Are AI Primes sufficient enough for SPS?

[TokenReefer]

You have enough light to grow what you currently have imo. Can crank them higher before needing more/different light. But yeah long term probably need more. Jmo though

 

[DanyL]

I mean.. you really can’t go wrong with ReeFi.

Approx same price as the XR15, but with a wider spectrum, multiple spreading options, triple the warranty time, and more power than the XR30 can provide.

I’m getting 1,008-260 PAR top to bottom, 2 fixtures over a 4ft tank, mounted ~20” above the water line with 90 deg reeflectors.

It’s a good deal, and a great light.

 

[Doctorgori]

I mean.. you really can’t go wrong with ReeFi.

Approx same price as the XR15, but with a wider spectrum, multiple spreading options, triple the warranty time, and more power than the XR30 can provide.

I’m getting 1,008-260 PAR top to bottom, 2 fixtures over a 4ft tank, mounted ~20” above the water line with 90 deg reeflectors.

It’s a good deal, and a great light.

the nerve…. those corals are grossly overcrowded, you outta be ashamed of yourself

 

[DanyL]

the nerve…. those corals are grossly overcrowded, you outta be ashamed of yourself

lol indeed it’s quite crowded in there

That’s my show frag tank, so these are all frags that I cut from my main system and grow for a few months before selling, but I was quite busy lately and let them grow out a bit more than usual haha

That being said, my main tank isn’t much less crowded:

I don’t tend to take pictures of my main tank as often as I do with the frag tank so these are old photos, but it’s a 6ft long, 25” high tank and for 3 years it ran off only 4 ReeFi Uno 1st gen, and only recently I’ve upgraded to 2xReeFi Uno 2.0 + 3xReeFi Uno 1 to better supplement the overcrowded nature of keeping so many fully grown colonies next to each other.

 

[jayteerq]

You have enough light to grow what you currently have imo. Can crank them higher before needing more/different light. But yeah long term probably need more. Jmo though

What levels should I crank higher? Uv v and blues are maxed lol

 

[jayteerq]

I mean.. you really can’t go wrong with ReeFi.

Approx same price as the XR15, but with a wider spectrum, multiple spreading options, triple the warranty time, and more power than the XR30 can provide.

I’m getting 1,008-260 PAR top to bottom, 2 fixtures over a 4ft tank, mounted ~20” above the water line with 90 deg reeflectors.

It’s a good deal, and a great light.

Wow beautiful tank!

 

[TokenReefer]

What levels should I crank higher? Uv v and blues are maxed lol

The white channel. Would increase par drastically

I guess I was just trying to say I don't think you've hit the limit from these lights yet in relation to current corals. A lot of people seem to add more light than they seem to have need for yet imo; just fuels algae unless your packed full of coral (broad strokes)

 

[VintageReefer]

The white channel. Would increase par drastically

Booooo. Whites. Yuck lol

 

[jayteerq]

Booooo. Whites. Yuck lol

Oof I would have to agree lol. I’m definitely a blue guy myself. Question though. My birdsnest is turning white, couldn’t that be bleaching which means too much par? Or could turning white also come from too little par?

 

[TokenReefer]

Booooo. Whites. Yuck lol

Couldn't disagree more! Haha

 

[gbroadbridge]

Booooo. Whites. Yuck lol

White light is cheap at Lowes

 

[TokenReefer]

There ya go. Lowes! Those idiots making these leds...whites...ha! I'll tap out here

 

[DanyL]

tbh a real full spectrum “white” looks far better than Bollywood Blue

Oof I would have to agree lol. I’m definitely a blue guy myself. Question though. My birdsnest is turning white, couldn’t that be bleaching which means too much par? Or could turning white also come from too little par?

I find it hard to believe your light alone would cause this (at least from the pictures you posted and their distance from corals).

What are your parameters?
It might be due to high Alk and low nutrients.

 

[jayteerq]

tbh a real full spectrum “white” looks far better than Bollywood Blue


I find it hard to believe your light alone would cause this (at least from the pictures you posted and their distance from corals).

What are your parameters?
It might be due to high Alk and low nutrients.

dang so it must be my 0 phosphates causing the bleaching.

My alk is 9.5
Calcium 450
Mag 1450
Nitrates about 25
But phosphates I can’t get to show up for some reason. I just bought some phosphate supplements

 

[DanyL]

dang so it must be my 0 phosphates causing the bleaching.

My alk is 9.5
Calcium 450
Mag 1450
Nitrates about 25
But phosphates I can’t get to show up for some reason. I just bought some phosphate supplements

Yup, there you go.
0 Phosphates would do that.

When dosing phosphates go slow and steady, measure every day - it’ll take time to make them show up, but it’s better to do it this way both as to not shock the corals as well as because it’s far harder to reduce them if you overshoot the dosage.

Edit: Also measure your nitrates, as Phosphate increases you’ll see your Nitrate decrease. You want them both to be detectable.

 

[jayteerq]

Yup, there you go.
0 Phosphates would do that.

When dosing phosphates go slow and steady, measure every day - it’ll take time to make them show up, but it’s better to do it this way both as to not shock the corals as well as because it’s far harder to reduce them if you overshoot the dosage.

Edit: Also measure your nitrates, as Phosphate increases you’ll see your Nitrate decrease. You want them both to be detectable.

Sounds good. Thank you!! I notice everyone always talks about how there’s a specific balance with nutrients. Is there a standard ideal ratio to go by with nitrates and phosphates to get that balance and avoid nuisance algae? Like maybe 10 nitrate 0.1 phosphate?

 

[jayteerq]

Yup, there you go.
0 Phosphates would do that.

When dosing phosphates go slow and steady, measure every day - it’ll take time to make them show up, but it’s better to do it this way both as to not shock the corals as well as because it’s far harder to reduce them if you overshoot the dosage.

Edit: Also measure your nitrates, as Phosphate increases you’ll see your Nitrate decrease. You want them both to be detectable.

Also if it’s turning white now and polyps falling apart do you think it’ll have a chance of recovery or is it too late? I know sps are the hardest but birdsnest are the most forgiving of them all?

 

[DanyL]

Sounds good. Thank you!! I notice everyone always talks about how there’s a specific balance with nutrients. Is there a standard ideal ratio to go by with nitrates and phosphates to get that balance and avoid nuisance algae? Like maybe 10 nitrate 0.1 phosphate?

Some people believe in the “Redfield” legend, and some don’t - I’m with the later.
I keep my nutrients each in a range and don’t chase a specific number or ratio and it always worked well for me.

As for what range to target - the best way to determine this is to test and see for yourself. Some tanks react better to lower nutrients, while others prefer them far more elevated - when you go slow, you’ll be able to stop at the moment things seem to stabilize for you.

Also if it’s turning white now and polyps falling apart do you think it’ll have a chance of recovery or is it too late? I know sps are the hardest but birdsnest are the most forgiving of them all?

So, it depends.

Experienced growers would likely call bird nest a “weed” because it grows fast and is considerably easy to keep.

On the other hand, quite a few new reefers can struggle with it at first, and may experience loses - that was my first experience with it more than a decade ago.

In your case, I believe you have a good chance to recover them if you take action and stabilize your nutrients without causing any major fluctuations in the process.

I would also advise you to cut off the burned tips, because they’ll not recover from this.

 

[jayteerq]

Some people believe in the “Redfield” legend, and some don’t - I’m with the later.
I keep my nutrients each in a range and don’t chase a specific number or ratio and it always worked well for me.

As for what range to target - the best way to determine this is to test and see for yourself. Some tanks react better to lower nutrients, while others prefer them far more elevated - when you go slow, you’ll be able to stop at the moment things seem to stabilize for you.



So, it depends.

Experienced growers would likely call bird nest a “weed” because it grows fast and is considerably easy to keep.

On the other hand, quite a few new reefers can struggle with it at first, and may experience loses - that was my first experience with it more than a decade ago.

In your case, I believe you have a good chance to recover them if you take action and stabilize your nutrients without causing any major fluctuations in the process.

I would also advise you to cut off the burned tips, because they’ll not recover from this.

Sounds good. Thank you so much for the advice! My alk cal and mag are pretty dang stable so I’m confident with those numbers. Just gotta work on nutrients now and hopefully I’ll be okay. Thanks again!

 

[One Person]

Primes will grow SPS but not in that tank.

Have you had success/experience with growing SPS using 16 HD Primes?