Does Having SPS Make You An Advanced Reefer?

[that Reef Guy]

I laughed when I saw the title of the thread. The only thing sps makes you advanced is in your spending habits

Another generalization.

Yes, Reef Raft stuff is Crazy Expensive.

I have a lot of SPS and I think the most expensive one was 20.00 with a lot being only 5-10 dollars.

I see Chalices as being much much more expensive as I have paid as much as 75 for those (Seen them for 5,000 though).

And I have never seen them for 5-10 like I do SPS.

So I disagree with that.

I feel that "Generally Speaking" Chalices are the most expensive corals out there.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Others being who exactly??

No matter what someone's knowledge in this hobby there's still constant learning.

That is a really really good point.

I know I am constantly learning (Thanks to this site).

 

[hatfielj]

You're advanced if your reef looks like one of the Tank of the Month tanks!

 

[captainsaquarium]

It's no more advanced than a freshwater Discus breeder. For some it comes natural and for others it's tougher. Becoming a better aquarist should always be the aim and understanding the symbiotic relationship of the organisms in the tank is eseential to this. SPS are fun for sure.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Sps=addict

 

[RandoReefer]

Sps=addict

Agreed!!

 

[glennf]

Your can be considered an advanced reefer when you can monitor your corals and keep them healthy and thriving for the most of the time.
To do this you need to build a good foundation, which consist of experience, knowledge of water chemistry and and good deal of luck.

By understanding water chemistry you are already half the way of being a succesfull reefer.

There are an lot of coral to be considered difficult to keep, but that's only because we can not forfill their needs. That's why the die on us.
When we can meet the corals demand than the are not hard to keep.

From the popular corals sps are known to be the hardest to keep, simply because they need more water parameter to be controlled than soft corals and rhe have a narrower bandwith where the can be kept.
For SPS you need additional to add building material like Kh, Ca, Mg etc... besides the usual nutrient control

Sorry... battery low
To be continued

 

[Oldude]

I would agree with folks who have suggested that an "Advanced" reef keeper has a deep (or deeper) understanding of the hobby.

However, different people are going to have deeper understandings of different aspects of the hobby, which covers quite a lot of subjects. That's one of the nice things about this hobby; we all have different things that interest us, and we choose to focus on those.

You could be an expert on carpet anemones, and if you have kept several of the species alive long term, you may qualify as an advanced reef keeper, even if you never kept an SPS coral, or any coral for that matter.

Same for a lot of the harder to keep organisms (sponges, certain fish, various filter feeders, etc.).

You could also be an expert on the process or technologies available to hobbyists, and IMO, that would qualify as "Advanced" if you did things like designing or studying skimmers, lighting systems, test methods, supplements, etc.

I agree with Randy. People often become an "expert" in what interests them most so then while you may become "advanced" in particular aspects of the hobby you are likely lacking in other areas or I guess I should say less "advanced" in other areas. Also as was previously stated, no matter how much you know there is always more to learn.

 

[glennf]

Your can be considered an advanced reefer when you can monitor your corals and keep them healthy and thriving for the most of the time.
To do this you need to build a good foundation, which consist of experience, knowledge of water chemistry and and good deal of luck.

By understanding water chemistry you are already half the way of being a succesfull reefer.

There are a lot of corals to be considered difficult to keep, but that's only because we can't forfill their needs. That's why they die on us.
When we can meet the corals demand than they are not hard to keep anymore.

From the popular corals sps are known to be the hardest to keep, simply because they need more water parameter to be controlled than soft corals and they have a narrower bandwith where they can be kept.
For SPS you need additional building material like Kh, Ca, Mg etc... besides the usual nutrient control

Sorry... battery low
To be continued

To understand why some corals flourish and why some perish you need to understand what make them tiks in our tank. Bij controlling the parameters in a narrow bandwith you can keep all of them happy together, but that is just the difficulty. You need to understand what to take control over.

Most sps have a more narrow bandwith to stay within then soft coral, but sps can also be devided in 2 sections.
The tolerant sps, with a broader bandwith. I.e. most Montipora's, pavona, stylopora etc.

The specialist sps, which require you to stay in a smaller bandwith.
This account for most acropora species (except some easy ones like the green formosa)

My tank have been running 9 years now.
Till 2011 is wat mayorly filled with softcorals, lps and a few sps. I was happy with the result and wasn't really looking for more and I followed the usual path, but ommited wc.
This period i called the "lucky" period because looking back i am surprised i kept things alive for such a long stretch of time.

Since end 2011 i took matter into my own hand and started to take control over most known and measurable water parameter and start stocking my tank with als sps i vould get my hands on.

Now i have 180 species thriving in my tank. Reaching from softcoral, sps to acropora.

When you follow a "known path" you might keep some corals and even some difficult ones for a while. You might even have a tank full of sps.

What make you a advanced reefer is the ability to solve mayor problems you encounter on you way for a long strech of time.

Some people have the luck to never experience mayor problems, or they are wise enough to stay away from the "problem corals".

So the answer to the question is: Yes and NO.

 

[MattL22]

Anyone keeping an sps dominant tank IMO is definitely an advanced reefer it's not that easy

 

[that Reef Guy]

Anyone keeping an sps dominant tank IMO is definitely an advanced reefer it's not that easy

I have to completely Disagree.

My Main Tank is SPS (Mostly Acropora).

Stuff grows great for me.

LPS is actually hard on me.

I kill those all the time (Especially Chalices which are by far my favorite Coral).

Maybe I should start saying if you keep Chalices then you are an Advanced Reefer because I cannot keep them for the life of me even though everyone else says that they are sooooooooo easy.

By the way I don't consider myself an Advanced Reefer.

But for some reason SPS is Bulletproof for me.

I have no Sump, No Calcium Reactor, No Apex Controller, No Auto Top Off, and No Skimmer on 3 of my 4 Tanks.

All my Set Ups are very very Basic.

I just do water changes and Dose Acro Power Twice a Week.

I would much rather have a Tank of Chalices, Acans, and Favia as those are the Corals I love.

I basically do Acropora because it is easy not because I want to.

 

[Rausch]

I voted no just because i am keeping SPS and i am no where near advanced... It amazes me when i meet a real stick head and the wealth of knowledge they possess, and looking at their systems it shows! but they have been doing this for over 20 years and still dont consider themselves advanced, so what does that make me :fish:

 

[cdness]

I think testing your levels, proper maintenance and being knowledgeable about your livestock makes you an advanced reefer. What you keep makes no difference.

Honestly I think is a foundation skill that makes you a reefer, not an advanced one. If you can't test your levels or do proper maintenance, you will not be in this hobby for long. You should also research your livestock before purchase whether new to the hobby or seasoned veteran. Learning how to use a test kit and refractometer were the first two things I learned about once the tank was wet and cycling.

 

[Shep]

Honestly I think is a foundation skill that makes you a reefer, not an advanced one. If you can't test your levels or do proper maintenance, you will not be in this hobby for long. You should also research your livestock before purchase whether new to the hobby or seasoned veteran. Learning how to use a test kit and refractometer were the first two things I learned about once the tank was wet and cycling.

What would you define as a advanced reefer then?

 

[Chpaige]

With the advancements in the reefing world 10 years ago I would have said yes, however now you can buy a tank that is all in one, like a Red Sea Max place some sps in there and they take off...

 

[Marquiseo]

So far:

69.01% says No, it doesn't make you an advanced reefer, while 30.99% says you are an Advanced Reefer if you have sps.

Great viewpoints from everyone on this topic. Thanks for replying everyone.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

With the advancements in the reefing world 10 years ago I would have said yes, however now you can buy a tank that is all in one, like a Red Sea Max place some sps in there and they take off...

I will have to say not true on that Red Sea max comment. You still have to know what you are doing no matter what setup you have.

 

[Chpaige]

You can know what you're doing and not be "advanced". It doesn't take much to figure out how to keep your salinity right. The only thing I dose is food, I just do regular water changes and keep my salinity right, and my corals grow just fine. I don't use Carbon, GFO, Ozone, or chemicals. So I guess we can agree to disagree

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Yes we can lol. I was think of more than just salinity like alk cal mag. But it depends on the size of setup and what types of corals one is keeping so I would say correct if it's fish only or let's say some lps. Sps different ball game.

 

[Chpaige]

I have birds of paradise, red planet, pearlberry, stylos, pocillos. No reactors, no chems, just food and water changes.