Do you need to choose between LPS and SPS?

[Deadlocked]

The guy at my LFS told me you need to choose between an LPS or SPS tank because LPS like dirtier water and higher nitrates and SPS prefer clean water and really low nitrates. Is this accurate? Thanks in advance.

 

[T-J]

No.

 

[JGT]

Bad info.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

The guy at my LFS told me you need to choose between an LPS or SPS tank because LPS like dirtier water and higher nitrates and SPS prefer clean water and really low nitrates. Is this accurate? Thanks in advance.

I think what’s he’s trying to get at is the journey for a mixed reef compaired to a reef set up for specific types of corals will be a much harder one to follow especially for a beginner. Not impossible but definitly more for the experienced reefer unless you don’t mind killing a lot of corals wasting money to get thru the very long learning curve. It is hard to get the proper balance between keeping the requirements for both types of corals inside that small box then it is to keep the requirements for 1 type of coral. I hope I said this right to get my point across

 

[Reefing102]

Nowadays, that’s bad info. Back in the day even, I’d say that was still not 100% accurate info. You’ll find plenty of examples on here of mixed tanks with SPS and LPS. The only thing you need to watch for is the sweeper tentacles in the LPS. I’d say most LPS have the ability to kill SPS.

Edit to add: I think @((FORDTECH)) nailed it with it can be a little difficult to keep both if you don’t know which ones kill each other and the individual requirements for each, like LPS are lower flow, SPS are higher flow

 

[Pico bam]

Its simply a bit harder to have a mixed reef. You can't cater to everybody's(coral) needs. Tho most people are successful with mixed reefs. Sps can be a bit of a struggle in the beginning for some.

 

[JPM San Diego]

Missing from the conversation above is the varied requirements of LPS and especially SPS corals. Some SPS are not hard to keep such as my montipora and my Hollywood Stunner ,Echinopora lamellosa. In my mixed reef tank, I don't keep the more difficult SPS species such as acropora. I am no expert, but I'll bet there are more delicate/hard to keep LPS corals too.
We get into trouble when we consider everything with broad brush strokes in a hobby with hundreds of species.
We miss the nuances.

 

[JPM San Diego]

Beginners should start with easy to keep species of mushrooms, softies, LPS, and or SPS corals.
As skills increase, then tackle medium hard to keep species.
When skills are more "expert," then the sky's the limit. (or more likely the wallet)

 

[Rmckoy]

It used to be more common for beginners to start with soft corals and adding some lps .
eventually slowly adding a few cheaper pieces of sps as trial pieces until everything matured .
I agree it is slightly more challenging to keep a mixed tank but … I have always kept what everyone calls mixed .

my dream build will be focused on geographic location and choosing species that originate there .
That being said captive bred and aquaculture corals are the way to go now … is this build still
Possible ?

 

[Borat]

Make them fight each other - the fittest wins/survives! Hooray!

 

[SPR1968]

You can have both together, I’ve got 2 large mixed reef systems, just go for normal tank parameters etc and you will be fine.

If you know what your doing you can add either from the start, it’s all about keeping the correct and stable water parameters.

Just think of yourself as a ‘keeper of water’

 

[Lavey29]

While I agree with the responses I think experienced reefers can manage it. I am a novice with an 8 month old tank. I was finally getting some stability and my LPS were doing well. My coral shop gave me a free frag SPS as a beginner tester coral. My nutrients were slightly elevated and the purple stylo went into decline. As my nutrients level came down slowly the SPS frag got better but now my LPS don't seem as happy with a few heads here and there in decline. It is definitely a challenging hobby.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

While I agree with the responses I think experienced reefers can manage it. I am a novice with an 8 month old tank. I was finally getting some stability and my LPS were doing well. My coral shop gave me a free frag SPS as a beginner tester coral. My nutrients were slightly elevated and the purple stylo went into decline. As my nutrients level came down slowly the SPS frag got better but now my LPS don't seem as happy with a few heads here and there in decline. It is definitely a challenging hobby.

This is exactly what I’m talking about and op needs to read and be aware of. This is the 80% of peoples experiences

 

[Tamberav]

The guy at my LFS told me you need to choose between an LPS or SPS tank because LPS like dirtier water and higher nitrates and SPS prefer clean water and really low nitrates. Is this accurate? Thanks in advance.

No.

 

[Tamberav]

While I agree with the responses I think experienced reefers can manage it. I am a novice with an 8 month old tank. I was finally getting some stability and my LPS were doing well. My coral shop gave me a free frag SPS as a beginner tester coral. My nutrients were slightly elevated and the purple stylo went into decline. As my nutrients level came down slowly the SPS frag got better but now my LPS don't seem as happy with a few heads here and there in decline. It is definitely a challenging hobby.

I have a huge purple stylo and some acros and I let my Nitrates get to 30 and PO4 get to 0.1 without any decline. Some people have SPS in fairly dirty tanks. That thing grew kinda huge. Yet before that my nitrate was 2-5 and 0.02-0.05 and LPS and softies were still happy then too.

I think an aged tank and live rock has a big impact on the numbers game.

Tank Parameters Of Some Masters

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[Lavey29]

I have a huge purple stylo and some acros and I let my Nitrates get to 30 and PO4 get to 0.1 without any decline. Some people have SPS in fairly dirty tanks. That thing grew kinda huge. Yet before that my nitrate was 2-5 and 0.02-0.05 and LPS and softies were still happy then too.

I think an aged tank and live rock has a big impact on the numbers game.

Tank Parameters Of Some Masters

Tank Parameters Of Some Masters To this day one of the most frequently asked questions I get, and actually that many “old time hobbyists” get is “How do I get rid of the algae in my tank. My first question then is “what are the parameters of...

www.reef2reef.com

Age of the tank. Live rock, experienced reefer stabil parameters with proper dosing, etc... all can contribute to success in this area as you are an example. For the majority of average reefers it can be difficult to keep a mixed reef running well. Not saying it can't be done but certainly not an easy task for the novice.

 

[Lavey29]

This is exactly what I’m talking about and op needs to read and be aware of. This is the 80% of peoples experiences

I agree, unless you have a mature tank with very stabil parameters, it is difficult and really only certain SPS seem to be able to adapt to LPS environment and vice versa.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I think it might be time to connect with local reefers for advice instead of the guy at the LFS. What he should have done was guided you towards different options of what might work well in your mixed reef.