My 120 filled mostly with SPS
- Thread starter jroovers
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jroovers
New member
Thanks guys :beer:
I'll get a FTS up in the next week, the tank looks a lot different without that prostrata in there, much less mature. Some corals are really benefitting from the extra light and flow that they are getting after it was taken out. The convexa for example started shooting out all those white growth tips all of a sudden, it is definitely very happy. I've moved a couple of corals on my right hand side pillar and am waiting for them to fill out to make the tank look more mature. Things so far are going well though, I'm getting great growth and colour on most of my pieces.
What I know for certain is that both MH and T5s grow SPS! I don't know enough about LEDs or have enough experience to have confidence moving to all LED. I don't regret the move to the T5/LED combo at all, it has been great for colour and growth. I think I have learned that SPS, at least in my system, don't need as much light as we think they do. Two of my four T5s were out for a week and my coral continued to grow fine. I recently bumped my T5s up to 7 hours each day (before the two were out), and really my corals didn't like it. They looked more washed out and no change in growth was noticed, although that is tough to guage over a short period of time. I'm going to go back to 6 hours of T5 lighting per day per two bulbs, with only 4 hours of peak lighting overlapping. The RB LEDs I'll continue to run for 12 hours per day.
In terms of regrets, doing things differently:
- I would not have made my pillars so high and I would not have used the DAP quick plug hydraulic cement. That stuff just makes a mess.
- I would have gone to a skimmer rated for a higher volume of water sooner.
- I would not have put a DSB in fuge (it is gone now).
- I would have not caught the bug of needing to have one of everything and stocked my tank up with too many corals. I've really backed off that over the past year + and moved out way more stuff than I've put in. I like the more wide open look with a clean sand bed, more aesthetically pleasing, and I think the corals and fish benefit.
- I would have kept it simpler. Right now I don't do much, just make sure my lights are replaced every 12 months, and make sure my skimmer, powerheads, return pump etc. are running optimally. I recently replaced my sandbed which needed to be done (loaded with detritus). I do once weekly water changes. I feed twice daily, a combo of NLS pellets, angel diet, Mysis, and some nori, and on occasion cyclopeeze. I have been soaking everything in selcon for a while now to try and combat HLLE. I don't dose anything other than lugol's iodine on occasion. I have amino acids, coral snow, etc., and just don't bother with it anymore, as I don't think it really dose anything.
I've lost my share of corals and fish over time. I recently lost my CBB, it just got skinnier and skinnier despite hand feeding it twice daily (it took Mysis right from my fingers). I lost my longnose hawk. My yellow tang has HLLE and my regal has the start of it, and I have no idea why. I am planning on moving them out to other reefers to have accepted them for rehab because I'm convinced it is my tank somehow, I just need to catch them somehow. I started out with 7 lyretail anthias, and I lost three over time (funny enough, the ones that survived were from a batch of three I got that came in from Fiji, the others were from somewhere else). I'm going to add another three to four Fijian anthias and just leave my PBT in there, as it seems fine. And I'm going to try and add a bunch of Chromis. So my reef will turn more into a small marine fish tank with anthias and chromis, plus 1 tang, as opposed to having two angels and two tangs. I would like to get a school of blue streak cardinals again, but I'm hesitant to do so given my experience the first time around.
Coral wise, I lost plenty of frags early on, and more recently I've lost a couple or moved them out because they weren't really doing much. I haven't lost anything major recently (I'm nervous just typing this out), and hopefully it stays that way. I'm trying to leave some space so the pieces I left have some room and space to fill out.
I'll get a FTS up in the next week, the tank looks a lot different without that prostrata in there, much less mature. Some corals are really benefitting from the extra light and flow that they are getting after it was taken out. The convexa for example started shooting out all those white growth tips all of a sudden, it is definitely very happy. I've moved a couple of corals on my right hand side pillar and am waiting for them to fill out to make the tank look more mature. Things so far are going well though, I'm getting great growth and colour on most of my pieces.
What I know for certain is that both MH and T5s grow SPS! I don't know enough about LEDs or have enough experience to have confidence moving to all LED. I don't regret the move to the T5/LED combo at all, it has been great for colour and growth. I think I have learned that SPS, at least in my system, don't need as much light as we think they do. Two of my four T5s were out for a week and my coral continued to grow fine. I recently bumped my T5s up to 7 hours each day (before the two were out), and really my corals didn't like it. They looked more washed out and no change in growth was noticed, although that is tough to guage over a short period of time. I'm going to go back to 6 hours of T5 lighting per day per two bulbs, with only 4 hours of peak lighting overlapping. The RB LEDs I'll continue to run for 12 hours per day.
In terms of regrets, doing things differently:
- I would not have made my pillars so high and I would not have used the DAP quick plug hydraulic cement. That stuff just makes a mess.
- I would have gone to a skimmer rated for a higher volume of water sooner.
- I would not have put a DSB in fuge (it is gone now).
- I would have not caught the bug of needing to have one of everything and stocked my tank up with too many corals. I've really backed off that over the past year + and moved out way more stuff than I've put in. I like the more wide open look with a clean sand bed, more aesthetically pleasing, and I think the corals and fish benefit.
- I would have kept it simpler. Right now I don't do much, just make sure my lights are replaced every 12 months, and make sure my skimmer, powerheads, return pump etc. are running optimally. I recently replaced my sandbed which needed to be done (loaded with detritus). I do once weekly water changes. I feed twice daily, a combo of NLS pellets, angel diet, Mysis, and some nori, and on occasion cyclopeeze. I have been soaking everything in selcon for a while now to try and combat HLLE. I don't dose anything other than lugol's iodine on occasion. I have amino acids, coral snow, etc., and just don't bother with it anymore, as I don't think it really dose anything.
I've lost my share of corals and fish over time. I recently lost my CBB, it just got skinnier and skinnier despite hand feeding it twice daily (it took Mysis right from my fingers). I lost my longnose hawk. My yellow tang has HLLE and my regal has the start of it, and I have no idea why. I am planning on moving them out to other reefers to have accepted them for rehab because I'm convinced it is my tank somehow, I just need to catch them somehow. I started out with 7 lyretail anthias, and I lost three over time (funny enough, the ones that survived were from a batch of three I got that came in from Fiji, the others were from somewhere else). I'm going to add another three to four Fijian anthias and just leave my PBT in there, as it seems fine. And I'm going to try and add a bunch of Chromis. So my reef will turn more into a small marine fish tank with anthias and chromis, plus 1 tang, as opposed to having two angels and two tangs. I would like to get a school of blue streak cardinals again, but I'm hesitant to do so given my experience the first time around.
Coral wise, I lost plenty of frags early on, and more recently I've lost a couple or moved them out because they weren't really doing much. I haven't lost anything major recently (I'm nervous just typing this out), and hopefully it stays that way. I'm trying to leave some space so the pieces I left have some room and space to fill out.
jroovers
New member
Thanks, 2 ATI Coral + and 2 ATI AquaBlue Special at present.
jroovers
New member
I've read the same thing too. Some people seem to keep a bunch, but many experience the decline one by one until there is only one left.
tdb320reef
Active member
If you keep them well fed they fight less and survive. I fed a blend of cyclops-eze, reef chili and coral frenzy and they love it. they eat pellets but the blend is the key to longevity.
overexposed
Acroholic
I've been able to keep my 3 chromis for *fingers crossed* almost a year now.
What happened to your cardinal school and how big was it? I love blue streaks, would like to have some in my tank again someday. Just a chill & peaceful fish that's fun to watch.
afernandez
Never Quit!!
First of all tank looks amazing! looking forward to the new FTS.
I tell people the same thing all the time about the light requirements for sps! they look at me like im crazy, but i agree with you 100%. people Exaggerate with Light "requirement for sps.
over all it looks great !
jroovers
New member
Schools out the chromis I guess.
Thanks. I think each system is different, and as some recent discussion in this forum as eluded to, can be related to nutrient levels. So likely it is somewhat dependent to each system. I've found that recently my colours are better with less strong periods of peak lighting. But that also is based on other factors too, so it is difficult to conclude with certainty.
I've read that but I think the conclusions are far from certain. I haven't run carbon in a very long time and my regal has still developed HLLE.
Thanks. I think each system is different, and as some recent discussion in this forum as eluded to, can be related to nutrient levels. So likely it is somewhat dependent to each system. I've found that recently my colours are better with less strong periods of peak lighting. But that also is based on other factors too, so it is difficult to conclude with certainty.
I've read that but I think the conclusions are far from certain. I haven't run carbon in a very long time and my regal has still developed HLLE.
jroovers
New member
They just slowly died one by one. I think they weren't getting enough food. I could only get them to eat cyclopeeze, primarily when the lights were out.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
Jordan, I have been keeping Blue/Green Chromis for the past 5 years.
Here is my personal experience with these fish:
My current tank is 47G. I've had 4 Chromis in my tank for almost 1.5 years. Previous to that, in the same tank I had 5 of these Chromis (had to return them to LFS when I had to take down the tank temporarily).
In my nano tank I had 2 or 3 I have forgotten now.
But they arent as bad as people make out. IMO a lot of that comes from "read somewhere" and not actual experience with keeping these fish.
The a few things you need to ensure success with these fish is:
1. Plenty of caves/overhangs/alcove etc. They need enough of these little places for each Chromis that you keep. Otherwise they will fight when its time to go bed.
2. Food. They are voracious eaters and in my tank swim like crazy trying to eat every tiny bit of food. (Because of the Chromis, almost all of the food that goes into my tank is eaten before it even lands on the bottom.) In a larger tank such as yours, food broadcast into the tank will spread around meaning there is lots of areas to feed. Dump the food in small amount in a corner and they largest will chase the smaller ones away. I always squirt a bit of food on one end of the tank, and then the other end, etc
3. Buying them all at once, and AS CLOSE to the same size as possible. Due to reading about issue with keeping these fish, thats the idea I've always followed and its worked all these years so far.
I like these fish because they are cheap (I'm way more into Acropora corals than fish).
They are very hardy and disease resistant.
Easy to feed.
They add lots of movement in the tank.
If you feed them well with a variety of foods, they are quite colour; they look a beautiful lagoon blue/green colour. I've seen many over the years at my LFS and they usually look drab in colour. Mine looked much better after a few weeks of buying them.
If you've ever seen full grown Blue Chromis you will actually quite like them. My LFS once had fully grown ones and they were 1cm or more thick! They looked pretty cool at that size...I was quite amazed. Even though I've had mine for 1.5 years and good them at a good size, they are larger than most Chromis I see, but still I would consider medium sized compared to those large ones I saw.
In you 120G I am quite confident you can keep at least 7. They will chase/bicker at feeding times, but if they ever get scared, mine instantly form a school. Quite funny to see that.
Here is my personal experience with these fish:
My current tank is 47G. I've had 4 Chromis in my tank for almost 1.5 years. Previous to that, in the same tank I had 5 of these Chromis (had to return them to LFS when I had to take down the tank temporarily).
In my nano tank I had 2 or 3 I have forgotten now.
But they arent as bad as people make out. IMO a lot of that comes from "read somewhere" and not actual experience with keeping these fish.
The a few things you need to ensure success with these fish is:
1. Plenty of caves/overhangs/alcove etc. They need enough of these little places for each Chromis that you keep. Otherwise they will fight when its time to go bed.
2. Food. They are voracious eaters and in my tank swim like crazy trying to eat every tiny bit of food. (Because of the Chromis, almost all of the food that goes into my tank is eaten before it even lands on the bottom.) In a larger tank such as yours, food broadcast into the tank will spread around meaning there is lots of areas to feed. Dump the food in small amount in a corner and they largest will chase the smaller ones away. I always squirt a bit of food on one end of the tank, and then the other end, etc
3. Buying them all at once, and AS CLOSE to the same size as possible. Due to reading about issue with keeping these fish, thats the idea I've always followed and its worked all these years so far.
I like these fish because they are cheap (I'm way more into Acropora corals than fish).
They are very hardy and disease resistant.
Easy to feed.
They add lots of movement in the tank.
If you feed them well with a variety of foods, they are quite colour; they look a beautiful lagoon blue/green colour. I've seen many over the years at my LFS and they usually look drab in colour. Mine looked much better after a few weeks of buying them.
If you've ever seen full grown Blue Chromis you will actually quite like them. My LFS once had fully grown ones and they were 1cm or more thick! They looked pretty cool at that size...I was quite amazed. Even though I've had mine for 1.5 years and good them at a good size, they are larger than most Chromis I see, but still I would consider medium sized compared to those large ones I saw.
In you 120G I am quite confident you can keep at least 7. They will chase/bicker at feeding times, but if they ever get scared, mine instantly form a school. Quite funny to see that.
souk
New member
The key is getting strong healthy fishies!
I 2nd the feeding and they need room to hide(NP since you have nice big colonies). I had 1 big guy then added 8 little guys to that 1, 2 died since they were week to begin with. They got along just fine and then I picked up 12 more just because I wanted more. Threw the new guys in the sump to beef them up first since they were just half an inch, they were just too cute to pass up and were dirt cheap. 3 of them died b/c they were weak, waited for 2 weeks and I placed them in the DT. They were punked by the big 2 inchers for a few days but now they all get along and school together. Good luck if you do pickup some.
Btw, your tank looks awesome!
FastUno
New member
My tang has developed HLLE too. I am new to this in the reef world. I had 4 tangs & many fish years ago before I broke down the last tank & never experienced this. With the older tank I did not run carbon until the last 4-5 months or so.
Now, I have so many more corals that I am running extra carbon. I noticed my new flame angel starting to show the signs of it now too. None of the other fish show this & what do the two fish have in common? They are both heavy rock pickers. They just go around & pick, pick, pick, pick. My yellow tang for some reason is not a heavy picker & does not show signs, but I am monitoring him.
Some of my rock work has black stuck on to the small filter feeders, something that I have never seen in my older tank. Carbon pieces must be breaking off & entering the tank daily.
I did not know about the carbon connection until reading this & it makes sense for me now. At first I thought to myself it must be the toxicity of one of the corals. Coral releases toxins & some of it gets strewn all over rock work & the rock pickers consume it constantly.
Maybe you have carbon particles in the crevices & holes of your rock work too. The fish consume it & it disrupts their absorption, leading to HLLE.
Now, I have so many more corals that I am running extra carbon. I noticed my new flame angel starting to show the signs of it now too. None of the other fish show this & what do the two fish have in common? They are both heavy rock pickers. They just go around & pick, pick, pick, pick. My yellow tang for some reason is not a heavy picker & does not show signs, but I am monitoring him.
Some of my rock work has black stuck on to the small filter feeders, something that I have never seen in my older tank. Carbon pieces must be breaking off & entering the tank daily.
I did not know about the carbon connection until reading this & it makes sense for me now. At first I thought to myself it must be the toxicity of one of the corals. Coral releases toxins & some of it gets strewn all over rock work & the rock pickers consume it constantly.
Maybe you have carbon particles in the crevices & holes of your rock work too. The fish consume it & it disrupts their absorption, leading to HLLE.
Last edited:
jroovers
New member
No worries, I may give these a try then. Not for sure yet, but we'll see. That is all good advice.
That is also some good tips!
I'm not convinced it is the carbon, but you could be right, your reasoning is pretty sound. Lots of tanks run carbon though and their fish don't get HLLE.
Thanks!
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