mixed reef with sps?
- Thread starter kinerson
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surfjeepzx
New member
I have it all and it's no big deal. Once in a while my anemone splits and ends up burning a coral or two but they get over it. Just like gardening, you have to keep things trimmed from time to time.
A mixed reef is a happy and interesting reef.
A mixed reef is a happy and interesting reef.
dots
Premium Member
I am of the opinion that there are different types of tanks that are set up to cater to a specific livestock type. LPS/Softie tank, Anenome tank, and SPS tank have differences that in the long run allow the livestock to thrive.
On Average, an SPS tank would have more intense/stronger lighting, higher flow, and a lower nutrient level than an LPS/Softie tank, and the params with SPS are far stricter than LPS/Softie.
Conversly, a lagoonal type tank would have lower flow, deeper depth simulated lighting, and a higher nutrient level for the LPS/Softie to thrive.
As an example, before I went all SPS, my LPS and the few shrooms/rics I had never grew and were contantly beaten by the current. I placed them in a nano with less light/flow and "dirtier" water and the took off. As an example of the reverse, a digi hitchhiker that was on a piece of LR only lasted a few weeks before RTNing.
Though these are the "ideal" models I have observed that create the best results for the two types, does not mean one can't keep a mixed reef, but you may have to make concessons on exactly what you choose to keep. Mixed reefs are the ultimate balancing act, and the aquarist needs to be a "jack of all specie". In the aquarium world to have one with mixed rare and exotics is what I was eluding to with concessions one would have to make. How would you feel if you bought a frag of "tuiti fruiti" flavor of the month SPS for $100 a 1/2", and an $8 dollar Condy anenome took up residence on it? Because I value SPS more, the Condy would be gone........and gradually skewing my tank to an SPS only.
SPS can be added to a mixed reef very well, but it may decrease your abiltiy to get it to color up and grow at an optimum rate of the more finicky types that may not grow in less that perfect conditions.
Can it be done? Yes, but I don't think you will be able to choose ANY type of SPS to put in. I would imagine you would have success with Caps, digis, and all the other "starter" SPS that tend to be more fogiving and try to avoid the more exotic flavors that do better/require a SPS specific tank for the best results.........but I will bet that eventually you will love SPS and only go with them to be able to keep the exotic SPS like I did, or decide they are too much trouble and stick with the others.
On Average, an SPS tank would have more intense/stronger lighting, higher flow, and a lower nutrient level than an LPS/Softie tank, and the params with SPS are far stricter than LPS/Softie.
Conversly, a lagoonal type tank would have lower flow, deeper depth simulated lighting, and a higher nutrient level for the LPS/Softie to thrive.
As an example, before I went all SPS, my LPS and the few shrooms/rics I had never grew and were contantly beaten by the current. I placed them in a nano with less light/flow and "dirtier" water and the took off. As an example of the reverse, a digi hitchhiker that was on a piece of LR only lasted a few weeks before RTNing.
Though these are the "ideal" models I have observed that create the best results for the two types, does not mean one can't keep a mixed reef, but you may have to make concessons on exactly what you choose to keep. Mixed reefs are the ultimate balancing act, and the aquarist needs to be a "jack of all specie". In the aquarium world to have one with mixed rare and exotics is what I was eluding to with concessions one would have to make. How would you feel if you bought a frag of "tuiti fruiti" flavor of the month SPS for $100 a 1/2", and an $8 dollar Condy anenome took up residence on it? Because I value SPS more, the Condy would be gone........and gradually skewing my tank to an SPS only.
SPS can be added to a mixed reef very well, but it may decrease your abiltiy to get it to color up and grow at an optimum rate of the more finicky types that may not grow in less that perfect conditions.
Can it be done? Yes, but I don't think you will be able to choose ANY type of SPS to put in. I would imagine you would have success with Caps, digis, and all the other "starter" SPS that tend to be more fogiving and try to avoid the more exotic flavors that do better/require a SPS specific tank for the best results.........but I will bet that eventually you will love SPS and only go with them to be able to keep the exotic SPS like I did, or decide they are too much trouble and stick with the others.
Jeremy Blaze
Former Reef Addict
The old 'sps need this' softies need this, and lps need this, is a very inaccurate thing to say.
Not all sps are from high light high flow areas, and not all lps are from low light low flow areas.
Instead, what one needs to do, is look at a certian part of a reef, and duplicate it.
On my new 180, I decided to make it a lagoon tank. I researched and leanred what corals are common to lagoons.
My tank has several specices of acropora, montipora, fungias, scolymia,caulastrea, a few shrroms and zoas.
To answer to first question. Yes they can be mixed, and as others have said, Lots of carbon seems to help.
Not all sps are from high light high flow areas, and not all lps are from low light low flow areas.
Instead, what one needs to do, is look at a certian part of a reef, and duplicate it.
On my new 180, I decided to make it a lagoon tank. I researched and leanred what corals are common to lagoons.
My tank has several specices of acropora, montipora, fungias, scolymia,caulastrea, a few shrroms and zoas.
To answer to first question. Yes they can be mixed, and as others have said, Lots of carbon seems to help.
dots
Premium Member
I think you missed what I was saying.
That is what I was eluding to, but didn't want to envoke a purist biotope discussion and used words like "on average" and "model" to help categorize the two "optimal settings" and limitations, SPS wise, to a mixed tank.
Because one would either have a lot of brass or cash to place oh....a pink lemonade next to a galaxea.......even if it didn't RTN, the odds would be less it would have the right color/growth rate.
No there are no clear cut "rules" and was not suggesting there are........but I keep an anenome in a fishbowl on my desk with just a glowstick over it and its just fine, splits weekly in fact....
as with the above, I was magnifying the differences to simplify and illustrate "why" people say you can't mix SPS with others and what one needs to consider/conceed with in a mixed tank.
In the end it just makes success a little harder to achieve and is a balancing act that you probably have achieved by making stocking choices and limitations with SPS I don't want to be burdened with.
But with larger tanks, as I notice you have, you can get away with a lot more than someone just starting out with just a 55g.
Cubman777
New member
I have a completely mixed reef. I have leathers, large Euphylias, and plenty of SPS's. Oddly enough, I kind of agree with Dots and Blaze. I do believe that certain types of corals do better in certain conditions. Having said that, I do not believe that the different genres of corals necessarily have to be separated from each other. There are many fine examples of mixed reef aquariums "floating" around. I think that if you are careful with coral placement, and do not have extreme conditions (i.e. 10 to 1 watts per gallon, or lagoonish water movement) you can successfully house many different types of corals.
murphreef
Active member
ive got a 180g mixed reef....
includes many sps.... lots of polyps zoas gsp etc.... some xenia a huge fiji finger leather, some LPS frogspawn, brain, blastos acans etc.... a large RBTA some clams etc.... and all lives in the tank happily
now i did notice when i ran a softy tank only that the sifties did better becuase the water was dirtier and the lighting was so strong.... softies still grow but not at the same explosive rate as before....
i do run carbon 24/7 to help clean water
it can be done just pick the corals location in the tank accordingly.... such as trying to keep softies and lps lower and away from such strong flow ... it all works out once u get it dialed in
includes many sps.... lots of polyps zoas gsp etc.... some xenia a huge fiji finger leather, some LPS frogspawn, brain, blastos acans etc.... a large RBTA some clams etc.... and all lives in the tank happily
now i did notice when i ran a softy tank only that the sifties did better becuase the water was dirtier and the lighting was so strong.... softies still grow but not at the same explosive rate as before....
i do run carbon 24/7 to help clean water
it can be done just pick the corals location in the tank accordingly.... such as trying to keep softies and lps lower and away from such strong flow ... it all works out once u get it dialed in
I have also a mixed reef with a wide variety of lps (favia, open brain, torch etc.) and softies (yellow leather, leather, zoas, mushrooms, xenia, anthelia). About 50% of the tank is SPS with all kind of types from beginner to more challenging types. I run carbon 24/7 and have a pretty high fish load. Everything grows nicely.
dots
Premium Member
Of course we probably would be talking about the "average" mixed reef tank that is on the order of 55g-75g and heavily overstocked.........
common guys, I have been doing this long enough to know one can get away with a lot more with a larger tank...........
Let me define who I am thinking of when I suggest not doing a mixed reef and what is in it......the above are primarily large SPS with some "others" mixed in.
-Someone with 1-2years hobby experience and is casual at best.
-has a 55-75g
-has pie in the sky notions of "wanting it all" Everything from the LE SPS, zoas all over everyrock, leathers, frogspawns....you name it they got........anenome etc......looks like they decided "gee-those reef tank are sure purdy" went down to the LFS and bought a tank and smacked it together and bought one of everything. basicly 75% others 25% SPS at most......
In the end, due to competition of space, a lack of "optimum" enviromental conditions", poor fish selection and overstocking leads to less than "optimum" growth rates for the SPS.
My fear is saying "no problem" leads to these casual reefers buying SPS as regularly as people buy anenome because they can't keep them alive due to improper conditions. I am mearly trying to show, that "one size does not fit all"
But perhaps, you folks should have stated........you can break more of these "rules" with bigger tanks........what was that old saying "dillution is the solution.............
Im sorry, but when I think of "average" mixed reef.......your guys do not come to mind, which by the way are excellent, more of the dark dingy ignored one with hair algae and SRTN all over......
But those who manage it, I appaud you, you need to be a jack of all trades.
And, my xenia were flourishing before my last flow and lighting upgrade and going BB.......what he meant in an "optimal" SPS tank.....they are usually on average tend to be less nutrient rich than normal.......they basicly starved and were beaten to death, as did my frogspawn, hammers.......I didn't decide to go all SPS the conditions needed were dictated by the SPS......personally it would be cool if I could have more than it cause its a little boring........but like I said I value the colored sticks more. Though probably through frustration and decisions people with mixed not ending up with great growth and coloration....they will naturally evolve as I did......but I would hate to see that large population of people in competition with me for the most colorful, best stuff only to have it dead in a few weeks.......though I admit I am a bit polarized on the subject.
and Ill say it again, when you have stuff that costs $100 a half inch, you have to have a lot of brass,be very naive, or have the cash to not worry about it to risk it all. All of my rational is to increase the odds of those little colored sticks grow up big and strong as fast a possible by increasing the odds in my favor as much as possible.....cuz we are all one bad day away from a total crash.....
common guys, I have been doing this long enough to know one can get away with a lot more with a larger tank...........
Let me define who I am thinking of when I suggest not doing a mixed reef and what is in it......the above are primarily large SPS with some "others" mixed in.
-Someone with 1-2years hobby experience and is casual at best.
-has a 55-75g
-has pie in the sky notions of "wanting it all" Everything from the LE SPS, zoas all over everyrock, leathers, frogspawns....you name it they got........anenome etc......looks like they decided "gee-those reef tank are sure purdy" went down to the LFS and bought a tank and smacked it together and bought one of everything. basicly 75% others 25% SPS at most......
In the end, due to competition of space, a lack of "optimum" enviromental conditions", poor fish selection and overstocking leads to less than "optimum" growth rates for the SPS.
My fear is saying "no problem" leads to these casual reefers buying SPS as regularly as people buy anenome because they can't keep them alive due to improper conditions. I am mearly trying to show, that "one size does not fit all"
But perhaps, you folks should have stated........you can break more of these "rules" with bigger tanks........what was that old saying "dillution is the solution.............
Im sorry, but when I think of "average" mixed reef.......your guys do not come to mind, which by the way are excellent, more of the dark dingy ignored one with hair algae and SRTN all over......
But those who manage it, I appaud you, you need to be a jack of all trades.
And, my xenia were flourishing before my last flow and lighting upgrade and going BB.......what he meant in an "optimal" SPS tank.....they are usually on average tend to be less nutrient rich than normal.......they basicly starved and were beaten to death, as did my frogspawn, hammers.......I didn't decide to go all SPS the conditions needed were dictated by the SPS......personally it would be cool if I could have more than it cause its a little boring........but like I said I value the colored sticks more. Though probably through frustration and decisions people with mixed not ending up with great growth and coloration....they will naturally evolve as I did......but I would hate to see that large population of people in competition with me for the most colorful, best stuff only to have it dead in a few weeks.......though I admit I am a bit polarized on the subject.
and Ill say it again, when you have stuff that costs $100 a half inch, you have to have a lot of brass,be very naive, or have the cash to not worry about it to risk it all. All of my rational is to increase the odds of those little colored sticks grow up big and strong as fast a possible by increasing the odds in my favor as much as possible.....cuz we are all one bad day away from a total crash.....
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MammothReefer
Active member
I'm running a very mixed setup... Currently LOW on the SPS side, butI've been waiting to get all the kinks out of my system before I invest heavy in SPS, but what I do have is doing great.
I'm running Carbon 24/7 in a Phosban (does it make a diffrence... no clue)
I do water changes every week-2 weeks 40 gallons on a 500 gallon system.. These are a MUST (but due to my feeding system)
I am also going to start running OZONE again shortly, once I repair my spare skimmer.
When it comes to Flow & lighting, I built alot lf "platforms" in my setup.. SPS will sit up top, and others sit down below they will be shaded from light/high flow via the rock structure and eventually montis, and stags
Here's my setup.. You can't really tell but there are 4-5 8-12" leathers, and my anemones won't stop growing (they are going to be the biggest problem..that and my bubble coral which is now a 1' across..I am trying to plan for future growth and place corals away from them.
http://www.pbase.com/brahm/image/74651302
I'm running Carbon 24/7 in a Phosban (does it make a diffrence... no clue)
I do water changes every week-2 weeks 40 gallons on a 500 gallon system.. These are a MUST (but due to my feeding system)
I am also going to start running OZONE again shortly, once I repair my spare skimmer.
When it comes to Flow & lighting, I built alot lf "platforms" in my setup.. SPS will sit up top, and others sit down below they will be shaded from light/high flow via the rock structure and eventually montis, and stags
Here's my setup.. You can't really tell but there are 4-5 8-12" leathers, and my anemones won't stop growing (they are going to be the biggest problem..that and my bubble coral which is now a 1' across..I am trying to plan for future growth and place corals away from them.
http://www.pbase.com/brahm/image/74651302
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