Wanting to try SPS

[billyocean]

Hmmm..10 months in and I don't believe anyone has asked what rock you started with. If it was live you've probably been ready...dry rock is dicey even at 10 months...might be fine...might not be. I would advise against starting off with things like montis and other things you may not want in your coral long term. If you can isolate things then have at it. But...if the acro bug hits you and you've got a monti or whatever taking up a ton of room it may not be what you wanted. Don't just throw things in the tank for a "right now" satisfaction. As mentioned...testing is paramount so get familiar with it because eventually dosing will be needed. I do agree that some.of the corals mentioned are great testers but just be smart about where you put them for future wants/needs

 

[Northern Flicker]

I think some are putting the cart before the horse here.

1) What kind of system are we talking about here @tobster ? Can you give us:

a. Lighting
b. Flow
c. Tank dimensions and volume
d. Other coral in the tank currently

One thing people underestimate is how tough it can be to balance the needs of different coral in a small tank. For example, if you have Euphyllia, they will not be happy if you crank flow and lighting intensity to keep your SPS happy.

2) Forget about dosing and adding equipment. You will find, once your SPS are settled and growing, that your Alk gets depleted. However, you don't need to jump on an automated kalk system if you are just adding some test SPS.

3) Absolutely nothing wrong with adding SPS to a 10 month old tank. Here is a Seriatopora "Birdsnest" coral that was being grown in a 2 month old system of mine:

Once we have all the details of your tank, I think we will have a better idea of how to get you on a path for success

In the short term, some SPS coral to research would be Montipora digitata, Montipora setosa, Cyphastrea, Seriatopora.

 

[tobster]

Hmmm..10 months in and I don't believe anyone has asked what rock you started with. If it was live you've probably been ready...dry rock is dicey even at 10 months...might be fine...might not be. I would advise against starting off with things like montis and other things you may not want in your coral long term. If you can isolate things then have at it. But...if the acro bug hits you and you've got a monti or whatever taking up a ton of room it may not be what you wanted. Don't just throw things in the tank for a "right now" satisfaction. As mentioned...testing is paramount so get familiar with it because eventually dosing will be needed. I do agree that some.of the corals mentioned are great testers but just be smart about where you put them for future wants/needs

I used dry rock to start. Tank went through the ugly stage with cyano and all that for close to 2 months about 6 months ago.
Good advice on just throwing things in that grow.
I do like the birdnest and bubblegum digita though.

 

[billyocean]

I used dry rock to start. Tank went through the ugly stage with cyano and all that for close to 2 months about 6 months ago.
Good advice on just throwing things in that grow.
I do like the birdnest and bubblegum digita though.

The bubblegum is a good one and grows fast. Just remember acros are a slow game so rushing never helps. Seems like there's plenty of room u til there isnt..haha

 

[tobster]

I think some are putting the cart before the horse here.

1) What kind of system are we talking about here @tobster ? Can you give us:

a. Lighting
b. Flow
c. Tank dimensions and volume
d. Other coral in the tank currently

One thing people underestimate is how tough it can be to balance the needs of different coral in a small tank. For example, if you have Euphyllia, they will not be happy if you crank flow and lighting intensity to keep your SPS happy.

2) Forget about dosing and adding equipment. You will find, once your SPS are settled and growing, that your Alk gets depleted. However, you don't need to jump on an automated kalk system if you are just adding some test SPS.

3) Absolutely nothing wrong with adding SPS to a 10 month old tank. Here is a Seriatopora "Birdsnest" coral that was being grown in a 2 month old system of mine:

Once we have all the details of your tank, I think we will have a better idea of how to get you on a path for success

In the short term, some SPS coral to research would be Montipora digitata, Montipora setosa, Cyphastrea, Seriatopora.

It’s a Red Sea Reefer 525 XL G2
Roughly 150 gallons with sump.
Lighting is Kessill APX9
Flow is MP40 and Red Sea wavemaker
Currently have torches, Duncan, acans, Favia, hammers, mushrooms and a chalice.
I have it set to where most of the flow is in the middle and upper half of the tank.
Thanks

 

[tobster]

The bubblegum is a good one and grows fast. Just remember acros are a slow game so rushing never helps. Seems like there's plenty of room u til there isnt..haha

Yes I know what you’re saying because the LPS have grown a lot.

 

[Northern Flicker]

It’s a Red Sea Reefer 525 XL G2
Roughly 150 gallons with sump.
Lighting is Kessill APX9
Flow is MP40 and Red Sea wavemaker
Currently have torches, Duncan, acans, Favia, hammers, mushrooms and a chalice.
I have it set to where most of the flow is in the middle and upper half of the tank.
Thanks

You are good to go!

Lighting should be fine, tank is large enough to have multiple zones with different flow and lighting requirements.

I'd start off with a classic like the Montipora Forest Fire digitata. Beautifully, branching, and very forgiving. One you get some of the easier SPS settled, you will be good to wade into the Acros.

Good luck

 

[tobster]

Hmmm..10 months in and I don't believe anyone has asked what rock you started with. If it was live you've probably been ready...dry rock is dicey even at 10 months...might be fine...might not be. I would advise against starting off with things like montis and other things you may not want in your coral long term. If you can isolate things then have at it. But...if the acro bug hits you and you've got a monti or whatever taking up a ton of room it may not be what you wanted. Don't just throw things in the tank for a "right now" satisfaction. As mentioned...testing is paramount so get familiar with it because eventually dosing will be needed. I do agree that some.of the corals mentioned are great testers but just be smart about where you put them for future wants/needs

so if I were to start a tank with or add live rock from Tampa Bay live rock would that mean I could grow SPS?
I don’t plan on doing this but was just curious for future reference.

 

[billyocean]

Dry rock just goes through a lot of changes before it's truly mature. I would say it was probably closer to 2 years before mine was as good as it is now. Seeding with a good live rock from reputable vendors or a seasoned/trusted reefer is good. All live rock starts are better. The only downsides to lr are pests...get rid of the pests and good to go

 

[tobster]

You are good to go!

Lighting should be fine, tank is large enough to have multiple zones with different flow and lighting requirements.

I'd start off with a classic like the Montipora Forest Fire digitata. Beautifully, branching, and very forgiving. One you get some of the easier SPS settled, you will be good to wade into the Acros.

Good luck

Great thanks for your input!

 

[SimbaAnto]

Great thanks for your input!

If you are planning to get into SPS, most important is to have ALK Stability. And in my experience after having my Alkatronics i never looked back. So if you can, get it and then it makes sure your Alk is stable.

With the Acros, i would suggest you start with most forgiving ones like Bali Green Slimer, Birdnest and Stylopora. This will help you the initial trying phase and then once all parameters are stable, you can go for the mid-ends

And dont chase the numbers for Nitrate/ Phosphate. The more you chase the more you get negative exp. lets it slowly come down over the time. I have my system run at .5 with no issues(I am not advocating for keeping high is good, but i am saying dont chase)

 

[tobster]

If you are planning to get into SPS, most important is to have ALK Stability. And in my experience after having my Alkatronics i never looked back. So if you can, get it and then it makes sure your Alk is stable.

With the Acros, i would suggest you start with most forgiving ones like Bali Green Slimer, Birdnest and Stylopora. This will help you the initial trying phase and then once all parameters are stable, you can go for the mid-ends

And dont chase the numbers for Nitrate/ Phosphate. The more you chase the more you get negative exp. lets it slowly come down over the time. I have my system run at .5 with no issues(I am not advocating for keeping high is good, but i am saying dont chase)

Thanks for the info! I have a green slimer, Ora birdsnest and bubblegum monti in quarantine right now. I’ll put them in DT in a few weeks and hopefully they will make it.