Being Confident With SPS (SPS SWAGGER)

TCK Corals
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Well am pretty new to acros, starting after 6 years away from the hobby.
Definitely low in confidence in acros but funnily my tank has only sps and 90% acros.

Buying from a reputed seller or a person you know of to have pestfree tank , takes it a long way. Think starting with the healthiest frags definitely gives me some confidence to go forward.

Testing ALK everyday for the past 5 months . In the beginning it was chore but now it has become part of routine . And buying Hanna Reagent every month from BRS as part of BRS Group Buy . Its just giving me more confidence that I can catch an error in my ALK readings within 24 hrs as opposed to 48 or more when the acros start STN or shows other signs.

Regards,
Abhishek
 
Perfect timing for a post like this for me. My tank is almost 6 months old, I have spared no expense and plan to start ourchasing some "beginner" SPS this week. My confidence that I will be successful stems from the fact all my LPS and softies have thrived so far and I have become so regimented with testing/maintenance how could I fail? I am sure I will encounter some issues but I will live and learn....ride or die!
 
Nutramar Foods
Ditto to what everyone said!!! Wish i never enter the darkside of SPS. Always trumps with my confident levels and don't think I'll ever be able to say that I'm cool with it...everyday remains trial and error and the slightest changes throw things out of sps wacko but def not boring and very overly stimulating with rewarding gratification inwhich was what lead me to leave other types of coral...and remain a stick head!!! Excited to hear what all the sps guru have to say!!!
 
Just get an alkalinity monitor/controller! :D

I personally have found (in life) and reef keeping that staying humble is the most important thing, generally when you start getting confident about things that is when life really has a habit of kicking your butt.

I think when you are "in tune" with your system, you will realize when it's time to just go on and drop that Homewrecker frag on in there.
 
Rick.45cal said:
Just get an alkalinity monitor/controller! :D

I personally have found (in life) and reef keeping that staying humble is the most important thing, generally when you start getting confident about things that is when life really has a habit of kicking your butt.

I think when you are "in tune" with your system, you will realize when it's time to just go on and drop that Homewrecker frag on in there.
Click to expand...

An Alkalinity monitor with Dastaco Calcium reactor :D .. That will definitely give me all the confidence after making my bank balance negative !!!!
But someday ...... However, I would then go for Purple Monster and Pink Panthers !!!

Regards,
Abhishek
 
WWC
Abhishek said:
An Alkalinity monitor with Dastaco Calcium reactor :D .. That will definitely give me all the confidence after making my bank balance negative !!!!
But someday ...... However, I would then go for Purple Monster and Pink Panthers !!!

Regards,
Abhishek
Click to expand...

My pink panther is starting to take off!
 
Flippers4pups said:
Maybe time for a dosing unit if it's moving that much. Lol
Click to expand...

Hahaha, I have had dosing pumps and or calcium reactors for many years. At this time I use a dosing pump for the main 3 plus no3 po4x.
I do not mean to sound arrogant but I am a little more than slightly Aspberger so I just say things the way they go through my head.
When you have a tank you should automatically dismiss advice from someone that can set and forget their dosing. There is not such a thing and I will explain why.
When you have say 50 sps of various kinds they start to grow. So when things are going well those 50 1 inch frags get larger. Well the larger they are the more directions they grow from and the more elements they consume. That begins to multiply. So you start out adding 1ml per month extra. After 6 months or a year you are adding 4 to 5 ml per day extra every week. It just keeps multiplying. Some weeks I am boosting 20ml a day per week. Then you, like myself will do something stupid or have an accident and all of a sudden you are down 75-100 ml per day. Then you start the process over with the climb. Then you change lights or get bad salt or whatever.
Reef tanks are Grief tanks according to my buddy Mike.
If you don't experience this type of thing you are extremely good beyond most or you might be doing something wrong and your tank is not growing like it could.
 
I would consider myself a sps fledgling haha managed to grow out many a frag and color them up ok under leds. I hand dose. Test alk every two days.

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IMG_9835.JPG
 
Deltec
not sure if i should be part of that post, for many reason.... I have been in fresh water for many many years... 10+ easy... finaly decided to switch to salt water in January 2016, started my system in May, my system is not even 1year old. i read a lot.. A LOT... seriously, when i get into something... i kinda focus on hit hardcore. I pretty much build and started my system alone. I knew from the start that i wanted to have a SPS tank, but i was given advice like ' you need an old tank' or 'mature tank', newbie can't have SPS..need to wait X months before adding any SPS, etc..etc.. and so on and so on.. Let say that early on my project... most reefer i met told me i woudl fail... Confidence level... high due to my nature.. but always felt in the back on my mind that something would happen and crash everything, becasue of some elemental stuff i did not know..

On the other hand, i was lucky enought to meet a few old time SPS guys, and they gave me 1 advice... SPS stands for ''Stabilité Pour Succès'' (in french) means Stability for succes, so first pieces of equipment i got were dosing pump and a controler, i did not realized at the time but best purchases ever. My professional back ground been process Eng. i'm pretty familair with bioprocess and controls... adding to my experience in fresh water to maintain balance in a high tech tank... Then... i tested... like a freak... for the first 6 months i tested multiple time per week if not daily, just to understand how my system was behaving... Crazy i know... but i had to (in my mind). I also have a routine for maintenance and cleaning.

Decided to jump into SPS with my first acro 2 months after water was in... since then i added... more.... and more... and more acro to my 85g system...i have now 100% SPS system... I do not consider myself an expert.. i still learn everyday. but i think any reefer can keep SPS, just need to be consistant, know your system (test as often as you can until you understand it), and keep stable parameters. I believe i acheived coloration and growth and i'm pretty proud of my system.

am I confident... YES... only longevity will tell... when i see 5 -10 + year old tank.. these are accomplishment and i have a long road ahead!

2017-03-26.JPG
 
Far from it. Finally brave enough to attempt a Montipora focused tank though.

Spending lots of time with my Hanna Alk checker and re-ordering test reagents. Testing every other day...dosing Bionic ESV manually. I have the auto doser but too scared to hook it up yet and I'm only dosing about 5ml every other day.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Finally got things dialed in an stable on my 300 DD and SPS coloring up nicely (took a few weeks) and showing some good growth on some slower on others. The tank is only 5 months old but been keeping reefs since 1990. Got my fingers crossed that everything will keep going strong. Back to checking chemistry only twice a week now that things are stable. I will post some pictures when I get back from my business trip. You see I am some addicted that I am reading the forum even in my spare time on the road. :)
 
When your LFS guy is so confident in you that he gives you his ridiculously priced bugger of Beach Bum monti because he knows you can grow it into a parent colony faster and more colorful than he can. And I am.. :cool:
 
Chewy.com
My system as it is has been running since Sept 2016, I have all the right equipment, combo lighting Kessil AP700s and T5s, Kalk dosing, maintain and test almost everyday. I have APEX Gold, big 10" skimmer (STO-5000) with Avast neck cleaner, 3 each Marine Pure blocks. 6 stage RODI with water saver, test for chlorine every week, always 000TDS. 55 gallon water changes every week. Just got rid of all Aiptasia, no pests as I eliminated AEFW and monti eating nudis before the tank move in Aug 16. Some bryopsis but I'll be curing that next week. Large and great looking BRS Pukani rock aged >1 year, use the best media (BRS ROX carbon and HC GFO when needed. Feed the best quality foods I can find (Hikari and NLS pellets, Nori, PE mysis, other frozen foods). I also feed occasionally BRS Reef chili or other SPS foods. Fish are fat and happy.

I have over 50 acro frags a few small colonies. Better than 90% survival rate for acros and SPS, all others 100%. Dip everything with Bayer.

I feel confident I can keep any SPS alive right now but my problem is growth, not color. I solved my pale colors with potassium nitrate (~10ppm). PO4 is .05 via Hanna ULR Phosphorus checker. ALK 10, Cal 465, Mag 1450, salinity 35 ppt. My system consumes Kalk and Mag only right now, ~4 gallons saturated Kalk everyday. Just reduced that to allow ALK to drop some.

I just feel like my corals are not growing like they should be. I have really great growth on Montis and a few acros but others seem stunted. I don't add a bunch of stuff, keep it simple with water changes and food. I don't really know why the growth seems slow-none.

Ideas? Please?
 
bif24701 said:
My system as it is has been running since Sept 2016, I have all the right equipment, combo lighting Kessil AP700s and T5s, Kalk dosing, maintain and test almost everyday. I have APEX Gold, big 10" skimmer (STO-5000) with Avast neck cleaner, 3 each Marine Pure blocks. 6 stage RODI with water saver, test for chlorine every week, always 000TDS. 55 gallon water changes every week. Just got rid of all Aiptasia, no pests as I eliminated AEFW and monti eating nudis before the tank move in Aug 16. Some bryopsis but I'll be curing that next week. Large and great looking BRS Pukani rock aged >1 year, use the best media (BRS ROX carbon and HC GFO when needed. Feed the best quality foods I can find (Hikari and NLS pellets, Nori, PE mysis, other frozen foods). I also feed occasionally BRS Reef chili or other SPS foods. Fish are fat and happy.

I have over 50 acro frags a few small colonies. Better than 90% survival rate for acros and SPS, all others 100%. Dip everything with Bayer.

I feel confident I can keep any SPS alive right now but my problem is growth, not color. I solved my pale colors with potassium nitrate (~10ppm). PO4 is .05 via Hanna ULR Phosphorus checker. ALK 10, Cal 465, Mag 1450, salinity 35 ppt. My system consumes Kalk and Mag only right now, ~4 gallons saturated Kalk everyday. Just reduced that to allow ALK to drop some.

I just feel like my corals are not growing like they should be. I have really great growth on Montis and a few acros but others seem stunted. I don't add a bunch of stuff, keep it simple with water changes and food. I don't really know why the growth seems slow-none.

Ideas? Please?
Click to expand...

Alk too high for your nutrient level. You need to work out this one for a start
 
Looks like you have a pretty blue thumb to me... How long have you had that queen angelfish in the tank? How is it behaving?
 
Deltec
Donovan Joannes said:
Alk too high for your nutrient level. You need to work out this one for a start
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with your observation, what I am wondering is do you have any kind of correlation you use? Like, if nutrients levels are X, Alk should be Y? I know it's not exact numbers, but a focused range?
 
TCK Corals

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