SPS Coral Growth Rate

[Chago09]

OK I have literally done it all in the aquarium hobby.

Started with FW planted, did african cichlid, SA/CA cichlids, SW predator, LPS reef and still nothing seems to really tickle my fancy. I keep changing my mind

I am now debating what I want to try

So I have a few questions about SPS that might make me change my mind.

1.) One thing I was not crazy about LPS was that nothing really happens. They grow extremely and seems to me that nothing really changed in over a year. They seemed to grow fuller and healthier although never spread across the tank like a nice SPS colony. If you were to buy a SPS frag, under good conditions whats the expected growth rate? like would a frag take years to be like 6" long with multiple branches?

2.) Water Quality won't be a huge issue for me because I am going to add barely any fish whatsoever. Although besides the basics, nitrate,nitrite, ammonia, calcium and alk is there anything else that will effect the growth of these guys or their health??

3.) Lighting, would a 4x 54 watt T5HO lighting fixture be enough for a 90 gallon??? or would more bulbs need to be added?

4.) Anything else in general about SPS hobby??

 

[DesertBandits]

I am running 6 t5s on my 50 gal for over a year, and I just switched to coralife salt. I am getting nice fast growth now with the higher cal/mag salt. IMHO, 4T5s might be ok for montiporas, but you would really need 6 for an all out 90 gal SPS tank with acros and such. Read other peoples' posts in the sps forums and good luck.

 

[crashrat]

Higher temp and consistent parms along with enough light help the SPS grow fuller and larger. 4 t5's will not be enough for SPS in a 90, if you choose t5's I'd save your money and get as much as you can, at the min I'd say 6 with 8 being better choice. It also depends on the coral, some grow faster than other's, monti caps I think are the fastest. I have a ORA green birds nest that started out 2 1/2 inch's and is now at 6 in just 6 months. The key is consistent parms for good and fast growth.

 

[trippkid]

I get between 3-6" of growth on each branch in a years time on most of my SPS(some a little more, others a little less), I don't know if this is good or bad, but just what happens in my tank.
I'd also be testing Magnesium, it is crucial for the Alk/Ca relationship, needs to be 1290 or greater to achieve the higher Ca levels.
I would go with a 6 or 8 bulb(if you can fit it) unit with individual reflectors, you should be able to grow anything SPS with them.
Lots of flow(indirect, turbulent, wide flow dispersion(Tunze stream pumps, Vortechs, Modded Maxijets, Korallia, large volume low pressure or velocity type powerheads)). I run about 90X's the tanks volume, so on my 120 it is about 9-10000 gph of flow going on in the tank(most do at least 40-50X's). Don't skimp on lighting, get the best you can, you will be spending more if you don't. Patience and stability is what I strive for in my tank and myself. Oh, you will need some type of CA/Alk supplementation, either CA reactor, two-part solutions, kalkwasser, or a combination of 2 or all 3 sometimes. I'd say a mature tank helps(6mo-1yr), but that is debatable. An ATO(Auto top-off) system is helpful too in limiting salinity fluctuations, remember stability on all fronts is one of the keys.
Good luck, I hope you enjoy the challenge, there more than likely will be ups and downs, don't let the downs get to you too much, it happens to the best of them from time to time. That should get you started in the right direction, sorry if I forgot anything and if you have any questions please ask.
Matt

 

[seamonster124]

Age of the tank and coral growth

Age of the tank and coral growth

deleted

 

[WaReefer458]

I will 2nd the above stated about the mature tank... I spend a god awful amount of money buying the best of everything for my 40B and after buying 5 sps frags to start with and perfect water conditions, most of them are in the middle of dying... you can have all you need but in the end you really need a "mature" tank to make it happen.... I will finish buying my fish livestock and maybe a few LPS on my list of corals but I will be holding off until I hit the 1 year mark to start loading up on the SPS

 

[alten78]

OK I have literally done it all in the aquarium hobby.

2.) Water Quality won't be a huge issue for me because I am going to add barely any fish whatsoever. Although besides the basics, nitrate,nitrite, ammonia, calcium and alk is there anything else that will effect the growth of these guys or their health??

A lot of the most colorful of sps dominated tanks seem to have a higher bio-load, coral need to eat too. I went the route you are thinking of at first, without fish or lps/softies, there was very little movement and awfully static not to mention poorer colors (still working on fixing.)

 

[Wazzel]

1. You can go from frags to nice sized colonies in a year or so.

2. water quality is important, but it can be to clean and starve the corals. They are animals and need to eat. I have 9 fish in a 60.

3. I do not think 4 T-5's will be enough for a 90. Probably need 6 at a minimum.

4. Lots of other things.