Question about SPS and my dirty dark tank

[Elysia]

The recent frag swap was a clear indication that many members are very successful growing SPS corals, so I might as well run my question through a local crowd...

I have a 93 gallon Marineland cube -- 30"x30"x24". It is currently lit by a LED Marineland unit and 4 HO T-5 24 watt bulbs (2 10,000K and 2 420nm actinics.) The light reaches to the bottom of the tank alright, but isn't great covering front to back (as I originally bought the light for a 56 column, which is 16" or 18" wide.) The tank does get some daylight from a large north facing window.

As I mentioned, my tank is dirty, but if I would actually plug in my skimmer this wouldn't be much of a problem.

I get no pleasure from seeing my aquarium inhabitants die, so my tanks aren't about keeping the most difficult animals available. That said, I would like to add a few SPS. I am wondering if this will be possible given the lighting situation. I have read that corals such as Pavona, Pocillipora, Seriatopora, and Montipora digitata and M. capricornus are good "beginner SPS" corals -- i.e. they are more forgiving of changing water parameters, lower light levels, dirty water, and such.

Would Pavona, Pocillipora, Seriatopora, and/or Montipora digitata and capricornus have a chance of living and growing under my HO T-5 lighting? Are there any other SPS corals that you could recommend? My general confusion comes from the listings of purple monti cap and digi, in which the poster often says that the coral needs high light levels to retain its color. Would it be best for me to stay away from certain colors?

Any recommendations anyone could give me would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[johnny]

Not trying to be mean, but would highly recommend that you clean your water up before trying any SPS.

When you say "dirty", i'm guessing you mean yellow tint from high ammonia? What are your nitrate/ammonia levels?

For SPS you should also make sure your alkalinity and calcium levels are up to par... alkalinity 7-11dKH, calcium 375-450ppm... phosphates 0, nitrate 0, ammonia 0.

Softies and some LPS won't mind the dirty water as much, but SPS will. Save your $ until your water isn't "dirty".

Certain corals require high light to maintain their color, such as purple montiporas. If you stick the the orange, green, and red montiporas they will be a bit better with less light. Water quality, phosphates in particular, will really drain the color out of your SPS though... get your water cleaned, hook up your skimmer, etc.

If you need help on how to get your water cleaned up... let us know... just remember water changes and skimmers are your new best friends.

Nick

 

[Elysia]

No, not visually dirty -- I just know that I don't have the pristine nutrient free reef that is held up as the ideal. I feed and am not exporting waste via the skimmer yet. Right now the tank is mostly LPS, who don't seem to mind the nurtients. Not surprisingly (since I haven't plugged in the skimmer), nothing is hooked up to a controller, so I have to actually get off my tush to check the params, which I will do tonight.

I appreciate the feedback.

 

[somosomo]

I think if you keep the SPS high in the tank you will be ok. I have a 75 with 260 watts of PC lighting and I keep Poccillopora, yellow, blue, and yellow with red polyps montis, red digitata, and hydnophora with zoos, shrooms, xenia, and various LPS. I think your growth rates will be slower then if it was dedicated SPS tank but my experience has been that they will grow and do fine.My Poccilopora has grown from a one inch frag to softball size in a year and a there are mini colonies of it all over my back glass and rocks..Obviously regular water changes are key and I think placement in the top 3rd of the tank.