Any advice for a first time SPS keeper?

[Kmore1219]

So I went into the unique corals live sale hoping to score lps as that’s what I’ve always kept but I just couldn’t resist all the sticks for the great price! I ended up getting a few to test out the waters (haha made a pun) and see if SPS will work in my tank. It is a 125g with a 40g sump, a little over a year old. I’ve got coralline algae starting to grow everywhere which people have told me is a good sign for my tank. Do you SPS pros have any good advice like where I should put the Acro when I first get them and how long I should wait before mounting them in their final spots?

 

[XNavyDiver]

So I went into the unique corals live sale hoping to score lps as that’s what I’ve always kept but I just couldn’t resist all the sticks for the great price! I ended up getting a few to test out the waters (haha made a pun) and see if SPS will work in my tank. It is a 125g with a 40g sump, a little over a year old. I’ve got coralline algae starting to grow everywhere which people have told me is a good sign for my tank. Do you SPS pros have any good advice like where I should put the Acro when I first get them and how long I should wait before mounting them in their final spots?

Dip your corals in Bayer, place in a frag rack at the lower end of your tank. Move them up the glass bit by bit over a few weeks. Once acclimated, mount in a place that gets high flow and higher par in your tank. I like to mount onto a piece of rubble so I can move it around over time and find a spot the coral seems to like. Then I will glue it down to the main rock work.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Do you currently have a plan in place for dosing/supplementing calcium and alkalinity?

You are likely going to need the test your alkalinity more often then you do now. What happens to a lot of SPS newbies is they get a few SPS, everything is going good, then they start growing and alk consumption increases, your alk bottoms out, and then they die.

 

[Scott.h]

Don't assume because they are sps they need a ton of light and flow. It's best to figure out if they are deep water acros or what. The thin skinned sps are easy to blow the skin off with too much flow as well. Stability more then anything. Dosing pumps are awesome. I don't think lps are any harder the sps really. A little more flow.

 

[Kmore1219]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I always hear people’s horror stories of how they lose all their corals so wanted to be prepared for what I’m getting myself into.

 

[Alex Costa]

Just keep Ra/Ca stable (really really atables) over the months.......and don't mess with things around.
Let the tank go.

 

[XNavyDiver]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I always hear people’s horror stories of how they lose all their corals so wanted to be prepared for what I’m getting myself into.

As mentioned before, creating stable alk, ca+ and mg+ is an important part for many types of sps, especially acropora. Many people achieve this by dosing pumps or ca+ reactors. Obviously having good testing equipment for these is essential. Haunt the chemistry forum and search out threads about the big 3 and maintaining stability. Randy is a huge source of info and help there.

 

[Kmore1219]

Luckily I’ve had a lot of luck with keeping a stable tank with the little amount of equipment I have. I’ll have 2 millie and 2 unknown Acro going in, all small frags. I’ll start looking into dosing systems or a calcium reactor, Hopefully I’ll have a good amount of time to get them and can make do with just more frequent water changes.

 

[foxt]

Dosing will be cheaper to get started. When you say you have been able to keep a stable tank, what do you keep now, and what are your dkh, ca, and mg at?

Enjoy your first few frags. It is a slippery slope, my friend!

 

[erky]

best advice i can offer is expect to lose some SPS b/c of your limited knowledge, the learning curve is quick, but assuming a water change will replenish the alk/ca your corals are using only works for so long. Figure out a dosing schedule either manual or automated, make sure your lighting is up to what you have purchased, and welcome to the dark side.

 

[Kmore1219]

best advice i can offer is expect to lose some SPS b/c of your limited knowledge, the learning curve is quick, but assuming a water change will replenish the alk/ca your corals are using only works for so long. Figure out a dosing schedule either manual or automated, make sure your lighting is up to what you have purchased, and welcome to the dark side.

Yeah I definitely started expecting to lose some but got lucky in grabbing some $5-20 Frags so it wont hurt the wallet too much lol. I’m going to start looking into a pump now and will most likely waste my next pay check on it.

 

[erky]

Yeah I definitely started expecting to lose some but got lucky in grabbing some $5-20 Frags so it wont hurt the wallet too much lol. I’m going to start looking into a pump now and will most likely waste my next pay check on it.

things that are easier than acros, montiporas/stylos might want to focus on those before wasting a ton of money.

 

[Centurio]

What type of SPS -- they are not all the same? Not even close? What kind of lights? What kind of flow? What kind of fish? What are your water parameters and how often and with what do you test? Hard to answer your question without knowing some of the basics.

 

[Kmore1219]

What type of SPS -- they are not all the same? Not even close? What kind of lights? What kind of flow? What kind of fish? What are your water parameters and how often and with what do you test? Hard to answer your question without knowing some of the basics.

2 millepora, 2 unknown Acro, I’ll put photos of which ones I got. I have t5s, lots of flow I have 4 power heads going in the tank I can get specific gph for each later if you want. For fish I have a blue tang, yellow tang, and a Melanurus wrasse. I’ll do a test when I get back home but I usually test once a week.

 

[Kmore1219]

things that are easier than acros, montiporas/stylos might want to focus on those before wasting a ton of money.

Thanks I’ll definitely look into getting those! I only got the acros because it’s the cheapest I will ever get them so I figured better to try out on a $5 frag rather than anything expensive.

 

[reefndude]

In a 125 with only 4 frags isn't going to take up alk and ca quickly. I do recommend picking up some test kits to get the hang of using them. If you do regular water changes that will more than likely take care of it at first. Do make sure your new salt water parameter matches tank parameters. Once you get your feet wet with sps there is no turning back. In the mean time do your research on dosing and maybe start collecting your equipment

 

[Cory]

Always have some no3 and po4 never let it get to zero.

 

[Kmore1219]

Wow thanks for all the advice everyone! I’m excited to finally be stepping up my reefing game!

 

[Salt1972]

Kmore-

I'm a newbie running just a few months ahead. Our perspective, in combination with the seasoned experts here on R2R, may present to a similar chord.

My daughter and I ran a 55g tank for 4+ years with many LPS - Duncan's, Frogspawn, Xenia, GSP, etc. We started a new 125g in September and that was the first time we even considered Alk, Ca, & Mag. It was also the first time we began keeping a tighter control on nitrates and phosphates. Water changes were not keeping up with Alk/Ca demand. We tried Kalk in our ATO, but found that our tank had higher demand and required 2 part in addition. In the last few weeks, we weaned the Kalk from the system to focus on 2 part only. We started using Red Sea Foundation A / B and then switched to BRS (Randy's) 2 part in December. We're still dosing manually, but we bought a dosing system 2 weeks ago and have been running tests since to assess the consistency and accuracy. We'll likely set it up next weekend. I compare the dosing systems to an aviation / marine auto pilot. We can steer a boat or a plane manually, but you'll never maintain a course as stable as the machine.

We started our venture with the idea we would take water samples to our LFS for testing. The inconsistency (and hassle) we found did not inspire confidence. We ended up reading the forums about chemistry and testing and opted for a slightly mixed bag of testing equipment. We use Hanna Instruments for Alk, Ca, & Phosphate (ULR) and NYOS for Mag & Nitrates. We still don't have a pH meter... Once we began a regular testing regimen, the patterns were clear.

FWIW- my daughter and I said we'd NEVER test monthly and get into dosing... now we test Alk daily (that'll likely back off to weekly soon) and all parameters weekly. As we've gotten to know our tank, I think we'll be able to assume a monthly or bi-monthly testing schedule soon. We enjoy it and the ability to predict the results based on patterns and observations is very satisfying.

We've learned A LOT from R2R over the last several months. We have a lot yet to learn, but we're in... entranced.

As a result, the health and success of this tank is a whole different world. Our fish, corals, and inverts are thriving (with only the occasional set back). We have large colonies of Duncan & Frogspawn, but, in the SPS / more advanced coral categories, we added Red Setosa, Sunset Monti, Hawkins Enchinata, Cali Tort, Maze Brain, Leptastrea, Cyphastrea, Blastos, Palys, Zoas, etc.

We now have reefer's disease. Hi, my name is Matt and I'm a reefer... Come on in, the water's warm. About 78 to be exact.

 

[Erick Armanii]

Kalkwasser in your ato is a good start, cheap to implement and really simple. Ultimately your going to want to use a dosing system to give you more accurate and consistent levels. I have very few sps and doing fine with kalkwash in the ato.

Honestly, some of the prices I’ve seen on dosing pumps are extravagant! $450 bucks for a GHL Doser or 600 for the neptunes Dos x2!

My intentions were to run kalk and save a little money before buying a decent dosing pump. Then sales like @uniquecorals comes around and well............... kalkwash is gonna have to stick around for a little longer lolololol!!