Help me understand sps

[rayn]

I have a new tank, planned sps. I keep reading on here about sps tanks needing to be mature and around 1 year old before really thriving. I can't imagine people let their tanks go empty for a year or without corals, so what do the sps dominate tanks start with?

 

[phillrodrigo]

You could start with easier like birds nest. Do you have other plans. Most people have other corals they like zoas or acans chalices. You can do it in a newer tank but if your a complete newbie you will have troubles. Once you can get your tank stable then you can try harder corals. It really comes down to skill of the hobby.

 

[rayn]

Not a complete new, but never really ventured into "sps" territory. I do have two acro frags doing well in my 40 mixed reef now. I just don't want to dump a bunch of money on sps to watch them die. I do like lps, just didn't want a tank full with no room for sps.

 

[trido]

Flow, lighting and stability. Ive started every one my my tanks and others too, right off, full of SPS. Start with localy aquacultered easy to keep corals and you will be fine. Dont go out and buy all the brand name designer corals until you know what your doing. Even then, most of them are finicky and will die at the first sign of problems. Start with Catspaw, Birdsnest, Montis, and some of easier Mille's and tri-colors that have been in the hobby for a decade.

 

[gar732]

You need to be able to control your nutrients and keep your parameters stable. It usually takes some time to get those nutrient export systems established that is why a mature reef does better. In my experience nutrient problems are the biggest issue with sps and its not always evident by huge algae problems. Take it slow, don't go out and buy $1000 worth of frags ( or 2 LE frags at todays prices) because that 1 frag is doing well. See how it does over time. And keep testing, the better your corals do and the more you add the faster they use up your cal, alk, and mag, much more so than lps would.

 

[mrcoffee2]

My LFS use to say don't get into SPS until you have dime sized coraline algae. I wouldnt neccessarily agree with them but it would be a good rule of thumb to go by for a newbie imo.

 

[rayn]

My LFS use to say don't get into SPS until you have dime sized coraline algae. I wouldnt neccessarily agree with them but it would be a good rule of thumb to go by for a newbie imo.

I am amazed, but it is actually already there!