New to SPS.

[PirateLove]

Hi RC. Just measured tonight and my Calcium is 420 and my Alk 8.5. I am using reef crystals and BRS two part. My question is...

Will my SPS be happy if I kept these parameters stable?

It seems like when I raise my Alk my Calcium drops. I have read Randy's writeup but still having a bit of trouble. Also, why is my heater covered in white stuff??

Thanks so much for any help or tips.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You can try some of the easier SPS for now and once you get to where you keep your water more stable can move up to the more difficult Acropora's.

 

[Member No. 1]

Hi RC. Just measured tonight and my Calcium is 420 and my Alk 8.5. I am using reef crystals and BRS two part. My question is...

Will my SPS be happy if I kept these parameters stable?

It seems like when I raise my Alk my Calcium drops. I have read Randy's writeup but still having a bit of trouble. Also, why is my heater covered in white stuff??

Thanks so much for any help or tips.

What is your Mg level?
A level of 1350-1400 will help with the calcium precipitate. Also a level in this range will help maintaining a more stable Ca and Alk ratio.

For reference, my latest tests were Ca 455 ppm Alk 9.2 dKh Mg 1380 ppm.
I do not get any Ca precipitate on my heaters or pumps.

 

[whosurcaddie]

Start with either a stylophora, digitata or a birdsnest. See how it goes. All you can do is try.

 

[Ron Reefman]

The parameters you listed are OK. But there are others that are just as important, like Mg, nitrate and phosphate. And there are a bunch of other issues to consider as well, is your tank mature enough, do you have enough flow, do you have enough light, etc, etc? And stability in all these parameters is a big issue.

Pick an easy sps and give it a try. Good luck.

 

[KSU_WILDCAT]

Basically what everybody else said, a good light, stable parameters (ALK, Cal, and mag) and flow. If you have that and everything else looks good then try and small frag. It will let you know if it's happy. Good luck.

 

[cloak]

Hi RC. Just measured tonight and my Calcium is 420 and my Alk 8.5. I am using reef crystals and BRS two part. My question is...

Will my SPS be happy if I kept these parameters stable?

It seems like when I raise my Alk my Calcium drops. I have read Randy's writeup but still having a bit of trouble. Also, why is my heater covered in white stuff??

Thanks so much for any help or tips.

Your parameters are ok, just try to keep them stable though. Sps corals are not as difficult to keep as I once thought. Pretty much all of the corals out there do ok in the same kind of environment. As long as your parameters are within reason, the lighting is sufficient & the flow is flowing it's all gravy IME... KISS, GL.