How to keep SPS corals?

[Lewis2000]

I have kept mostly soft corals and LPS corals which are thriving and growing huge in my 3 month old 55 gallon tank.

I would like to try SPS corals in my tank but unsure how to care for them. I have asked my LFS if I could keep them and she said "not quite yet" (my LFS has been helping me with my tank since day 1 and I always take her advice) just to get a head start, I currently have 2 T5 lights which I have been told aren't strong enough. What other type of lighting would be strong enough?. My water parameters have remained very stable:

Temp-79F
Salinity-1.024
PH-8.4
Ammonia- 0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0-5
Calcium- 450 ppm
KH- 140-200ppm

What would be my next steps on making my reef suitable for SPS.

Thanks in advance, Lewis☺

 

[rovster]

Like has been montioned in other threads, SPS are not hard to keep but they are not very forgiving if something goes awry. As long as some basic requirements are fulfilled, then as long as the tank is healthy and stable, you can keep them. Most important thing is clean stable water with good flow. Start with montis, birdsnests, and pocciloporas. You're light should be sufficient for these in the upper half of the tank. Get a couple of cheap tester frags and see what happens. You will likely not be able to keep really colorful high light demanding acros, but you can always upgrade if you find yourself bitten by the SPS bug.

The only other thing I'll mention is that SPS are very sensitive to changes in Alkalinity, so getting yourself a good kit and measuring frequently would be a good idea.

 

[ajcanale]

KH- 140-200ppm
This (alkalinity) is arguably the most important part of keeping SPS. 140-200ppm covers an very very broad range. In dKh scale, the most commonly used, that would be 7.84-11.2. This needs to be as stable of a number as possible. As SPS grows alk (and calcium) is consumed, and the more you have the faster this will happen. These elements will need to be consistently replaced to keep within appropriate levels. This is mostly commonly done with any of the following: two-part dosing (alk & Cal), through a calcium reactor, or with kalkwasser via auto top-off or kalk reactor. Magnesium is important as well but is depleted much slower.

In my opinion, successfully keeping SPS starts with mastering the regulation and replenishment of these levels.