to tank until September/October...then was going to add only two more monti digitata colonies as toppers and a space invader pectina...then full stop, letting it all grow out.

I think you're definitely on a good track, but I'm not sure it's as simple as possible. How big a priority for you is this?

Is there anything glaringly wrong that you see, or something I should be adding?

The tank is already more or less full in <1 year. That's the only real "criticism" I can think of. Stocking up so fast is typically very challenging for most folks – and indeed a harder way to set up a reef, so harder would be expected. I would double-down on your commitment to stop adding more critters. +1

Keeping your fish stock levels low is a very smart move.

 

[burtbollinger]

Probably. It sounds like you may be doing most of that "just becuase" vs for a specific purpose. I'd feel free to scale back (to zero) on anything that has an ambiguous purpose. I use carbon and GFO only as-needed. Both can definitely be overdone.

It's a sunk cost, but in case you can make a switch somehow to your benefit, that's a huge pump for that 34 gallon tank.


That PO4 level is going to be a problem in the long term. I would probably eliminate or reduce the usage of ChemiPure (which has GFO in it) and see where PO4 levels out to.


I think you're definitely on a good track, but I'm not sure it's as simple as possible. How big a priority for you is this?



The tank is already more or less full in <1 year. That's the only real "criticism" I can think of. Stocking up so fast is typically very challenging for most folks – and indeed a harder way to set up a reef, so harder would be expected. I would double-down on your commitment to stop adding more critters. +1

Keeping your fish stock levels low is a very smart move.

this is all very helpful, thanks for taking the time to respond...will avoid the carbon for now, and yeah, was doing it just because....but I do like the look of the water after running carbon...looks more crisp, if that makes sense.

as for the pump, that was the one Red Sea was recommending for the Reefer 170, but yeah, it could be a bit much.

will also just focus on feeding the fish and watching my levels. as for the PO4, I think the 0.00 is most indicative of a not-t0tally accurate Hanna...sometimes it measures 0.04 and other times its mostly 0.00.

as for simplicity, its not absolutely vital...Im most concerned about just having healthy montis and having a tank that doesnt look like an overstuffed mishmash...I want it clean and basic, crowned with a pair of healthy, basic, nicely growing monti digitata within the next year or so. Is this approach and the timetable pushing it? Should I perhaps wait 12 months before doing anything else, and just monitor and master what I have currently? I do know I may have moved a bit fast but the frag swap in my area was too tempting this time to ignore.

Thanks again for your help.