SPS under PC's

[NAGABEAST]

So here is a pic of my Seriatopora that was put in on 8/1/10 hence all the questions about lighting...seems to be doing good...is there anything I should look out for??? Warning signs or such??? It does have some dead spots on 2 of the branches on the front side but all other polyps in those areas seem to expand well..................can't get pic to post...visit my profile & see tell me what you think...the pic is the same as my avatar...

 

[Surf&turf]

I grow sps under pcs, but in a 55.

 

[dsmooth]

wow nice looking tank

 

[mike_cmu04]

I dont think pc's will work on their own. the sps may survive but it wont thrive and maintain good color.

 

[Surf&turf]

wow nice looking tank

Thanks

 

[Surf&turf]

I dont think pc's will work on their own. the sps may survive but it wont thrive and maintain good color.

I did add 2 54watt T-5s as well, but those corals in the pic were growing under the PCs for a while.

 

[scionreefing]

I may be a little late but i have kept hydnophora in my 10gal with powercompacts before. It worked out pretty good. It started out from half the size of a dime to about as big as an orange in 1yr. it didnt grow as fast as id like it to but it grew.

 

[Darkstar22]

I think a realistic approach would be to:
A. Plumb the 3G into an existing larger system.
B. A 10 gallon sump
I think you could do it with a 10 gallon sump. Not sure about PC'S long term though. Maybe an LED setup?
noticed you are in Thornton....I live in the Denver area too

 

[NAGABEAST]

Where @ Darkstar??? I would love to see your tank...

 

[Jimbo7]

I think a realistic approach would be to:
A. Plumb the 3G into an existing larger system.
B. A 10 gallon sump
I think you could do it with a 10 gallon sump. Not sure about PC'S long term though. Maybe an LED setup?
noticed you are in Thornton....I live in the Denver area too

Agreed. I just finished my 12 LED build and they are killer. With the added water volume you could probable do it.

 

[kaserpick]

I knew a guy who ran his 65g with 384w (4 x 96w) of PC's. He had 3 Monti Cap's, 2 Pavona's, and 1 very nice colony of some tri-color acro. The acro colony was as big as two average fists. He kept it for 10 years like that with great growth and coloration. Unfortunately, he owned a LFS and burned himself out. Once everyone stopped doing WC's regularly, the acro browned and RTN'ed from too much PO4.

I tell you this to say that it can be done with PC's; I've seen long term success in person. On the other hand, 3 gallons will be tough. A sump with an ATO would definitely be beneficial. Like mentioned before, you'll almost certainly want to keep up with WC's and keep the fish list to 1.

 

[sslak]

IF you count montipora cap. as SPS, sure. I had that growing well in my 14g Biocube with stock lighting. I wouldn't try any actual SPS under PC lights.

 

[ibefishy]

I kept monti caps and digis in my 55g tank with pc lights and they both thrived. I had to frag both several times. It all depends on how well you maintain your water quality and where you place the sps. There will always be people that say "no you cant do that" but you will never know unless you try. I was told I couldnt keep a clam under my pc's but I did and it did great for 2 years, and I still have it but now I have T5's. Monti caps and digis are readily available and cheap so you could always pick up a frag and give it a try. I would try a birdsnest or maybe even a poccilopora if you could get it high enough. Just keep in mind not too long ago nobody thought keeping any sps alive in a captive environment was possible, but someone tried it now look where the hobby is.

 

[SAZAMA]

what up NAGA!!!LOL dont worry, if you loose those frags come get some more. I've got'em to spare. keep your CA inline you should be fine. there may also be some adjustment time, coming from my over lit system. If you see bad PE on that pocilopora, you may start to worry. maybe check out that LED they have over the 3g at elite reef that thing is sick... give me a shout we can drink some brews and chat up some reefing. hope those DBTC frags are working out. CHEERS

 

[NAGABEAST]

SAZAMA what up son...some of the frags didn't do well but the Seriatopora looks great...no issues yet & thanx again for the frags...

 

[poidog81]

When I first started out I tried SPS in a standard JBJ cube with PC lighting. A green birdsnest did the best, keeping it's color. The other was a montipora and browned within a month. Both were at the top of the tank.

 

[allsps40]

I sold some lights to a guy and he had a 29 gallon with 36inch current 4 bulb pc fixture. he had some colorful sps in the tank. I would never do this or recommend it. But I did see it. IMO it will be a slow death to the sps. Some will do ok under pc like caps, some montis and digis.

 

[thebanker]

My father has a 3G JBJ nano tank. I gave him a brown montipora cap and it is growing under a 9W light. Not a lot of growth, but the frag broke and since then both pieces have encrusted onto their new resting places.

One thing to note, his nano gets direct morning sunlight for about 1 hour/day, and they live here in Southern CA. So that is playing into the growth a little.

So do not despair: there is some hope if you run PC's. And a 96 watt PC lamp will definitely grow some SPS in a shallow tank with a low bioload & stable conditions. A equivalent T5 bulb will still blow it away though.

 

[drummereef]

I kept a couple Orange Monti Caps under PC's in my old 40g until my upgrade when I broke the tank down. I think they did well. It's all about placement and picking relatively "easy" corals like montis.


They grew from this....

To this....

 

[mak3mydae]

I have 130w (2 x 65x) of PC's over a 20h. The only sps i have are bird's nest and monti's. The birdsnest grows, but since it's a relatively large piece, it tends to shade itself and where it's shaded, it dies. I know this happens in tanks with stronger lights, but it bleaches a lot easier with less light. The monti used to grow but i bought a blenny that used it as a chair, so it got pretty angry and decided to never grow and bleach a little bit. Granted i also dont dose very much alk, so it's amazing that anything grows in that tank. I hate that tank But it's do-able. Just very difficult. You have to put them at the top and get the easiest to care for sps.(pocillopora, stylophora, monti's etc)