Beginner to SPS looking for tips

[ASJenness]

Hey,

I've had my tank set up since Jan 2012. I want to get more SPS growth in my tank. All my softies and LPS are doing great but my SPS seems to grow super slow compared to a few friends. I am fairly new to SPS and was wonder what are some cheap tips.

I've got a few plating montipora, encrusting montipora, digitada(?) and two acros. I've had my plating monti the longest and it seems it's hardly grown. I want my acros to grow more than anything because I love how they look. Any tips, tricks, and/or pointers for a newbie? Thanks

 

[Jeebs]

The first thing needed is all the specs on your tank. Size, flow, lighting, water parameters, feeding, etc. Without that, it'll be really hard to offer any tips.

 

[a.browning]

SPS basically need 3 things in order to be happy: good water flow, lighting, and water quality.

Water flow: SPS do best in high flow environments. This does not mean placing them in front of a powerhead! They want broad, random flow, not a jet blast from a maxi jet. Generally, you'll be pushing upwards of 40x your tank volume per hour to make them happy. Good broad flow powerheads would be Koralia, Tunze, or Vortech. Vortech and Tunze can truly be randomized to allow optimal flow. I personally run 2x Vortech MP40s in my SPS reef.

Lighting: SPS need strong lighting in order to have best coloration and growth. I personally am a huge fan of T5 lighting and get excellent coloration with my ATI sunpower. You can provide too much light however, or too long of a photoperiod. I run my lights for 8 hours a day, with only 6 hours of intense light. If your acros are brown, then it could be because of too little light.

Water quality: This one is probably the most complex. There are so many factors that go into water quality. SPS need calcium and magnesium levels to be in line: Ca at 400-450 and mg 1250-1350 generally. Alkalinity is probably the most important. I keep mine at 8.5, but 8-10 is generally a good range. It's not just about the exact value, but about stability. SPS do not respond well to large swings in alkalinity. If you dose alkalinity in one big dose each week, you'll end up with some unhappy sps as opposed to dosing everyday in small amounts. Along with these big 3, you'll need a steady temperature as well. Another component of water quality are nitrates and phosphates. Generally the lower the better, but you can have them too low. All corals need nitrate and phosphate in very small amounts. Generally you'll want phosphate .03ppm or lower and nitrate 1ppm or lower. This can be accomplished with heavy skimming, filter socks, refugiums, carbon and gfo. Of course water changes are a major part of good water quality as well. If you notice your sps start to go pale, then you have likely driven nutrients too low.

Invest in some quality test kits, make sure your parameters are good and go from there. Don't try to change a bunch of things at once, you will cause even more problems. SPS like stability. Be patient, have good tank husbandry, and things will fall into place.

 

[ajcanale]

SPS basically need 3 things in order to be happy: good water flow, lighting, and water quality.

Water flow: SPS do best in high flow environments. This does not mean placing them in front of a powerhead! They want broad, random flow, not a jet blast from a maxi jet. Generally, you'll be pushing upwards of 40x your tank volume per hour to make them happy. Good broad flow powerheads would be Koralia, Tunze, or Vortech. Vortech and Tunze can truly be randomized to allow optimal flow. I personally run 2x Vortech MP40s in my SPS reef.

Lighting: SPS need strong lighting in order to have best coloration and growth. I personally am a huge fan of T5 lighting and get excellent coloration with my ATI sunpower. You can provide too much light however, or too long of a photoperiod. I run my lights for 8 hours a day, with only 6 hours of intense light. If your acros are brown, then it could be because of too little light.

Water quality: This one is probably the most complex. There are so many factors that go into water quality. SPS need calcium and magnesium levels to be in line: Ca at 400-450 and mg 1250-1350 generally. Alkalinity is probably the most important. I keep mine at 8.5, but 8-10 is generally a good range. It's not just about the exact value, but about stability. SPS do not respond well to large swings in alkalinity. If you dose alkalinity in one big dose each week, you'll end up with some unhappy sps as opposed to dosing everyday in small amounts. Along with these big 3, you'll need a steady temperature as well. Another component of water quality are nitrates and phosphates. Generally the lower the better, but you can have them too low. All corals need nitrate and phosphate in very small amounts. Generally you'll want phosphate .03ppm or lower and nitrate 1ppm or lower. This can be accomplished with heavy skimming, filter socks, refugiums, carbon and gfo. Of course water changes are a major part of good water quality as well. If you notice your sps start to go pale, then you have likely driven nutrients too low.

Invest in some quality test kits, make sure your parameters are good and go from there. Don't try to change a bunch of things at once, you will cause even more problems. SPS like stability. Be patient, have good tank husbandry, and things will fall into place.

Excellent advice. I have nothing to add other than filter socks are not necessary in many circumstances.

 

[ASJenness]

Jeebs 55g with 4 T5 lights. 2 white 1 coral accelerater 1 actinic. I feed them twice a day with a mix of sinking pellets, flakes, and algea wafers. I have little to no waste after they are done eating. As for water parameters, I do not know for sure. What's a good test kit? Flow, I cannot remember what I have but I'll look it up.

a.browning I know I do not have 40x my tank volume. I was planning on buying another big powerhead along with the controller that alternates the powerheads being on/off.
I was told that having light on 12 hours a day was good. My actinics are on for 12 hours and my intense lights are on for 10 hours a day. None of my corals are brown or bleached.
I change 10% of my water every 1-2 weeks depending on how I feel. As for parameters, I do not know for sure. What's a good test kit? My temp stays between 79-81. Is that steady enough?

 

[wonderz]

sometimes sps just doesn't grow fast. sometimes i think its an accomplishment just by having them stay alive or grow a little bit considering there are so many things can that go wrong with sps. the montipora and digitada are suppose to be fast growers tho relatively in term of sps. in this hobby, things that happen fast usually isn't good...

 

[saltycoral]

Does anyone have any reccommendations on keeping blues in sps. My blues always seam to green up and loose the intense blues. Any thoughts?

 

[a.browning]

I've found that blues and purples seem to like/need more light in order to keep their colors. A lot of factors could be at play however, including nutrients and flow.

 

[xenon]

Does anyone have any reccommendations on keeping blues in sps. My blues always seam to green up and loose the intense blues. Any thoughts?

The supplement for blue is Potassium Iodide Concentrate or Lugols solution, ESV Potassium Iodide Concentrate will also work; don't just get something that says Potassium because that is a little different. Dosing should be done when blue colors become less intense. Again, using yellow corals as indicators, stop dosing when yellow corals display a green shimmer.

 

[REEF SMAC]

Excellent advice. I have nothing to add other than filter socks are not necessary in many circumstances.

I agree, a.browning's advice is excellent.

Did someone say that filter socks were necessary somewhere?
I guess I missed that.

They do work well IMHO BTW.

I've found that blues and purples seem to like/need more light in order to keep their colors. A lot of factors could be at play however, including nutrients and flow.

Yup. +1