Sps frag pack good for me?

[Ryan15236]

Hey guys I'm starting to try to get into sps corals and I figure I just need to buy a pack and start from there. If I lose some I can still have some to learn and get experience from. Tank parameters
Nitrate 0ppm api
PH 8.0
Alk 7.8
Calcium 415 ppm
Mag 1360
Temp 76
Salinity 1.025
Don't have a way to measure phosphate at the moment
Kalk in ATO
125 gallon reef 3 fish and some inverts. LPS, soft corals, and 3 sps frags.
Reefbreeders photon for lighting
Pack included these corals
Orange monti cap
Orange digitata
Purple bonsai acro
Rainbow Mille
Purple acro
Green slimer
Rainbow pocillopora
Teal tip stag
Sour apple BN
Green stylo
Rainbow stylo
Tricolor granulosa
For $215 shipped I feel like I can't beat that. I feel like it's a good mix of some easier ones with a couple of harder ones to see where I am at. Probably have 35x tank volume flow going throw the tank. Good mix of high flow areas with some lower areas for soft and LPS corals

 

[Pife]

Have you successfully kept a reef tank before?

 

[Ryan15236]

I had a reef tank a couple of years ago I ran for a little over a year full of softies and LPS with great success! Haven't lost a coral to date, knock on wood! Currently my system has about 3 zoas, brain, hammer, Duncan's, torch, lepto, mushrooms, and sps wise I have a ORA green birdsnest, purple stylo, and hydnophora that are doing well. I probably have two years of reefing experience with good results. However this time I am trying to focus on rock solid and stable parameters. So far has been super easy due to the super low demand of corals. Trying to stock a lot of the corals before I do a lot of the fish stocking, have the tendency to overstock a little when doing fish first lol trying to avoid that.

 

[Pife]

Do you have dosing pumps? How do you plan to handle the alkalinity and calcium demand? It sounds like you have a good sense of what your doing.

 

[Ryan15236]

I have the two kit from brs without the dosers I'm using to make any major adjustments. I plan on using kalk for to keep everything stable. I will be more than enough for awhile

 

[SputnikNYC]

Killer deal on those sps... How big are the frags?

 

[Ryan15236]

I think 1-1.25 inches. Although he did say a couple will be good size

 

[Ryan15236]

I want some purple monti cap like in your avatar but I can't find any around here

 

[shih87]

I do think it is a good pack. Go for it, no pain no gain....

Do share us more when they arrive...

 

[pstank1]

Make sure you have a system to hold those frags so you can dip and inspect them before adding them to your display. I prefer Bayer as my go to dip of choice for SPS. There are numerous threads on here that go into amounts and how long to dip for. Read up on them if you decide to use it.

 

[sahin]

Thats a very decent pack, considering some of the prices I see for single 1/2inch frags these days.

If you already have 3 SPS frags, and they have been surviving for some time, then I'd say your all good to go.

As mentioned by someone already, I'd highly recommend a QT system. The issue of Acro Eating Flatworms/Spiders/Redbugs is best dealt within a QT system. Especially with AEFW's; its not something you want to have to deal with.

 

[SnowManSnow]

Make sure to dip your new drags at least before dropping into your display. There are a lot of dips. I use Coral RX

 

[Ryan15236]

I plan on dipping these corals with bayer complete insecticide. Could you guys give me your recommendation on how to acclimate these corals and dip them for best results. Also maybe the potency of the coral dip? Here is what I am thinking.
Drip acclimate for 45 minutes.
Bayer dip. Maybe 4 oz tank water with 10 ml of bayer for 5 minutes
rinse in some tank water and to the sandbed they go for light acclimation over the next few weeks

 

[MichaelW]

Might be just me but I have never drip acclimated any of my sps. I would be interested to hear from others though. I usually temp a climate in bag, Bayer dip, rinse in clean tank water, place on bottom. If large parameter swing happens to a coral, even over a few days, a coral can be stressed...I don't see how just delaying swing by 45 minutes would stress the coral much less than just putting it right in. I could be wrong. Both LFS I usually visit don't acclimate either.

 

[Ryan15236]

I think I will start another thread for this. I would like to hear and I'm sure a lot I people would like to hear how everyone does it.

 

[natas]

Most of those corals listed are good starter SPS's. If you can keep them alive and doing well for 3-4 months then you can continue adding more.

Get a Hanna ULR Phosphorus checker so you know where you are with phosphate. I check mine once a week

 

[Ryan15236]

Yeah that is the Hanna checker I am going to get. Also I think I will just remove from the frag plug and place on some rubble.

 

[ajcanale]

Here's my advice, take it or leave it. Don't get overwhelmed with the idea of QT'ing and dipping this incoming frag pack. If you are buying from a reputable source (especially if a private seller and not a vendor) you have significantly lowered chanced of bringing in anything parasitic.

This is a beginner pack, focus on keeping it alive.... not killing it by putting it in some makeshift "QT tank"... If you want to dip (which wouldn't be a bad idea IMO) research "bayer dip for SPS"... a simple google search will do, and will yield you way better instructions than starting a "new" thread asking what you should do, where you might get a dozen different responses.

Again, take it or leave it.

At the end of the day whats going to keep these coral alive is your understanding and ability to maintain proper parameters in regards to the primary essential elements (alk>Ca>Mg... in that order) and sufficient nutrients (0 nitrates isn't really a good thing).. The more and more your SPS grow, the quicker these numbers will change. It's a never ending game.