Am I ready for SPS?

[iLLwiLL]

Hey SPS nuts, had a couple questions for you all if you dont mind. I recently lost a ton of my livestock (LPS mostly) in a recent move and am ready to start over. I am using rock and sand from my old system but the tank is much smaller now.

For equipment I have a 25 gallon display with a 20T sump. Other toys include a SWC 120 extreme cone skimmer, vortech MP-10 (short pulse waves of awesomeness FTW) and a 150DE halide with a cheapo 20k lamp. I drip kalk in my top off to keep the PH and salinity nice and steady and do weekly 5 gallon waterchanges with seachem marine salt.

Is this enough for a happy and healthy SPS tank?

TIA

~Will.

 

[Denadai]

I think it´s a good start

Good Luck !

Best Regards

 

[nickxx4360]

Question, why drip kalk in such a low water volume system??
is your PH very low and swinging more on the low side during the day?

 

[Fibinotchi]

20k is not very good for coral growth, and I wouldnt go cheap on the bulb, I would try this one, it is inexpensive and probably one of the best out there. http://www.customaquatic.com/estore/control/product/~product=LT-PX-150-DE-14

 

[nvdiz]

If you think you're ready for SPS, then go ahead and try it. Its really not that hard... Stability is key.

20k can get you good coral growth, but there are other kelvin ratings that can optimize growth.

 

[smokenax]

i would try some frags on the hardy side and what see kind of response you get.

 

[gasman059]

20k is not very good for coral growth, and I wouldnt go cheap on the bulb, I would try this one, it is inexpensive and probably one of the best out there. http://www.customaquatic.com/estore/control/product/~product=LT-PX-150-DE-14

ummm not much sense un this post.


Anyways patience is a virtue-as well as experience and vigilance. A couple of hardy frags will get you going until u get the hang of things.
good luck and happy reefing.

 

[iLLwiLL]

Thanks for the all the insight! I like the idea of frags instead of dropping a couple hundred for a few mini colonies. I think I'm going to let the tank settle for a while longer and then try my hand at a few. I have had monti caps and pocillapora before, but thats all . . . could anyone recommend some species in the mid range of difficulty I can test out?

RE: the kalk thing - is it bad to be dripping kalk in such a small tank? I am doing it mostly to maintain a steady flow of calcium and alkalinity and to keep the PH stable. should I stop?

~Will.

 

[nano427]

fwiw monti caps are good but will cause shadowing as they get bigger and in a small tank could be an issue. I think green slimers are one of the best beginner sps. They grow good, look awesome, pretty cheap in case you kill it. Another good one is a blue tip tenuis they have awesome color, grows great, and hardy.