What is your secret in SPS success?
- Thread starter ScubaNemo
- Start date
billdogg
Well-known member
Keep your hands outa the tank!!! My hands get wet about once a month, during my hunt for bubble algae (water change day) Otherwise, leave things be.
And x 1000 to stable water parameters.
d2mini
Premium Member
I see this a lot but is there any actual research to support this claim?
Assuming your hands/arms are clean.
My hands are in the tank on pretty much a daily basis, even if its just fingers when sticking an algae clip to the glass or grabbing the magnet cleaner.
I've never noticed any issues... then again, I don't know it any other way.
Totally agree on stability being most important though.
That's an easy one to see the effects of!
hkgar
Active member
Satbility and tank age. Even with stability and correct parameters, I have seen over and over that a tank under a year old just can't seem to support SPS. Not sure why.
Here is a good thread on keeping SPS.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2253547
I think a heavier bioload also helps to get PO4 and NO3 to the corals without building up in the tank.
Here is a good thread on keeping SPS.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2253547
I think a heavier bioload also helps to get PO4 and NO3 to the corals without building up in the tank.
Ron Reefman
Active member
One other point that I think is worth considering. Tank maturity. Tanks cycle pretty quickly and then everybody rushes to ad anything and everything. No so fast!
It takes a good tank about 6 to 9 months to mature and become easier to keep stable, tanks can take as long as 12 months or more if not well maintained over that period of time.
Hands in the tank, I don't see the issue. Just be sure they are clean. I'm in my tanks all the time!
It takes a good tank about 6 to 9 months to mature and become easier to keep stable, tanks can take as long as 12 months or more if not well maintained over that period of time.
Hands in the tank, I don't see the issue. Just be sure they are clean. I'm in my tanks all the time!
dkeller_nc
New member
There are lots of reasons for Acropora species to do poorly in tanks. SPS in the form of other genera, such as montipora, stylophora, seriatopora and others seem to be considerably less fussy.
Looking at your numbers, I'd suggest lower your alk target very gradually to about 8 dKH. Acros in general do not seem to like really low phosphates/nitrates (though your nitrates aren't all that low - most target about 5 ppm) in combination with high alkalinity.
Also, keep in mind that LED-only systems and some kinds of Acros can be problematic. There are certainly examples of folks that have grown out impressive tanks with LED-only fixtures, but that doesn't seem to be the rule. For this reason, those that choose the LED route often couple them with T5HO supplementation for both coverage and spectrum reasons. That said, you have one of the very few LED fixtures that put out significant radiation in the sub 410 nm range, which is good. One aspect that you might consider is that a PAR meter is pretty much a requirement for LED-only fixtures, because you just can't judge intensity by eye.
Looking at your numbers, I'd suggest lower your alk target very gradually to about 8 dKH. Acros in general do not seem to like really low phosphates/nitrates (though your nitrates aren't all that low - most target about 5 ppm) in combination with high alkalinity.
Also, keep in mind that LED-only systems and some kinds of Acros can be problematic. There are certainly examples of folks that have grown out impressive tanks with LED-only fixtures, but that doesn't seem to be the rule. For this reason, those that choose the LED route often couple them with T5HO supplementation for both coverage and spectrum reasons. That said, you have one of the very few LED fixtures that put out significant radiation in the sub 410 nm range, which is good. One aspect that you might consider is that a PAR meter is pretty much a requirement for LED-only fixtures, because you just can't judge intensity by eye.
billdogg
Well-known member
What I meant by keeping hands out is to put a coral in a spot and leave it there. If you keep rearranging things every few days nothing will have a chance to get used to where it is at, the lighting, the flow, etc. If you need to acclimate a new addition to your lighting, use a piece or two of window screening to create a shadow over that particular coral and remove it over the next week or two.
As far a contaminates from your arms causing an issue - Sure, if I've just changed the oil on my car I'm going to wash my hands before sticking them in the tank, but all-in-all, I think the possibility of crashing your tank from what is on your skin is way over-hyped. You stand a much better chance of doing damage to yourself from organisms in your system that the other way around.
i am about 9 weeks into zeovit. I think I'm taking it TOO slow. In my 120, I have 2 clowns and maybe 1 or 2 blue gudgeon gobies (1 hides in the rocks so much, he may be dead). I have a sunburst pavona, a butternut stylophora that I just fragged off trying to save some of it from STN, an acro frag that was sold to me as a montipora, and an actual montipora.
My tests today were:
pH: 8.19
Temp: 77.9
Salinity: 1.025
Alkalinity: 7.9
NO3: 0
CA: 490
Mg: 1400
My tank is about 10 months old. I have been doing 12 gallon water changes weekly, but may do 5 gallon changes until the Calcium levels fall into appropriate range.
My tests today were:
pH: 8.19
Temp: 77.9
Salinity: 1.025
Alkalinity: 7.9
NO3: 0
CA: 490
Mg: 1400
My tank is about 10 months old. I have been doing 12 gallon water changes weekly, but may do 5 gallon changes until the Calcium levels fall into appropriate range.
Overhyped maybe, but doesn't stop me from sticking my arm under a hot shower before I work in my tank as well as after due to possible organisms/skin irritation. Also tend to do in tank work on Sunday when I'm usually just lounging around all day, so no deodorant / antiperspirant that day.
Had a customer once that knee jerk reacted to seeing a fallen coral in her tank, just an hour earlier she had wiped down her counter tops with one of those lysol quick wipes. Poof! wiped out everything but a few fish.
Flippers4pups
Home made abyss
My success has been like others, water stability. Tank maturity is big, as is lighting and flow.
I found that over the years that chlorine, chlorimines, heavy metal fouling is overlooked by new hobbyists. They research and apply all that everyone else is doing that has success, like a ghost in their system, can't figure out what is causing their corals to not grow or why they are dying.
Your source water is the cornerstone building block to allowing all the other key factors to give you that success. Don't overlook it and control it always.
I found that over the years that chlorine, chlorimines, heavy metal fouling is overlooked by new hobbyists. They research and apply all that everyone else is doing that has success, like a ghost in their system, can't figure out what is causing their corals to not grow or why they are dying.
Your source water is the cornerstone building block to allowing all the other key factors to give you that success. Don't overlook it and control it always.
dkeller_nc
New member
Worth mentioning. The active ingredient in Lysol, benzalkonium chloride, is absolutely deadly to marine critters in very low concentrations. Best not to have any of it in your house if you're a reefer.
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