SPS Discussion

[gjuarez]

Okay, its getting kinda boring to read some threads (not all) without a specific reef related purpose lately so I want to start this thread to have something going that cuts through the bull. ANyways, I want this thread to be all sps talk. You want to talk paremeters, lets do it. Lighting, bring it on. Barebottom vs. DSB, anything goes. I know there is some plenty of sps addicted maastards so lets just keep it going. Who knows, it might beat astro wars for longest thread ever. I know I an one of the biggest jokers but for this thread I would like to keep the spamming to a minimum. I know there is some times where you cant help making fun of someone for a post or bringing up an inside joke because its perfect timing. It is allowed in this thread, but lets try not to get off topic. It is my thread and these are my rules, if you dont like them then dont post. Lets make this a quality thread. What do you say?

I will begin. My favorite sps corals are acros, specially the finger ones. Those are the thick branch acros like A. Samoenis and A. Gemifera. When I first saw them I fell in love with them. I have a barebottom tank and I dont think its better than a DSB tank, I just like the fact that it works for me. Right now, ReeferMadness is givng away free corals with the purchase of over $150, and they always have free shipping. Your turn.

[Reef69]

Good thread G..Finally something reef related.

Anyways, my favorite corals are A. samoensis, A. sarmentosa, A. austera, A. tenius, A. cerealis, pocilloporas, stylophoras, Digitatas, and alot more whose names i dont remember. Im not a nig fan of blastos or acans or all that stuff, nor a fan of LPS. I like rics and zoas. I have a 3 in. sand bed, not because i want it to do something for my tank, i just like it for the look it gives, a very natural look. Right now im focused on setting up my Ca. reactor (got my Co2 gauges today, along with my PH controller and other stuff.) I want to fully stock my tank before Christmas..so..thats where i am right now..

[Pacman]

Ok, I will start it off with a question though. I may be somewhat biased though because I prefer LPS, but here it goes anyway...

What is the deal with the superman danea stuff?

[Reef69]

..Rare stuff :shades

[gjuarez]

Good question. For one, they are beautiful. Their colors are awesome and most of them grow at a very slow rate, they take longer to frag, there is less supply and for that they are known as a bit more rare. The laws of supply and demand apply in this hobby as well. The same thing goes with the O. Tort and the Purple Monster.

[NaCl_H2O]

Like everything else in life, my favorites are the ones I can't have! I missed this one by 15 minutes on ReeferMadness last week :(

[hobogato]

i have recently begun seriously looking at sps, but because of failure in the past with the overloaded 125, i have been tenative. thatnks to lots of good info on this site and conversation with people here, i am finally having some success. my tank also has a 3 inch sand bed because i also like the look of it, but i also like one of the few acros i still have from the 125, an A. nana, that has been said just does better with a sand bed. i also like the benefits of a DSB, so i have a 7 inch sand bed in my fuge with southdown at the bottom, and special reef grade at the top to avoid sandstorms. i have about 2500 gph moving thru my sump/fuge. i am running 3 250 watt 15k MH with 8 65watt PC actinic and 50/50 for suppliments, not to mention 75 blue LED moonlights.

some of my favorites are the millis because they just look more alive to me because they stay so fuzzy. i do like the samoensis, and a weird one i picked up with a gift certificate from reefermadness called A. selago. i think the three things that are making my new tank more SPS successfull than the old 125 are

1.temp stays between 77 and 80 instead of 82 to 86
2.skimmer set up better to skim more constantly - added a ball valve to control water level in tube
3.the tank isnt overcrowded, so my nitrates are no longer a problem

i am to the point now, where the polyps stay out on all my acro's all day and some of them even thru the night.

[hobogato]

i think that is true to an extent. like Paletta said, too much can inhibit growth and even take us back to RTN.

heres that A. selago about 2 weeks ago. it is still coloring up, getting green at the bottom with pink tips and burgandy/red polyps. they don't ever extend very far like most of the rest of the SPS in the tank, so the polyps look like little dard red circles, similar to the polyps on some caps.

[gjuarez]

Steve, I saw that one. I loved it, the colors on the tips are amazing. Joshua, can you specify a little more. Are you talking about nitrates, phosphates or dissolved organics in general?

[hobogato]

sorry, too much nutrient. he talked about no nutrients is a hinderance, but not as bad as having too many nutrients.

[Pacman]

I think balance has a lot to do with it. You still want algea to be able to grow, but don't want it out of control either. It's trying to find that Zen-like perfect balance theat we're all going for.

[gjuarez]

WOw, if you are cooking rock in your tank that might be one heck of a clean tank. Pacman, if we only knew what the perfect balance was. If you find out dont tell me, I have too much fun making mistakes and doing research myself.

[Reef69]

I think balance has a lot to do with it. You still want algea to be able to grow, but don't want it out of control either. It's trying to find that Zen-like perfect balance theat we're all going for.

I think its more of a matter of preference than balance. I hate algea, any kind..to me hair algea and coralline algea fall in the same category..I hate them! :ph34r ..I like my tank crystal clear, so does Don (Don-n-sa), but there is people that like algea..so..preference over balance is my choice.

[gjuarez]

I used to like coraline algae and I would let it grow all over my back tank wall, but now I dont. In my opinion it kinda looks messy and corals stand out better with a clean background. IF anything, its somewhat of a good indicator of good parameters.

[Reef69]

..Yeah, I really dont like it..i like a clear background. I have a white backdrop (?) so, everything just shines..

[Pacman]

I know what you mean about the background. I used to like a coralline background, but having a black or other dark contrasting background definitely makes the corals pop more.

I still like the live rock to have coralline though. I think bare rock with corals looks a little... I dunno just not as nice I guess.

[gjuarez]

Joshua, the shipping of sps dry was discussed very briefly, it would be cool to expand a bit more on it. If Borneman said it will probably impact the hobby, you know how he has many followers. Feel free to post here about it. Remember anything goes.

[Reef69]

Oh yeah, all of my rock is purple and pink and red.. :shades

[gjuarez]

Agreed, brown rock doesnt look very appealing. Coraline on live rock is a great thing, just not the wall.

[hobogato]

i dont mind it on the ends of the tank, but my tank is visible from front and back, so is really just makes the ends kinda disappear.

[Pacman]

I want this thread to be all sps talk. You want to talk paremeters, lets do it. Lighting, bring it on.

Sorry if we're drifting too far... I guess at least it's still reef related and somewhat relevant.

Do you guys with really powerful MH setups even really get that much coralline though?

[Reef69]

Well, I run 3x250w Coralvue MH's and i dont get alot of it on the glass, but i get some on my calfo..

[hobogato]

i only run 250 watt MH's (3 on and 8' tank) so i am getting pretty good coraline on my rocks, but not much on the glass.

[fishypets]

How long are you guys running your MH'S that are keeping sps? And what bulbs?

[C.Mydas]

We've got 3 400W MH with 4 5ft VHOs and cant keep up with the corraline, The tank went up in July and the starboard is almost covered.

Sorry just to clarify 'we' are Greenmako and myself.

[gjuarez]

Joshua, that is an excellent point. At least with water, temperature will fluctuate less and it will be less drastic for the coral. Hadnt thought about that. Good one.

Pacman, I noticed that but I was just so happy that everybody was talking about reef related stuff that I didnt want to interrupt it. So I am going to lie to myself and pretend that most of us dont like coraline on our walls because it doesnt expose the colors of OUR SPS Corals to the fullest. LOL

[fishypets]

I gave up on the coraline as well. That would take weeks to clean off the back of my glass.

[gjuarez]

Fishy, I started a thread about photoperiod and it was disscussed very briefly. WHat do you think about the trend of cutting the photoperiod of MH shorter? How long do you run yours?

[hobogato]

i run my MH's for 7 hours, they are XM 15k bulbs. most of the SPS i have are frags, but i have started to notice a little growth and all of the colors are better than when i first put them in the tank. i think my tank is still settling in after the move from the smaller tank. i do run my other lights much longer. my moonlights are on 24/7, my 5 - 65 watt PC actinics run from 6am to 9pm and 3- 65 watt PC 50/50 from 8am to 7pm with the halides on from 10am to 5pm.

[Reef69]

..My MH's are 8 in. away from the water surface, and due to the way my aquascape is done, enery single coral gets premium light, lol..I run my halides from 11 am to 9 pm. I have 4ft. VHO's (super actinic) that go on at 9 am and go off at 10 pm.

[fishypets]

I leave my lights on for a long time compared to most. The lights come on at 1:00 p.m. and go off at 11:00 p.m. I run 2X400 14K Hamiltons with no actinics. I am thinking about adding some VHO'S and going to a super white 10K. What are your thoughts?

[gjuarez]

Those seem like sound photoperiods to me. I wish we had Todd and Gary to chime in and give us their take. BTW, thanks for keeping this a quality thread.

Hobo, I have considered 15k xms for a while. A couple of question though. How do you like the color? Do you feel that you get decent growth with them? As far as growth, how do they compare to 10k?

[gjuarez]

Fishy, it depends. How is your growth? I personally like the blue color of hamilton and phoenix 14k, but since I will be starting with frags I want to maximize growth so I will be going with a 10k. WHen the frags become colonies I will probably go PHoenix 14k. BTW, have you taken any pics of your tank yet? I would love to see a pic of it.

[hobogato]

the only 10k i ran was a coralvue, and i hated it, in fact i lost a couple of corals, i think because they just couldnt acclimate to it. i like the color now better than when they were on the 125. on the smaller tank they were only about 8 inches above the surface of the water, and it was too blue for my taste. now, i have them about 11 inches above the water, and the corals are very colorful, not washed out like they were with the 10 k, and the tank doesn't have that overwhelming blue cast.

as far as growth, i bought a blue milli frag from pete about two weeks ago, and it has already encrusted over the 1/8 " of glue that holds it to the rock, and where one of the tips was broken off, about 1/4" diameter, was only white for about 4 days.

i do believe that the health of the coral before you get it also has a major part in how well it does especially for SPS. i used to by frags that were questionable, but now, i am much pickier and have had a lot more success.

[NaCl_H2O]

Great thread, no time to participate tonight ... maybe tomorrow :(

[fishypets]

I am very happy with the growth of all the corals in my tank. I can come home from work and see new growth! There is a few I will need to prune here in the new future. I wonder if I should make the switch or stick to what I know works. I also feel that a CA reactor on a sps tank is a MUST.....I'm kicking myself in the rear for not getting one sooner. I also feel that my Kalk reactor is handy also.

[fishypets]

BTW no pictures of the tank gjuarez. I will send you a pic as soon as I get a decent one.

[gjuarez]

FIshy, if it works for you dont change it. If you are able to sell frags, and nice ones may I say, then you probably dont have growth problems and your color might actually look better that way. Keep them if they are working for you.

[fishypets]

gjuarez,

Do you ever make it to Austin? If so drop me a line before you come to town and you can stop by.

[gjuarez]

As a matter of fact I will be over there on the 20th and 21st of this month for a training. I would love to stop by and check out your tank.

[fishypets]

Cool...I'll be here

[gjuarez]

Awesome. Joshua, since you mentioned that your corals were not doing as well in such clean environments, do you think that there is such a thing as overskimming? THe reason I am asking is because I have a precision marine bullet 2 that I am planning to use on a 75 and its rated for a much bigger tank.

[Richard]

First, I have to say it's refreshing to see a thread that is actually hobby related. interesting, non flaming, and not turning into a small group of "maastards" goofing around and talking about thongs. Kinda reminds me of how maast used to be.



Joshua, the shipping of sps dry was discussed very briefly, it would be cool to expand a bit more on it. If Borneman said it will probably impact the hobby, you know how he has many followers. Feel free to post here about it. Remember anything goes.


Well I'm not Josh but if you don't mind...I sent that article to a wholesaler who has much experience in this area. He has set up numerous collection stations in the pacific. He informed me that he tried this method over ten years ago and it simply doesn't work. He pointed out that most of Borneman's examples involved shipping times under 24 hours and even under 12 in some cases. On the two shipments Borneman had of over 24 hours the first only had a few losses ("got lucky according to this wholesaler") and the second had over 50% losses.

According to this person the thing that is being left out of Borneman's article is that unlike in nature, a bagged coral has a limited air supply and zero air circulation around them. So essentially what ends up happening is the coral slimes over heavily to retain moisture and eventually suffocates itself.

I don't personally have any experience shipping corals but what I did find odd in Borneman's article is that he basically said the industry didn't ship corals dry because they weren't willing to try new things. IMO if wholesalers could save all that money from shipping water thousands of miles and keep that cash in their pockets then they would do it in a heartbeat.

Much more to say/discuss but I gotta go bag some fishies to take home with me tonight :D . GREAT thread...keep it going!

[gjuarez]

Richard, thanks for responding. I write the names of people who initiallyh bring up a specific subject so they can know what I am talking about. Everybody is welcomed and encouraged to give their input. Great info by the way. It truly makes sense and its interesting how borneman didnt take limited air supply into consideration. Keep it coming guys.

[gjuarez]

I did see the pics you posted last week and they had awesome coloration. I hardly ever check levels either, but it is something that I need to pay more attention to. Growth to me will be very important as I am starting with frags, I really like watching corals grow out.

I have never used any supplement other than B Ionic. WHat supplements do you guys use?

[gjuarez]

How many parts of baking soda to washing soda, or is it the other way around?

[Ram_Puppy]

nice thread guys!

[gjuarez]

Ram, tag along in the discussion.

Joshua, it seems like i am picking on you but I am not. You just mention terms that I havent heard before. You mentioned this before, "I'm starting to wonder if photoinhibition is a possibility." What exactly does this mean?

[gjuarez]

NO worries, someone will chime in later and explain further, I hope. HMM.. So if it starts expelling zooxanthellae it will probably loose a lot of its color right?

[Ram_Puppy]

I would love to offer something constructive, but after the 30 hex overheated I lost ALL my SPS... and i haven't bothered to get more until the new tank goes up. (got 2 trashcans filling w/ water as we speak.. mixing salt tomorrow, plumbing tank on sunday!!!!

[gjuarez]

Sure it would be constructive. WHat caused the overheat?

[NaCl_H2O]

Two good SPS related threads going on, not sure where to post ...maybe I'll put more specifics about equipment in the other one ... anyway:

My 215g is largely SPS, a few LPS for color and variety, but 95% SPS + about 6 Tangs and my awesome Mandarin. 6-8" DSB, a ton of LR (~400lbs, Ok 1/5th of a ton), 3@400W 10K Hamilton MHs, and 8@24" Actinic VHOs. Flow is about 30x with 5x from the sump and 25x from two PanWorld 100PXX closed loops with OM Squirts.

As you all know I had a run in with RedBugs a few months ago. I now think Paletta had a good theory that RedBugs can be present in any system, but only cause problems when conditions are correct for them to grow to plauge proportions. I believe my water quality declined somewhat (mostly high dKH) to allow this to happen.

Other equipment includes a large recirculating/needlewheel skimmer (TF 5K), Korallyn 3000 Ca Reactor, and one of Pete's Kalk reactors. I have "fiddled" with the Kalk and CA a great deal. Primarily the Ca Reactor contributes to the dKH level. While it does help maintain Ca levels, there is no way it can keep up with the demands on a large SPS tank. I imagine the Ca Reactor also replinished trace elements, but I have no way to test that. On the other hand, the Kalk reactor contributes FAR more to maintaining Ca levels as well as keeping PH up around 8.1-8.3. Since Paletta's presentation I have locked my parms in at Ca = 400-425, dKH = 9-10, and Temp = 78 (1HP Chiller). My SPS coloration and growth have improved three fold.

Amm/Nitrite/Nitrate ar zero, but I have a large fuge with Macro that grows wild - I prune 2-3g of Macro 2-3 times per month. I strongly believe a fuge is critical for an SPS tank for nutrient export. I am trying a PhosBan reactor now, but the results so far have not been noticable.

SPS preferences:
I started out thinking Digitatas and Caps were the best, I now pretty much avoid these. Too brittle and VERY sensitive to water parameter changes and any type of distress by tank inhabitants.
Acros are great, esp. like Milli's. I'm not one to learn all the names, I just look for "purty" ones ;)
Lately, I have been picking up more "unusual" pieces. Have a few Echinophyllia, and recently picked up a "Green Merulina" that was a great surprise under actinics!

That's probably enough from me :roll Great thread!!!

[gjuarez]

Very nice info about your system. I like millies as well and I used to think monties were the best. I now like acros more but monti caps hold a special place in my heart. LOL I have been wanting to try a phosban reactor but now the organic phosphate thread has me debating that. I dont think I would use phosguard of phosban without that deltec test kit.

[Jeff]

as someonenew to saltwater and now into sps i have been thinking about a few things such as, what is beginers luck in having a beautiful tank. when i started my first tank i did very little to it and all my corals were great. as i learned about things and started to changemy routine on cleaning and adding stuff thats when i started to see thing go wrong here and there. i believe that as the tanks become more sterile and more stable the corals become more sustible to the slightest change. its like a child that gets sick from everything but the body will adjust and you become resistant to different bacteria etc.. keeping nutrients low is good ,trying to eleminate itcould be a disaster waiting to happen because the corals are no longer used it. i havea coupleof more ideas that are probebly wrong but if it causes people to think that is not bad.
every one thought the world was flat.

[::pete::]

I agree .... keep it simple. There isnt anyone out there cleaning the oceans is there? Its the opposite we are making them more poluted. :innocent

[fishypets]

Lets talk a little bit about feeding your sps. Are you guys/gals feeding directly? Target feeding? How much what and how often?

As for me I use a turkey baster and blast the rocks twice a week. This stirrs up all kinds of goodies and the sps seem to love it. I do not add phytoplankton but all seems to be happy.

[::pete::]

I have not fed anything in months except blasting the rock as I always do and I saw no decline. I just grabbed a bar of cyclop-eze the other day so I guess we will see. I have used it before, but just got around to replacing it.

[fishypets]

There for a while I was feeding cyclopeze and DT Oyster eggs never noticed a change after I stoped feeding either.

[::pete::]

I tried the eggs ... nothing before or after.

[fishypets]

Seems like a good way to get 20 bucks from reefers IMO

[::pete::]

Hey wanna freeze up some detritus ?!?! :skeezy

[fishypets]

We could also freeze up some skimmate.

[::pete::]

There you go and it wouldnt smell any worse than DT's.

[Jeff]

there should be enough photoplankton and zooplankton in the detritus to feed the corals. after allthere is so much stuff floating in the ocean i wouldn't be suprised if that most of their food comes detritus.

[fishypets]

We could call it freezecrapez

[::pete::]

or c-word-eze ;) :D

[::pete::]

Looks great as always B. Am I back on the frag list :lol

[fishypets]

What about me? I love your pictures!!!

[::pete::]

VHO's 12 hrs

3 250W 10K XM's the center is on for 5-1/2hrs and the ends for 4-1/2hrs.

[::pete::]

What about me? I love your pictures!!!

ok ok so I lied there wasn't a list :roll :lol

I guess that goes for studying too ... huh? :lol

[fishypets]

What about me? I love your pictures!!!

ok ok so I lied there wasn't a list :roll :lol

I guess that goes for studying too ... huh? :lol

hey if you stop replying to this thread then maybe I can get some studing done :lol

I'm really confused now!

[JeffCo]

Stole Brian's format: ;)

GlassCages 375gal 96" x 36" x 25": It is a BareBottom (BB) tank
with black starboard on the bottom to protect the glass. (pretty much covered in coralline now).

Lighting 2- 400W MH 1 on each side in Lumenarc reflectors. (Left side geisman 10k, right side 14k aquaconnect) 2 PFO 400w HQI ballasts. In the center I have 2 250 watt icecap pendants with 2 14k phoenix bulbs. I use these in the center because my large overflow takes up some space. MH lighing is about 7 hrs. I also have 4 110 watt actnic VHO's that run the length of the tank.

over-sized overflow- contains 2- 2" drains. I think its about 16"x8"
Rubbermaid 150 gallon stock tank for my sump.
Big dual becket skimmer from Matt. Panworld 250 ps running this.
Return Pump Sequence barracuda into 3 seaswirls along the back of the tank.
Flow I have a sequence 5800 that runs through a OM HD 4 way, (scary plumbing that has 8 outlets for the 4way), that provides a ton of flow. I also have 2 of these outlets that are plumbed with a locline rack that blows all the detritius from under the rocks.

Calcium & Alk through a GEO calcium reactor - I use ARM media. I also recently added some Grotech Mg granules to the reactor and have seen some great improvement in SPS color & polyp extension. This has really added some pep to the SPS's in my opinion.

I'm also dosing ESV Kalk through a kalk reactor I made in an online acrylic class. All topoff is done through this with a tunze osmolator.
extra filtration - the overflow dumps into a 100 micron filter sock that I change about every 2 days.
I use to run rowaphos, but stopped after I did not notice a change.

Ca = 415, dKH = 9.6, and Temp = 78 by 1 HP Pacific Coast Chiller
Amm/Nitrite/Nitrate are zero tested by Salifert
I check my levels every other week

I also perform a 50 gallon water change every couple of weeks and scrape any algea growing on the overflow. Since I have started this routine, I have really noticed my SPS are doing much better.

I only feed once a day, but usually feed alot during this time. I use to feed the corals with golden pearls, cycopleeze, etc. but stopped doing this and have never really seen any change in the corals. I think the tank itself provides enough food for them.

Growth: With the two different lighting zones I created with the left & right side of the tank I see different growth/coloration. On the left side with the geisman I get excellent growth. Everything is growing very quickly, (in fact my efflo is getting to big and starting to collide with everything else), it's about 15-18." Color on this side of the tank is OK, moslty the pink & greens, I have a hot pink prostata that is very bright. The middle and the right zones have the 14k lighting - so the blues and the purples really show up. The growth is a little slower than the left side, but a few that stand out are the true blue enchiata, hot pink chalice, quite a few different prostata's and millis. Anyway, it's interesting to see the differences in growth/color between the two sides.

I am toying with the idea of either adding a huge UV 80W or the ozone. Not sure which one, but my tank now is doing fine without them. Will def have to wait until after Christmas.

I don't add any other supplements other than the kalk, calcium reactor, and water changes. I try to keep my tank as pest free as I can by quartining them with a interceptor & lugols treatment.

Lately I have also been turning the close loop off at night and I have noticed even greater polyp extension at night, (not sure if this is because they are reaching farther to grab the food?). Might post more later, boss is coming and have to get back to work. :)

[fishypets]

I hate it when the boss comes around. Sounds like you have a nice set up.

[gjuarez]

I am at work, just doing a quick check up on my thread. So from what I hear its safe to say the detritus is a good source of food for corals?

[LoneStar]

ok ok so I lied there wasn't a list :roll :lol

What a relief! ^_^

[Richard]

Oceanic 215
Lighting 4- 400W MH 10K all xm's although I might go back to cv14k's when it's time to change the bulbs since I haven't seen any difference since I switched to the 10k's and I like the look of the 14k's better. 2 - 72" VHO's 1 actinic 1 actinic white (50/50). VHO's are on for 12 hours, halides on for 7 hrs with two on for 3 hours - all on for 1 hour - then the other 2 on for 3 hours.

Sump-Built by Dan measures 36" Long X 22" Width with a 15" X 10" "fuge" section that just holds a 5" bed of tri base carbon. No macro's.

Skimmer EV240. Only skims about a cup per week.

Return Pump Blueline 40x
Flow 2-Tunze 6100's controlled with a Reefkeeper
Calcium
PM calcium reactor controlled by me. 1 bubble per second seems to work best for me.
PM Kalk Reactor - works great when I remember to always keep kalk in it.

extra filtration - none

Don't run any additional carbon or use any po4 removers.

Auto top off with Spectrapure level controller hooked directly to ro/di

Ca = 390-410, dKH = 9-10, Mg 1300 and Temp = 81 by a bunch of fans

Amm/Nitrite/Nitrate are zero tested by Salifert
Phosphate undetectable with seachem po4 kit

I'm going BB on one half of my tank so I can turn up the flow on one of my tunzes without making a sandstorm. The other half will still have a sandbed because my jawfish said they would hate me if I took it all out.

Try to do a 40 gallon water change every few weeks but sometimes a few weeks turns into a couple of months.

FISH...
Yellow Tang
Convict Tang
Powder Brown Tang
Mimic Tang
CBB
Swallowtail Angel
Yellow Longnose Butterfly
Coral Beauty
Midas Blenny
2 Chalk Bass
1 Lantern Bass
5 Scissortail Gobies
1 Flame Cardinal
3 Orange Stripe Cardinals
1 Diamond Watchman Goby
2 Pearly Jawfish
2 Velvet Wrasse
1 Yellow Coris
1 Maroon Clown
1 Orchid Dottyback
1 Striped Fang Blenny
1 BlueJaw Tilefish
1 Scooter Blenny
1 Spotted Mandarin

Would like to add about 8-10 more mostly small fish like fairy wrasses, a Peppermint Hog, a yellow candy hog, and some more scissortails. I like a busy tank. I used to have a candy hog a several fairy wrasses but they all found a way to jump out. Hopefully I have that fixed now. I feed a mix of mysis,brine, bloodworms, cyclopeeze, tahitian blend, oyster eggs, frozen rotifers, seaweed selects (chopped up in a food processor) all mixed together into frozen flatpacks. During the week I feed the equivalent of about 8 - 10 cubes of food and about double that on my days off. Also put 1/2 sheet of seaweed selects in for tangs almost everyday. The wrasses like it too, go figure?

Equipment I would change...
Not much but I think would spend the extra money for a reverse flow Ca reactor if I had to do it over again. Also I THINK I could get better coverage from the vho's if I used multiple 24" ones going the width of the tank instead of 72" ones running the length of the tank. Not sure about that though.

I'm in the process of removing some corals, redoing a little rockwork to make room for more acros but HERE (http://www.maast.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=16237) are some pics of my tank as of right now.

[gjuarez]

Richard, I really like the aquascaping on your tank. The digitata is huge and the orange monti cap is very colorful. The coral that caught my attention was the purple acro. What type of acro is that? Its hard to tell since its a pic taken from further away.

[Richard]

Thanks, I'm going to add a level on the top of the rockwork so I can "stagger" some acros (if that makes sense). Also I had another shelf going in front of the big cave in the middle but it was overrun with "zoanthids gone wild" so I'll be rebuilding that and putting acros on there also.

My camera won't focus through glass so that's why they are just tank shots. If I try a macro shot it ends up looking like Todd's pictures. Which one are you talking about? Which pic, left/right/middle, Is there a fish near it?

[gjuarez]

the purple acro above and slight to the left of the monti cap, so yeah I guess you could say center.

[Richard]

Unfortunately, I'm not very good with identifying acropora species yet so it's a pretty purple tip one. Actually I had found a pic of it once and have since forgotten the name. I'll see if I can find it again tomorrow. It's a Bali Deepwater aquacultured acro that was just an expensive brown acro when we got it in. Took awhile for it to color up.

[::pete::]

Who is ...

Its the pretty purple one :D

[NaCl_H2O]

Also I THINK I could get better coverage from the vho's if I used multiple 24" ones going the width of the tank instead of 72" ones running the length of the tank. Not sure about that though.
I did that about 6 months ago on my 215, you will like it ... MUCH better coverage :)

[gjuarez]

Is there any one out there keeping SPS using megachrome 14.5 mh bulbs? I have heard great things about them and would like to give them a try.

[greatwit]

My last bulb was a 150w hqi megachrome. I saw good growth and coloration but it was not quite blue enough for my taste(unsupplemented). I think that was in part because of my pfo ballast. E-ballast are supposed to burn the bulb a little bluer. The bulb was also pretty expensive so this time I went with a hamilton 14k.

[gjuarez]

Cool. I have been thinking of giving them a try. My goal as far as lighting will be growth and then color so I am trying to get the bulb taht will give me the best of both. I have used xm 10k and I just want to see what other options there is. Another bulb I have been looking at is the sunburst 12k. Any one using it. Give me your input of SPS growth and color. I also welcome other suggestions.
Jerry

[demodiki]

I am not sure if this has been brought up or not...but have any of you successfully kept sps without MH?

[gjuarez]

I havent, but then again I have never tried it. There is many success stories with people keeping SPS with T5s, there is a couple of members who do so, like Tim Marvin. I have seen some cases on RC where the person was able to keep sps long term with power compacts, but I would never recommend it.

[LoneStar]

it is very possible
click here :w00t (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=700454&perpage=25&highligh t=iwan&pagenumber=1)

Yeah Brian that is a AMAZING tank!! I came across it a few weeks ago and its truely impressive. :)

[gjuarez]

thats an awesome tank. What is all the bacteria and amino acids he is talking about? Is there anyone else here who uses them? If so, can you tell us a bit more.

[gjuarez]

www.prodibio.fr/anglais/accueil.htm

This is the URL Iwan provided, it might be the same as the zeovit method. I have seen some zeovit tanks and the color on the corals is amazing.

[gjuarez]

I am trying to keep the thread going. It was very interesting and informative. So, I have another question. If you had to do your tank again, would you start with colonies or frags and why?

[hobogato]

just did - frags. cheaper (ok so i am as cheap as i can be in this hobby), so you can get more variety from the beginning and it is cool to watch them grow in. we also like buying those brown frags hiding at the bottom of people's frag tanks cause usually the owner doesn't even know what they are or what color they will be. fun to try and guess or just watch things change.

[::pete::]

Frags again to watch them grow ... That is if you can grow them ;)

[gjuarez]

I was thinking of going with frags, I have heard they acclimate better than colonies.

Of course they will grow Pete! I have had good success with sps before under less light and less than perfect parameters. This time I am going to do everything perfect. Before you guys know it I will fragging my colonies.

[Reef69]

Nah, Im going with colonies, maybe a few frags but of very specific corals.

[gjuarez]

Yeah, I am trying to get very specific corals as well. I really like the stuff on reefer madness. Is there any other cool sites?

[Ram_Puppy]

sorry it took so long to reply...

overheat on the 30 was from a bad Mag drive that was putting out a ton of heat, I think the impeller was restricted or something... ne exactly sure, but it's flow was for crap too.

[gjuarez]

WOW, check out this 10 inch tri-color. If anybody gets it I am in for a frag. HINT HINT

[NaCl_H2O]

WOW, check out this 10 inch tri-color. If anybody gets it I am in for a frag. HINT HINT

Yup, that one is tempting, but pricey! This one is nice too!

http://www.reefermadness.us/RMD12090019.htm

[gjuarez]

One of these days a couple of us should get together a get a couple of these and frag them. SOmeone in S.A. should coordinate a Fragapalooza event.

[hobogato]

i agree.

[gjuarez]

Start it off, I would but I think its best if someone from San ANtonio does it.

[LoneStar]

Fragapalooza event.


Sounds like fun :)

[Reef69]

I think a fragapalooza is a great idea..

Three categories:

1- SPS
2- LPS
3- Zoas/Rics

The way it would work (in my opinion..).. I guess post pics of what we have available..meet and trade..food, drinks...fun!..Any thoughts? :)

[gjuarez]

Yeah, we definately need to include some zoos. Sounds like a great idea Diego. I know Joshua has a similar event called fragenstein or something like that. Get with him and coordinate it. LOL

[gjuarez]

I refuse to let this thread die. So who is taking the initiative for Fragapalooza? Joshua?

[hobogato]

i would, but i dont really have much of anything big enough to frag yet.

[NaCl_H2O]

Sorry - group buys/frags are a PITA, ask Josh!

[gjuarez]

Well, at least we tried. Definately something I am going to look at for the RGV crew. We are in desperate need of corals over here. The selection in our LFS is very limited and due to the lack of competition the prices are jacked up.

[gjuarez]

Post edited by gjuarez, it was too long.

[gjuarez]

I recently setup my tank and looking to stock it. What online vendors other than live aquaria and reefermadness do you guys know off?

[gjuarez]

Do you guys feed your sps? If so, what? I have never fed mine in the past.

[LoneStar]

I've heard mixed reviews on DT's Oyster Eggs but I started using them after I got a bunch of SPS frags. I don't direct feed with them, just shave off a slice from the container and drop it in the stream from the Tunze. Alot goes a long way. I've noticed that my SPS haven't died from it lol or without it, so its a toss up. The container says 'works well for SPS'...... It may be expenisve but if you only use it a few times a week, it will last a LONG time.....

[TexasTodd]

Other than the smart Arse "fish poop" you'll get on RC with that question, I like low impact foods. Super small stuff that you don't have to use much of.....so, if they DON"T eat it, it does not negatively impact your system. :)

TT

[Reef69]

I.E Oyster eggs and cyclopeeze is good.. I feed my tank a bunch of small stuff, flakes as a snack, but since im getting the acro crab bug..ive been target feeding my acro crabs, LOL..i dont know why.. :wacko

[gjuarez]

Todd, tell me about it. I read a lot on RC but I try not to post too much on it. Lets just say they are very sensitive people. Hey, but werent you feeding more now so you could get better color on your sps.

In the past I have used a turkey baster to clean my rocks and to feed my sps will all the detritus build up, how effective do you think that is?

I have heard mixed results about the oyster eggs, I think I am trying cyclopeeze.

[TexasTodd]

I think it's a good idea to blow your rocks off...I use a powerhead.

Cyclopeeze, I've heard, is too large for sps, but good for fish and other corals.

DT's Oyster eggs and Golden Pearls--two smallest sizes. www.brineshrimpdirect.com makes them.

Yes, I'm feeding more and added more fish. Actually there are a few threads on RC that don't "say" feed more, they say "heavy bioload sps tanks"....what's the difference? ;)

TT

[gjuarez]

Richard, your thread reminded me of mine so I decided to bump it. This was a good thread anyways. My tank is up and running and I currently have only five frags. More coming soon.

Frags include:
Teal A. Samoensis
Miyagi Tort
Purple Bonzai
Green Slimer
Green "FANCY" Acro

My wish list:
A. Gemmifera
A. Prostata
A. Robusta
A. Humilis
Blue milliepora
Pink Millipora
A. Cytherea
A. Hyacinthus

Dont let the thread die. We need something to talk about that cuts through all the clutter lately.

[TexasTodd]

http://www.reefermadness.us/RMD04049016.htm ;)

TT

[gjuarez]

Thats a nice one, i had never seen one like that with green tips. Its pretty cheap too, well not cheap but not nearly as high priced as some of the others are. Good find.

[hobogato]

i have a frag from them of that same coral (at least the pic looked the same when i ordered 6 months ago) that i almost lost, but has now started to recover. it was that color when it came in, just not quite as intense. now, it is green and with blue/grey tips. it is a pretty fast grower too. when i almost lost the frag bc of stn, i broke it into 3 - one was about 1/4 " and the other two were just tips with about 3 coralites each. now they are all encrusting well, and the bigger piece has at least doubled since it was fragged up.

[hammondegge]

question to all.
what percentage of Acro frags do you find ? after introduction to your system.
RTN?
STN?
Receed yet recover?
Never exhibet any stress?

[hammondegge]

what about the same for Acro colonies?

[gjuarez]

RTN, not often at all. RTN mainly happends with sudden changes. STN, just a very few times, receed a little and then recover. I cant say that my frags never exhibit any stress, in the past I have had temperature problems and I have lost a battle to red bugs for deciding not to treat. As far as percentages, very low. SPS corals are more hardy than most people think IMO.

[hobogato]

^^^my response would be almost word for word the same as jerry's^^^

[hammondegge]

from a sampling of only 15 frags i think my experience has been
rtn 1 (7%)
stn 3 (20%)
receed 2 (14%)
no stress 10 (67%)
with all but one of the losses when the system was younger. do you think that this is skewed by the early losses or is this a pretty typical representation? i didnt count DOAs.

[gjuarez]

Yeah, that sounds a bit accurate i think. You forgot to mention the ones that brown out. I used to have a few of those too. LOL My color on my frags right is great with the exception of one that is not doing to well. It fell over the weekend and it was facing down.

[gjuarez]

bump for old times sake

[LoneStar]

bump for old times sake

:)

[fishypets]

Well I wish I had something to talk about Jerry, but all my acros are gone.

[JeremyGlen]

It is kinda weird to go back and read the first page of this thread and see those posts by people who were just getting into sps then and now have/had great reefs and frag stuff all the time.

[gjuarez]

What happened Clint?

[gjuarez]

I loved this thread so I am bringing it back. Ace, you have come a long way my friend. I remember the days.. So whats new these days with SPS. Any new species? Last I remember the 500 efflo, purple monster and texas tort were the in thing.. Whats new?

[LoneStar]

I loved this thread so I am bringing it back. Ace, you have come a long way my friend. I remember the days.. So whats new these days with SPS. Any new species? Last I remember the 500 efflo, purple monster and texas tort were the in thing.. Whats new?

http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=47755

[Andrew v.s wild]

I've wanted to have SPS in my 75g tank, but i think my lighting is not strong enough.
This is what i have
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~category~48_inch_Current_USA_Nova_Extr eme_2x54_watt_T5_HO_10K_460nm_36in_Units~vendor~Cu rrent_USA~SearchStr~nove+extreme%2ct5+ho%2c460nm~a ction~view~idProduct~CU01126~idCategory~FILTFIT56U .html
Can anyone tell me if it is underpowered or if it will do?
What do i need that i'snt to pricey so i can finally house SPS?

[gjuarez]

I dont think that would be enough, perhaps two more 54 watters would work but still need strong lighting for sps.. Sps IMO also prefer 420nm as opposed to 460nm... You might be able to get away with some Digitatas.. I'll let others chime in and see what they think

[Mr Cob]

Man this thread has been around!

So I recently started adding SPS to my reef after my Monti Caps started taking off a few months ago.

I do not have a calcium reactor but I'm curious who else doesn't that grows a heavy SPS load? What do you do to keep things stable without the reactor?

[LoneStar]

I do not have a calcium reactor but I'm curious who else doesn't that grows a heavy SPS load? What do you do to keep things stable without the reactor?

Water changes and/or two part dosing......

[glennr1978]

Man this thread has been around!

So I recently started adding SPS to my reef after my Monti Caps started taking off a few months ago.

I do not have a calcium reactor but I'm curious who else doesn't that grows a heavy SPS load? What do you do to keep things stable without the reactor?


I have exactly 40 different types of SPS in my 40g (I actually counted today, lol), and one clam without a reactor. I dose B-Ionics through a DIY dosing pump that I threw together awhile back. I've been using it for probably around 9 months now and have yet to have any kind of problems.

check it out. http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46953

[Mr Cob]

Water changes and/or two part dosing......

I think I will start increasing my water changes and start dosing 2 part solution.


I have exactly 40 different types of SPS in my 40g (I actually counted today, lol), and one clam without a reactor. I dose B-Ionics through a DIY dosing pump that I threw together awhile back. I've been using it for probably around 9 months now and have yet to have any kind of problems.

check it out. http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46953

Thanks for the link...I'll check it out.

[ErikH]

Bernie also uses 2 part, IIRC. I used to dose kalk which works wonders.

[swjim]

I'm using the two part from www.bulkreefsupply.com and it's working great. Much cheaper than Bi-onic.

[gjuarez]

Took a look at that two part mentioned above..... Been out of the hobby for a while never heard of it. How is it working for you guys? I know some of the folks over here were making their own from calcium chloride and dow flake. I am scared to try calcium hydroxide on my little nano, i think it might mess around with my PH too much since its a small body of water

[LoneStar]

You can still use 2 part on a nano. You just have to test your water. Bust out the test kit and do a log for a week or 2, every day, heck twice a day. Figure out how much of a demand your tank is using in that time frame. After that the 2 weeks, dose small and see how much you may need to use to bring up your paramaters. After you get a good idea on what your daily usage is, its pretty easy. Of course the more corals you buy, the higher the demand might be. You'll just have to adjust accordingly.

If you keep up with water changes, you may not even have to dose to begin with. Your values may be good enough without dosing.

[gjuarez]

Well i have always used B-ionic, i was very happy with it. Weekly water changes is probably what i'll stick with, if anything dose a little bit of mag.. Most salt mixes are low on it.. I'd like to dose calcium hydorxide at night but still scared

[greenmako]

Well i have always used B-ionic, i was very happy with it. Weekly water changes is probably what i'll stick with, if anything dose a little bit of mag.. Most salt mixes are low on it.. I'd like to dose calcium hydorxide at night but still scared


Good to see you back, do you have any info posted about your current tank?
calcium hydroxide isn't as scary as it sounds

[gjuarez]

What worries me is the effect it will have on my PH being that its such a small body of water.. I have a small doser that I'd like to use as top off/kalk doser. Guess i could give it a try. If it goes well, i'll skip the two part and stick with that and frequent water changes

[greenmako]

just start with a tiny amount in your top off and you should be fine, and monitor closely for a while to you get the dosage correct.