Just a few tips and tricks for those new to SPS and reefing....

[BrentH]

Frail old man and a nano I like that .....when I go into Homes without aquariums it seems so lifeless lol

 

[jessp]

I have been tankless for the past 5 years, typical got married, bought house and had kids. They are at an she that they will love it as much as me and I am so pumped

 

[Reefvet]

They are at an she that they will love it as much as me and I am so pumped

Huh ? :hmm3:

 

[MisterP]

I think their typing got fast....looks like they meant age where wrote she, however not real sure how that comment landed in this thread.

 

[Reefer07]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but aside from the basics, lighting, keeping clean, etc. The thing that worked best for me was calc and all. I know that's a rather basic element of keeping coral especially SPS but I don't think too many pay attention to it, or not as much as they could. I'm sure plenty of you do but for the person that just drops good money on a set of halides and starts puttin sps in their tank and expectin them to grow there's a little more to it.
All I did was get a salifert calc and all test kit and b-ionic ESV 2 part calc and alk. For the first month or so I tested almost everyday and would dose what was needed. As the corals grow they suck up more calc an alk. You'll get your dosing down to a T but its real easy an keeps it interesting. I had a nice T5 setup at the time an within weeks of dosing the corals in my tank were growing at a very fast rate. As far as Magnesium goes not sure how it plays into it but mine was always high and my tank never seemed to use it.
I also would throw some trace element stuff in there from time to time.
I feel like growing SPS is directly affected by how much time you put into it. This was a very basic method I used and it worked great.
Just my .02 c

 

[CeeGee]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but aside from the basics, lighting, keeping clean, etc. The thing that worked best for me was calc and all. I know that's a rather basic element of keeping coral especially SPS but I don't think too many pay attention to it, or not as much as they could. I'm sure plenty of you do but for the person that just drops good money on a set of halides and starts puttin sps in their tank and expectin them to grow there's a little more to it.
All I did was get a salifert calc and all test kit and b-ionic ESV 2 part calc and alk. For the first month or so I tested almost everyday and would dose what was needed. As the corals grow they suck up more calc an alk. You'll get your dosing down to a T but its real easy an keeps it interesting. I had a nice T5 setup at the time an within weeks of dosing the corals in my tank were growing at a very fast rate. As far as Magnesium goes not sure how it plays into it but mine was always high and my tank never seemed to use it.
I also would throw some trace element stuff in there from time to time.
I feel like growing SPS is directly affected by how much time you put into it. This was a very basic method I used and it worked great.
Just my .02 c

Definitely,

Keeping Alk and Cal at the appropriate levels and ROCK SOLID is a must for a keeping SPS. It is pretty easy but can get out of whack really quickly. You see the better you are at it the more the corals grow and the more they grow the more they use.

If you don't check often ( i test alk at least every other day usually daily as my 75G tank uses it up quick) then the larger corals will take it up and bring the levels down to dangerous levels very quickly. You definitely don't want that to happen.

My tank went from using a gallon of BRS 2 part every 9 months to using the same amount every 3 weeks. I got really good at keeping the level steady the corals responded and they grew like mad.

 

[Jim Z.]

Yes, alk and calcium levels are key to SPS success along with lighting and nutrient levels too. The interaction between each of these parameters is key to understanding how corals survive in your tank. Every tank is different so the reef aquarist needs to deverlop tank management techniques best suited for the ecological demands of the tank. Right now, my acros look great, but dinos have crept into the picture. This particular species of dino is a superior competitor at low nutrient levels. When nitrates were at 20ppm, dinos were non existent so I will be raising them to detectable levels so that other algae can out-compete the dinoflagellates.

Sahin--I have not heard from Sonny and he's totally dropped off the grid. I used to see him at frag swaps, but since that time, he's dropped off of Facebook and has departed from all the reef blogs. I hope that he's OK. I saw his reef tank and it was an incredible sight. One of the cleanest reef tanks out there.....................Jim

 

[markalot]

As a newer reefer I'll chime in on the importance of everything Alk and Calcium related. I just started adding vinegar to my Kalk and underestimated how much more concentrated the Kalk would be so I let Alk slowly climb from 9 to 10.5 before realizing my mistake and starting the long very slow slide back down to 8, where I originally wanted it to run at.