Spot on. :beer:
SPS are they hard to keep?
- Thread starter Fer21
- Start date
Spot on. :beer:
You are correct on this. When something goes wrong you have to act quick or you will end up losing that frag or colony.
fcmatt
Member
First time keepers?
Probably impatience to let a newly cycled tank mature for a few months.
One has to wait and see if the rock you got leeches phosphates or if you can
even control the water parameters with just a fish or two.
No point in throwing in acropora when your nitrates are 5 ppm and your phosphate
level is at 1 ppm. One has to get a handle on that and see if they can keep the
water ideal for more then 20 minutes after a water change ;-)
Another first time mistake? Buying too much at once and not keeping your hands
out of the tank for any reasonable amount of time. Every time I buy a coral I
regret having to reach into my tank up past my elbow/close to shoulder to glue it down. All I
am doing is introducing another variable that can cause trouble. Did the dip
get off every pest? Will it do poorly next to another coral? Will i make my rock
work tumble blowing up a stand storm or crushing something else?
If there was one thing I could grant a first timer it is simply patience.
I will start with monti cap because it's cheap and very hardy. Once you can keep its color and see it's growing. Then start with something harder. Patience is the key. And like everybody else said lights, flows are the most important when you start going to SPSs. All other parameters keep them in check. You won't see Alk, Ca, and Mag depletion very bad until you have a lot of SPS colony. Normal water change will keep your tank parameter in check for your first start.
And one more thing, make sure your pockets load of money
because you will get hook and spend more money on Sps and equipment than you can imagine.
And one more thing, make sure your pockets load of money
because you will get hook and spend more money on Sps and equipment than you can imagine.
I kind of look at it like gardening. Let's say you want to grow orchids. They can be tough, but if you set up a location specifically for them, and cater to all their needs, they are "easy". But leave that greenhouse door open just one day during a cold winter and poof, gone. So they aren't very forgiving. The problem, IME, has been when you want to keep orchids, roses, cacti, and pine trees all in that same greenhouse. Varying environmental needs, competition, etc., all make things much harder on the orchids. Oh, and then throw in a giant flock of pigeons that poops EVERYWHERE. Makes it even harder to keep those orchids alive, or at least looking their best. 
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fcmatt
Member
If you start with a good salt you may not need to supplement that much in the
beginning. Basically you will start up your tank, let it mature for a bit with a fish
or two, and then add a hardy frag. At this point there is nothing really using up
CA, MG, and Alk in a huge quantity.
If all goes well you will be adding more frags. Lets say a dozen or two depending
on the tank size. Even at this point your CA, MG, and ALK will not be falling too
dramatically over a few days time. You will be testing every week and doing water
changes to get an idea of what is going on though.
The problem eventually shows up when things start taking off in my opinion.
You can see new growth on a weekly basis and all those frags are getting bigger
and bigger. Then they start to suck CA and what not out of the water.
You should be noticing this though with weekly testing. One day your CA is at
440 and then next week you test at 420. Perhaps your water changes just
cannot keep up at that point and decide to supplement. Trying to keep your
PH at 8.3 and ALK at your desired level... etc....
So that is how I see it. A good reef salt will get you going but keep in mind that
down the road you will have to supplement where needed.
As for other supplements I use Seachem's "Fuel" for reefs since my tank is smaller
and it is still affordable at that point. I also use oyster eggs and rotifeast, which is
not a supplement in the sense you were talking about, to feed my corals. I like seachem's
reef buffer (ph), magnesium, reef builder (alk), and calcium. I like instant ocean regular
salt with tropic marin bio actif mixed in with it. I run activated carbon as well as gfo.
i want phosphate and nitrates to be undetectable with the better test kits, fyi.
sigh.. this hobby is crazy sometimes ;0) lots of reading to do just to get a good grasp
of the basics. i do not even use the fancier things out there.
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Dustin1300
Reefaholic
+1 but easier said than done
Patience will not only help you in the hobby, it will also save you a lot of coin.
divewsharks
Active member
You'll want to test the water no matter the source for mag/alk/ca; after that you will want to test your tank routinely for the same.
gofor100
New member
I'd like to put a different spin on the above statement... I think too many people act TOO drastically sometimes. For instance, if someone sees the colors of their corals fading or turning brown, and they check their levels and something is low, make sure you act accordingly and slowly increase your levels (i.e., your alkalinity), otherwise you'll shock your corals and they'll be in worse shape than before. Course, this example would have all been avoided if your levels were regularly checked, but you get the idea.
Another thing, when someone sees a strand of hair algae or cyano or something else that is deemed "not good", don't go out a buy a bottle of vodka and start dosing like a mad man, again, act accordingly... do a decent water-change, check the skimmer to make sure it isn't malfunctioning or doesn't need a cleaning, etc.
So although you should be quick to act if you see something is off, make sure you don't act too drastically since this will likely put your corals in a worse position.
Good luck!
gofor100
New member
Its just one way to get nitrates out of the water... but I wouldn't seriously consider this until you've had a little more experience in the hobby
I personally don't do it, but have heard some success stories, as well as some horror stories... to each their own.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Rather than worrying about fighting off pest afterhand...BE PROACTIVE! Before adding new frags dip in a medication such as CoralRX and place in a QT tank. This will prevent pests such as red bugs entering the tank.
I've currently got a 75Gallon SPS tank and have dipped all corals before placement. I also have not had pest problems in my system and because of this....I don't plan on adding other live rock to the system but will rather add dry rock just to ensure I don't introduce a problem. I've seen too many horror stories in the SPS forums that have made me decide this path. Dead rock will turn live after some time and I already have 80-90 pounds of live rock with plenty of critters that will spread to the dead rock. I'll shut up as I'm rambling!
I've currently got a 75Gallon SPS tank and have dipped all corals before placement. I also have not had pest problems in my system and because of this....I don't plan on adding other live rock to the system but will rather add dry rock just to ensure I don't introduce a problem. I've seen too many horror stories in the SPS forums that have made me decide this path. Dead rock will turn live after some time and I already have 80-90 pounds of live rock with plenty of critters that will spread to the dead rock. I'll shut up as I'm rambling!
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