Starting SPS looking for advice!

I would start with some simple SPS to start off with as well. I.E: Monti Caps, Hydnophora (very aggressive, but you can't kill it.) Branching Green Birdsnest, Green Digi... Just to name a few.
 
Dip, quarantine, dip and inspect everything. I have 3 QT for corals. I dip, quarantine for 6 weeks and dip again every single coral. During the quarantine period I keep them one/ QT.
 
emerald crab said:
Dip, quarantine, dip and inspect everything. I have 3 QT for corals. I dip, quarantine for 6 weeks and dip again every single coral. During the quarantine period I keep them one/ QT.
Click to expand...

YES!!! Dip. Ive thought of making Bayer Insect killer part of my dipping process to avoid red bugs
 
One of my dips is imidacloprid (the active ingredient in the Bayer product) and the other one is Revive.
My QT's are small around 1 gal, small skimmers(Red Sea Prism), LED 10w 2/3 RB 1/3 white.
You don't want to learn the hard way the following words: red bugs, montipora eating nudibranch, acropora eating flatworms.
 
I removed my leather.

I think if you are going to do this for real and not just keep a couple hardy sps in a "mixed" reef, you are going to have to rethink your tank.

(I only say that from my experience which I do not pretend is the only or right way.)

SPS do not like high bioloads and although your phosphates are low on salifert (mine were always less than .03) my bioload was simply too much from feeding primarily.

Since feeding less, removing the large leather coral and most kenya trees, adding a gfo reactor, dosing, etc. My sps seem much happier and show visible month to month growth.

Nothing wrong with a mixed reef but sometimes the goals and endpoints are conflicting.


One thing I've learned is that while there are so many ways to practice this hobby, the tried and true way is still the easiest and filled with the least amount of frustration and heartache.

For beginners, my advice is to follow the advice of those who have succeeded in this to the tee. Then things aren't that hard...
 
JCW is right. You can have a mixed reef but some stuff just doesnt go well with SPS. I had to sell my torch.....which I had a really hard time letting it go. Thats my favorite coral. But the rest of my tank is happier.
 
I would get rid of the halmidea from the sump. It consumes calcium and alk to grow. May not be a big deal for you, but it will require more addition of the components to keep it and the SPS growing/alive. You may need to move/remove some of the "sweeper" LPS when the SPS get bigger or they will lose that battle.

Other than that, you look ready from a flow/lighting/parameters level. Good luck and let's see some pics when you get it going.
 
run GAC, and dont worry about mixing soft and hard corals.

in fact, soft coral in a SPS tank is a good way to filter water, as due to high flow and high lighting they grow much faster. many propagation systems use this.
 
Jay Hemdal who conducted the study is a person with a lot of experience. He is the the fish and inverts curator for a large zoo/aquarium.
Just because we as hobbyists use better quality carbon and we have less or smaller problems doesn't mean is not creating problems for us to.
If you dismiss that study just like that, may I ask about your credentials?
 
emerald crab said:
Jay Hemdal who conducted the study is a person with a lot of experience. He is the the fish and inverts curator for a large zoo/aquarium.
Just because we as hobbyists use better quality carbon and we have less or smaller problems doesn't mean is not creating problems for us to.
If you dismiss that study just like that, may I ask about your credentials?
Click to expand...

first, lets not make it personal :) when you read a paper with my name on it, then we can discuss who I am and what degrees I hold :)

second, I am not the only one dismissing it, hence why I said check chemistry forums :) there were just too many threads discussing this already, and just too many reefs with GAC and fish and no HLLE for the author to make such conclusions ... hence why I said it was short sighted. not 100% wrong.

about Author, I agree, a great hobbyist, and his "Study" lacks science ! his "experiments" were not conducted in a scientific nor correct way :) looks at the experiments from Doctor Randy ... and compare, u see a person with PhD does it differently, there is a reason for that :)

see, when someone sais GAC = HLLE, its prety easy to proove it wrong ! a look at most of the tanks on here is a proof for that ! if GAC = HLLE was in fact true,, we would all have it right ? :)

anyways, lets get back to the topic of the thread at hand .... GAC and HLLE is another argument.
 
Allmost said:
first, lets not make it personal :) ... hence why I said it was short sighted. not 100% wrong.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I use small amounts of GAC too and they have their benefits.
The key word in my statement was, like with everything else "don't get heavy handed".
 
i have GFO and GAC running now. I will read more and answer more when I get home leaving work! Thank you all. I agree and will listen to what people suggest and why. I love this site and learn so much every day.
 
quick update. I made a few changes and this weekend I am getting my first SPS corals. I am getting 2 birds of paradise, 1 montipora cap and 2 birds nests(not sure of colors yet) I am buing the locally from a reefer in Lynchburg and I can go to his house and pick out which ones I want. I think its a good price all for $90 the frags are about 1"-2". I added a ATO dosing Kalk to better stablize the tank and so far its working great.

55g
20g long sump/refugium 8" water
Red Sea Coral Pro Salt
Calcium 480---430
Alk 10dkh----9dkh
Mag 1440
Nitrates 0----.75
Phosphates 0-----.02-.03 for last 2 weeks
Nitrites 0
Ammonia 0
SG 1.026
Temp 78

Warner Marine MF 181 Kone Skimmer
Hydor Wavemaker 2 Hydor 2's on back pointed towards center surface
1 Hydor 2 that runs during lights on in middle of tank pointed center surface
Mag drive 3 return
1 Phosban Reactor with BRS GFO changed every 2 weeks
1 Phosban Reactor with BRS ROX.08 changed every 2 weeks
Nova Extreme Pro 6x 54w T5HO ATI Bulbs changed 8 weeks ago
1 ATI True Actinic, 2 ATI AquaBlue Special, 1 ATI Coral Plus, 2 ATI Blue Plus
2 BRS 1.1ml Dosers 1 for Calcium and 1 for Alk----using 1 pump to dose Kalk as an ATO
1 BRS 1.1ml for Vinegar dosing(on order)----installed and dosing 29ml a day

roughly 60-70lbs of live rock
4 DSB
1 Bubble Tip Anemone
1 Maroon Clown Yellow Band
1 Royal Gramma
2 Green Chromis
1 Six Line Wrasse
1 Diamond Gobie
New clean up crew of snails
Few Hermits
1 Kenya Tree
1 Toadstool
1 Finger Leather
2 Frogspawns
1 rock of Xenia
1 rock assorted mushrooms
1 rock of assorted Zoa's

sump
12x12 3" dsb, chaeto, halmidea---now 4"
live rock and pod condos
6500k daylight bulb 27w(100w) runs at lights out
 
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