How balanced or lopsided is your reef tank?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I've always loved and always will prefer a mixed reef tank over any one type of coral dominated reef tanks. That being said sometimes without noticing my tank begins to shift or become dominated by one type of coral either because I've had better success with one type or I've started to like one more than the other. With that in mind let's talk about the coral balance of your reef tank!

1. Do you prefer one type of coral over the other and why?

2. If you were to break down your tank into a percentage graph what would the numbers look like? (Example: 60% SPS, 25% LPS, 10% Zoas, 5% Soft etc.)

Top down farm tank from @WWC

 

[Timfish]

Well, since I still have animals I've had since the mid 90s my systems favor corals that did well in 55 - 90 gallon systems with two to four T12 bulbs. Basicly what's just considered low light animals now. Losing a lot of animals in the freeze, this year will see the biggest shift to animals that do better with higher PAR levels.

 

[kutcha]

I would say my tank is Lopsided Nem

 

[Andreas' Reef]

I am 25% lps, and 75% zoas and soft corals

 

[rusgum]

50%SPS, 50%LPS

 

[Blumy]

No zoas at all. One leather, one hammer, 3 mushrooms and a ton of SPS.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

50%SPS, 50%LPS

*Points at arm* sheeeeesh

 

[Gtinnel]

I'd say my tank is fairly evenly mixed between sps/lps/zoas and I have a few soft corals that I added first that I wish I wouldn’t have. I'm not into any one specific group of corals, so as I buy more I just add what I like the looks of.

 

[Paul B]

I have no idea whats in my reef, where they came from, how much they cost or just about anything else and I can't remember the last time I bought a coral.
It's just a tangled up mess.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

You tell me lol.

 

[elorablue]

Just a 2 month old 20g cube here....
6 softies - 2 Gorgonians, 1 Toadstool, 1 leather, GSP, Pulsing Xenia
2 LPS - 1 Favites, 1 Goniastrea
2 SPS - 1 Montipora Verrucosa, 1 Cyphastrea

So 60-20-20

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

50%SPS, 50%LPS

Woah....

 

[andrecr]

I can't talk about Lps because my tank isn't matured enough for them but the rest is pretty much Soft-60% Lps 45% Zoa 5%

 

[littlebeard]

If we measure by the space the corals use up, my tank has some large hammers, so I would say Lopsided LPS.
If we go by species, it's probably about the same between sps and lps.
If we go by like say a scientific count of each coral animal like say each polyps then Lopsided SPS.

Question needs to be defined better!

 

[Just John]

Have a smaller AIO tank ------> small AIO's are not good for sps-----> many lps (at least the ones I like) need to be spaced apart and the tanks is small ------> can't have lots of lps----> Zoa's have more color options than other appropriate corals ---------> 75% zoas

 

[Greybeard]

Revhtree... stretching a bit this morning?

Ratio of SPS/LPS/Softies/Polyps? Where, in nature, is this balanced reef you speak of?

Every reef I've ever seen, in person, or through video, tends towards similar types of corals... You won't find soft bodied corals mixed in among the staghorns at the reef crest (where they'd be torn to shreds), and you won't find acro colonies in the mud flats and tidal pools. Differing conditions make the balance you're talking about impossible in the wild.

I tend to go with types of corals I'm more successful with. Not looking for balance... just a healthy reef tank

 

[Waynerock]

I think mine is pretty balanced. Nice mix of sps lps and some softy’s

 

[Njordr'sSecretReef]

50%SPS, 50%LPS

Beautiful work here!

 

[rusgum]

Beautiful work here!

Thank you

 

[RwP]

100% Acros. Really like the growth structures