Any advice for a first time SPS keeper?

[erky]

I think the necessity for dosing has been over stated (just read the first page). A couple tester sticks in a 125 gallon won’t need any supplementation. It will take a surprising amount of sps mass to require you to start supplementing I’ve got several large colonies of trash sps (monti, birdsnest, stylo, pocci) and a couple dozen acropora ranging from moderate size colony (several dozen branches at lengths of 6-7”) down to small frags, and I can’t even Dose full strength kalkwasser in my ato. Your regular water changes alone will be enough even if they’re seldom. Those little frags won’t impact your calcium and alk

Agreed, but we all know how this "hobby" gets addicting and when it comes to owning 50 different frags then they all die, it is b/c the alk was 5dkh or something and person gets upset b/c they were doing water changes thinking that is all they needed. OP asked what advice we could give, and getting a dosing system setup and operational is the best bet forward.

 

[Bpb]

Agreed, but we all know how this "hobby" gets addicting and when it comes to owning 50 different frags then they all die, it is b/c the alk was 5dkh or something and person gets upset b/c they were doing water changes thinking that is all they needed. OP asked what advice we could give, and getting a dosing system setup and operational is the best bet forward.

Can’t argue it’s a good idea to have a plan in place.

 

[Kmore1219]

Guys I gotta say the advice I’ve gotten is amazing! I got my acros in today and they are looking fantastic! Of course I’ve gotta show off some eye candy. Sorry if the photos are not the best, still learning the art of the shot. I’m working on getting a dosing system, which will take about a month so I’m going to have to rely on something else until then.

 

[foxt]

nice frags ... it's a slippery slope you're on!

 

[Kmore1219]

nice frags ... it's a slippery slope you're on!

ive already slipped and fallen and I can’t get up

 

[rck329]

Very nice frags! Good size and color! I'm still a newbie with acros myself and I can't add to what's already been said, but can reiterate on the nutrients. I have killed many an acro frag with 0 nutrients. There's no doubt in my mind. I now try to maintain above 0 and even dose them if I have to. That combined with minimizing swings of any parameter will get you started and keep them alive, IMO. Then it's a matter of tweaking and stability to get them to thrive.

I've also resigned myself to accept the fact that sometimes a certain coral just won't do well no matter what you do. So don't get discouraged and keep trying.

I remember reading or seeing somewhere that for a long time Joe Yaiullo couldn't keep a common SPS (maybe it was birdsnest?) in his (INCREDIBLE) reef. So that just goes to show you some things are out of our control. (Joe is one of the best reefkeepers on the planet, so... check out the Long Island Aquarium).

 

[rosshamsandwich]

don't do it

 

[David S]

I know it's already been suggested that corals, especially SPS, want consistency.
This is true, but when you think about it the main way of doing this is through the proper use of your equipment.
So I would recommend that, when feasable have back ups for your equipment.
Furthermore, and this is important, never assume that because your doser, skimmer, pump etc was running yesterday it is working today or will work tomorrow.
Check daily. Your equipment may have certain indicaters.
For example, you may be familiar with wave patterns a particular pump makes. If you don't see it, it could mean your pump isn't running.
Just last night, the aerator in my Protein Skimmer stopped running.
This could have went undetected if not for the fact that I was familiar with the noise the aerator makes and when I didn't hear it I knew there was trouble. It turned it was clogged with debris and everything is fine now.
The point is it has been my experience that undetected equipment failures usually will cause things to go south.
When all your equipment is running as they should, your corals will thank you, by thriving.