nutrient poor systems and LPS

[Madoktopus]

which Lps do not fare well in sps systems (strong flow and nutrient poor water) and which seem to do well?

how about in bare bottom systems?

i am asking beacuse i have two euphillias which are my favs but i still want them when i go fully BB.

 

[Weatherman]

Euphyllias will do ok. You just need to find or create a nice gentle-flow spot to put them in:

 

[onthefly]

I have a fungia and a trumpet in my BB. They've both grown in a BB system.

 

[Madoktopus]

thanks weatherman (i learn so much from you!) and thanks onthefly for some info on other corals too!
so what should be avoided (atm i have captive bred two goni babies the size of a peny each that are doing well on probably 2mm of sand)

 

[Don Berry]

My Acan Lord does well, but needs to be spot feed. I also have had trouble with others. Between the low nutrients, intense lighting, and strong flow it just seem pretty difficult for most LPS in my experience.

 

[Madoktopus]

hhmm what didnt do so well in yours then?

 

[Weatherman]

It all comes down to creating the appropriate environment for them in your tank. Gentler flow and little less intense light. Creative placement of powerheads, rock and the coral themselves will work.

The Euphyllia in the picture is placed in the rear-corner of my 120 under a rock overhang. The coral is viewable from the side of the tank. It wasn't easy to find the right spot. But it can be done. It's the only location in my 120 when the combination of flow and light is appropriate.

 

[MiddletonMark]

My experience very much agrees with what weatherman's saying.
[just in the reef tank, not outside ]

I've got Euphyllia/frogspawn, Acanastrea, Caulastrea, Platygyra/maze brain, and a Bubble coral in my BB low nutrient tank. Flow is tricky, I fragged my bubble as it was way too large and some heads weren't happy stuck out in the flow. The others took a bit of aquascape + flow tweaking to find low-water movement nooks + crannies they could grow to fill.
Not easy, but possible, IME.

Provided excellent export running smoothly, I'll often feed fairly well [daily, sometimes multiple times, smaller portions but well for my moderate fish load].

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6522842#post6522842 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Don Berry
My Acan Lord does well, but needs to be spot feed.

Mine too.

I'll spot feed the Acan's once or twice a week [when feeding fish, starfish], the maze brain and caulastrea once a week ... given they seem to munch it right down + the skimmer can handle the excess [or the fish, etc] ... I prefer it this way. It's fun to feed - and provided excellent export, low nutrient doesn't mean starved IMO.

In fact, regular smaller feedings might be important to a low-nutrient tank, or so my experience with my tank and my corals seems to lead me to think.

Yours? Worth an experiment, IMO.

 

[NoSchwag]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6524450#post6524450 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
fun to feed - and provided excellent export, low nutrient doesn't mean starved IMO.

It's the skimmer

 

[jsweir]

I have two frogspawn, one Trachyphillia, and some Rics - all are doing well with feeding a few times a week. I wasn't sure about keeping them with a BB, but their growth proves otherwise...

 

[Madoktopus]

Anything you really would not advise?

 

[MiddletonMark]

I think some of my luck with had to do with starting with mature, healthy colonies when going low-nutrient.

Thus, as they were healthy and doing wonderfully ... they seem to have managed the imperfect flow, light, or other conditions they experienced before I figured out how to make them thrive in a BB nutrient poor environment. Before figuring out how to have 50x+ tank turnover ... yet still fleshy frogspawn and bubble that fully expand without having their flesh torn.

If new wild corals, or not perfectly healthy to start with ... that probably would be more tricky/risky.

Just my take. I'd start with one or two you'd really like and seem that would do well in such an environment ... and make them thrive. Then move onto the more fleshy, lower light/flow liking ones.

If jsweir can make a Trachyphyllia happy in this environment ... then it would seem most anything is possible - if done just exactly perfect.

A whole heap of opinion ....

 

[Madoktopus]

thanks ok i will make the swich and see what happens

 

[MCsaxmaster]

Any of the faviids work well in tanks with strong flow. I've also had good success with Symphillia and Lobophyllia as well as fungiids. Anway, those are the ones that come right to mind. Oh, Turbinaria spp. too. I really have to say that it is silly to base decisions on what one puts in a tank on polyp size though. That really has nothing to do with it. I keep corals that are adapted to strong wave action in the same tanks and those that are adapted to weaker flow in the same tanks (assuming they "get along").

My tanks are always low in nutrients in terms of dissolved, inorganic nutrients (namely nitrate and phosphate). This does not mean nutrients are unavailable though and I regularly feed any tank I maintain and feed it heavily. Everything in the tank benefits from this, most especially the corals IME.

Chris

 

[Madoktopus]

"My tanks are always low in nutrients in terms of dissolved, inorganic nutrients (namely nitrate and phosphate). This does not mean nutrients are unavailable though and I regularly feed any tank I maintain and feed it heavily. Everything in the tank benefits from this, most especially the corals IME."

-thats what i was getting at, nutrient POOR systems still fed but low dissolved nutrients which will change coral colur and growth in high quantitys i.e phosphates.

"I really have to say that it is silly to base decisions on what one puts in a tank on polyp size though"-- cant really see what you are getting at there. a lot of decisions i make are based on polyp size and flow requirements, mixing corals from difeerent habitats doesnt really interest me as the corals come under undue stress. The main point of this thread was too find out if large polyp stony corals such as euphillias and goniporas can not only survive, but thrive in such conditions. As i have never been diving, i cannot say what sort of conditions these corals have adapted to over millions of years- so putting them in inappropriate places seems both a waste of money and time if they are to wither away.

 

[Ti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6521684#post6521684 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Weatherman
Euphyllias will do ok. You just need to find or create a nice gentle-flow spot to put them in:

awesome pic

 

[MCsaxmaster]

-thats what i was getting at, nutrient POOR systems still fed but low dissolved nutrients which will change coral colur and growth in high quantitys i.e phosphates.

Okey dokey. It's my experience that when people say "nutrient poor" they usually mean no food available. As a side note: phosphate does alter coral growth, but may not affect coloration (at least not by stimulating zooxanthellae growth).

cant really see what you are getting at there. a lot of decisions i make are based on polyp size and flow requirements, mixing corals from difeerent habitats doesnt really interest me as the corals come under undue stress.

You're assuming corals with similary sized polyps have similar requirements. That isn't true--that's what I was trying to get at

The main point of this thread was too find out if large polyp stony corals such as euphillias and goniporas can not only survive, but thrive in such conditions.

Euphyllia aren't suited to strong waterflow, though it is there will inherently be sheltered portions of the tank where they could thrive. Some Goniopora live in very strong water flow, others live in weak water flow. It depends on which species is being discussed.

As i have never been diving, i cannot say what sort of conditions these corals have adapted to over millions of years- so putting them in inappropriate places seems both a waste of money and time if they are to wither away.

I applaud what you're trying to do as I think it is the right way to build a reef tank, but the point I was trying to make is that polyp size is not related to the environment most corals are found in and we can't use it as an indicator of the kinds of conditions corals need. An article on this is slated for the March edition of Reefkeeping. Hopefully people find it to be worthwhile reading.

Chris

 

[Madoktopus]

ok now i understand thanks for your help (and no i was never having a go). ive decided to move the gonis to a new home and to keep all my euphillias.