Softy tanks.

mile sq. reefer

mile sq. reefer

New member
Well after being in this hobby for nine years and having had mutiple tanks, starting with Softies, then LPS and finally SPS, I have really come to appreciate the beautiful look of a well designed, stocked and aquascaped softy tank. They have a hypnotic and graceful movement to them. This was inspired by the SRC (Siam Reef Club) show tank. Great collection of Zoa's, Xenia, Star polyps, Shrooms, Ric's etc. It almost makes me want to change my system back to the way it was nine years ago. As I was writing this my tank lights were off, but they just came on. Just one look at the tank and I thought "Yeah, I'm still and SPS nut." Maybe I'll change but not today.

It would be great though to see some more softy tanks, since most of the tanks I see posted today are mainly SPS. When was the last time one was TOTM?

Here is the link
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1196290
 
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I think the thing for most people is that many available softies are "beginner" corals. Im not talking trash, I always had at least some softies even as I made the transition to SPS, but i feel that part of the reason I moved to sps was for the challenge. As hobbyists(sp?) progress we want to try more and more challenging things, and since most of us dont have hundreds of gallons to work with, the old must be done away with. Stopping at softies would be, to someone restoring a classic car (me), like getting a new paint job, maybe some light engine work, and then stopping there. The challenge is not complete, but it does LOOK pretty doesnt it? JMO

softie tanks can be presented in a masterful way and can look just as beautiful as SPS tanks, its just a different look. But for me, half the pleasure is in the new frontier (mine of course not the hobbies)
 
I agree. As I advanced in this hobby and became more experienced, I needed somethig challenging, so I went with SPS.
A real challenge would be the successful husbandry of non-photosyntthetic soft corals like the dendo's and sclero's. This month's reefkeeping mag has a good article regarding these species.
 
I was wondering why only SPS tanks are TOTM? That isn't really fair. I am not a big fan of SPS (they are over priced twigs if you ask me) I love to movement of the softies and it looks very natural looking. Being hardy is just a bonus so it's not that difficult to keep your setup running perfect. I love my softy and LPS tank, I don't plan on getting any SPS either for it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11947462#post11947462 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DamnPepShrimp
I am not a big fan of SPS (they are over priced twigs if you ask me)
Click to expand...

:D haha, I wasn't gonna say anything, but yea. that's my opinion too
 
I disagree.

The non-photosynthetic soft corals are the most difficult corals to keep. Acros are a walk in the park compared to carnation tree corals.
 
I love softie and LPS tanks. I would love to see more of them. I think SPS are usually quite ugly and I like the movement in my tank to come from corals. I don't feel a need to challenge myself. I just want a tank I like to watch and can keep healthy.
 
xenon you are right about that, at least in my experience. as long as you have the equipment and basic knowledge for SPS, they aren't terrible difficult. And while various non-photosynthetic corals would make for a brilliantly colored display, how many are really available? (this is an actual question as I have seen maybe 5 color variations at most.) The only thing that bothers me about SPS is the trendiness some morphs get. but guess that happens with any popular species....
 
Soft corals are every bit as interesting as SPS. But I think the real problem has already been addressed. Lack of space. I have six tanks and each one is a completely different type of tank setup. SPS, Softies, Anemonies, Deepwater/actinic, Non-photosynthetic, Pico.

Each has its own challenges, but I am lucky enough to be able to keep a bunch of tanks. Most people are not.

And each of these types of tanks benefit from being more species specific than the garden reefs that most people keep.

check out my tanks. www.AirInHeresReef.com
 
I have always had a big problem with the TOTM for this exact reason...lack of variety!!! We should be celebrating the great diversity of the ocean, not one specific area or reef. I have never understood why the TOTM has to be sps dominated...I know its not a requirement but the proof is in the winners tanks month after month. Yes there have been a few softie tanks but not enough. Its kind of sad when you see such a wide variety of beautiful tank here on ReefCentral to then only celebrate sps with TOTM.

I am a fan of any tank that looks natural but I find that many of the sps dominated tanks look anything but. They look very very man made and sterile. I do a decent amount of diving and its rare that I see a tank that I think "hey...I have seen a spot just like that!" Its more often with a softie tank actually or even people refugiums! That Siam Reef club is one of the recent ones that I think is incredible! Maybe if they put a few sps up in the top there, they just might be able to win TOTM :D

Heres my softie tanks...No TOTM material by any means but I enjoy them just the same.

24G Nano Reef:

DSC00225.jpg


130G Lagoon/Softie Reef (although I have had people tell me its not a reef):

Digi089.jpg
 
I am into SPS but really appreciate the diversity of species selection this hobby offers. I mean, lets not knock the coral grouping, ie SPS, if you do not like them. I am also a fan of species type tanks and not garden reef type set ups. Dont get me wrong, there are some amazing and successful "mixed/ garden reefs." JMO. Back to the point, we are all here because we have an infatuation with reef tanks and all the life they contain. It would be nice to see a better representation of what people keep, I'm sure many are worthy of TOTM, and not hold the standard to just a tank that has mostly SPS. So lets see some pics to help make a change.
 
If you see a tank worthy of TOTM send a link to any Team RC member. They'll welcome the input.

I went the route from beginner corals to a mixed reef to SPS. When I got there I realized LPS and soft corals were what I really enjoyed looking at. There isn't an SPS in any of my tanks anymore.

:lol:
 
I think any type of reef can look amazing if well done.

There is a link at the bottom of the most recent TOTM article that allows you to submit threads to nominate TOTM. Maybe some nominations just need to be put in for soft coral and/or LPS dominated tanks?
 
There is no reason a well done softy tank cant be (and wont be) TOTM. The problem is, most well done tanks are SPS tanks. Its just the progression of things. Most people who are serious about the hobby and set up a TOTM worthy tank keep SPS. Most softy tanks are relatively standard beginners tanks.

There have been softy TOTM tanks before, and there will be again. There just seem to be more impressive SPS displays out there than softy displays.
 
This should be a call to someone to step up to the plate!

I have been thinking about doing a euphyllia tank to house my lg frogspawn, but maybe I should do a serious softie tank instead!
 
Yeah I guess I do agree that if someone really put the time and effort into a softie tank like many people do into sps tanks, it could win TOTM...Still seems pretty hard for softie tanks to compete with sps tanks because the perception is that they are simple and beginner tanks. That should have absolutely nothing to do with TOTM voting I don't think but in reality it does.

It would be nice if the TOTM actually looked for diversity and variety instead of constantly celebrating the same thing over and over :) Don't get me wrong they are nice tanks but very predictable for the most part. Maybe a tank from a different region of the ocean? Or maybe change the name to SPSTOTM? :D
 
I actually love that 24G cube! You've got my vote for TOTM, seriously. :) It's a gorgeous tank. Nice and clean. Great selection and colors. I love it. And it's not a huge, overpriced tank full of "expensive twigs".

I'd also like to second that call for more pics of that 130 lagoon tank. :D
 
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