Leathers in sps tanks...

[Piper27]

So whats your experience with this topic? I only have one, a green sinularia which is pretty big. I have not noticed any stunted growth of anything and all the sps that is right next to it are actually the biggest fastest growing colonies (mainly non acros). This tank has only been up for about 6 months so this may change. I run carbon and think that keeping the softie happy is going to be the main part of keeping the other sps happy. Am I wrong on this one? I have seen many systems that have leathers in them that look great and have good growth. Anybody have trouble with acro growth for a period of time and decide to take leathers out of the tank and notice better growth afterwards?

 

[allsps40]

I have 2 green polyp leathers in my reef tank, mostly sps. One is pretty large about 5-6" (grown from a super tiny frag) across and the other is about 1-2". I have no issues with my sps growth or color. As long as you keep running carbon everything will be fine.

 

[Piper27]

Yea I am sure that carbon helps keep everything peaceful. I am just looking for input from some people who (were running carbon) that have pulled large leather colonies out of a tank and noticed a difference of any kind in their sps.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I had a leather in my SPS dominant tank, a fellow hobbyist wanted it so I gave it to him and I have noticed better growth form my SPS. But imo if you like leathers, the slower growth is not enough to keep the leathers out.

Running carbon and changing it twice a month will help dramatically.

 

[acro-ed]

I have a mixed reef, but it is dominated by SPS. I have a toadstool leather that I've had for 10+ years that I don't want to part with. I also have a pink sinularia and a green sinularia.

I ran carbon for many years, but I have not used any carbon for the last 3 years. I do keep carbon on hand in case of some catastrophic problem, but I have not used it.

It is difficult to say whether the growth of the SPS corals is actually slowed or not. I have several acropora colonies that are exceedingly fast growers, and I cannot imagine that they could or would grow any faster if I removed the leathers.

I will say that when the large toadstool sheds it definitely harms that corals that contact the tissue. I had about 3 months of "zero" growth on an echinata type that got nuked when the leather shed. It had several small necrotic patches from where the leather tissue landed, and I was at risk of losing it. Fortunately it recovered and is growing again.

I think the key is to have tons of circulation and an efficient skimmer. I found that overall the carbon wasn't necessary, but that is just what works for me.

In a system without much total water volume it would probably be best to run carbon.

Planning goes a long way. Don't put a sensitive acro directly downstream from the leather. Be attentive to where the flow is heading. Do a water change after the leather sheds.

-Ed

 

[Piper27]

I had a leather in my SPS dominant tank, a fellow hobbyist wanted it so I gave it to him and I have noticed better growth form my SPS. But imo if you like leathers, the slower growth is not enough to keep the leathers out.

Running carbon and changing it twice a month will help dramatically.

Were you running carbon on the tank when you had the leather?