How long do you wait?

[i cant think]

The sound of this title makes it sound like something to do with QT is what I’m now realising but oh well.
This question doesn’t really relate to QT or fish in general but instead Acropora.
Im onto my first acropora and actually first two SPS. My question is how long do I wait for before I get another lot of Acropora or SPS in general? I have growth coming from my A. yongei and I think growth from my Stylophora although it’s hard to tell exactly.
My next load of acropora I’m hoping will include a Pink Lemonade (Or similar depending on how much I’m willing to drop), PC Rainbow and possibly one other undecided one.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I'm not sure why you'd need to wait. What are you concerned about?

 

[Reefahholic]

The sound of this title makes it sound like something to do with QT is what I’m now realising but oh well.
This question doesn’t really relate to QT or fish in general but instead Acropora.
Im onto my first acropora and actually first two SPS. My question is how long do I wait for before I get another lot of Acropora or SPS in general? I have growth coming from my A. yongei and I think growth from my Stylophora although it’s hard to tell exactly.
My next load of acropora I’m hoping will include a Pink Lemonade (Or similar depending on how much I’m willing to drop), PC Rainbow and possibly one other undecided one.

I would ask if you’re good at keeping the tank stable. How stable can you keep ALK? How good are you at matching temp, salinity, ALK, etc…when performing water changes?

What about nutrient management and what are your current nutrient levels?

These are just a few things you need to be consistent with or know what proper levels are before you dive in too deep. There are many many more things to consider like source water, trace element’s, tank maturity, flow, lighting, etc.

But I think a good indicator is if you can grow and color a few Acropora in that system. A Stylo is very easy. Grab a few more Acropora and wait six months and if you can keep those alive and double their size then maybe place a bigger order.

I’ve seen so many reefers spend thousands right out the gate only to loose them one right after another. Nothing feels worse than to see them STN/RTN after you spent hundreds and thousands of dollars.

If you’re asking this question you’re most likely not ready. Just being honest.

Good luck either way. I don’t want to discourage you, but they can be very picky and everything needs to be calculated.

 

[i cant think]

I would ask if you’re good at keeping the tank stable. How stable can you keep ALK? How good are you at matching temp, salinity, ALK, etc…when performing water changes?

What about nutrient management and what are your current nutrient levels?

These are just a few things you need to be consistent with or know what proper levels are before you dive in too deep. There are many many more things to consider like source water, trace element’s, tank maturity, flow, lighting, etc.

But I think a good indicator is if you can grow and color a few Acropora in that system. A Stylo is very easy. Grab a few more Acropora and wait six months and if you can keep those alive and double their size then maybe place a bigger order.

I’ve seen so many reefers spend thousands right out the gate only to loose them one right after another. Nothing feels worse than to see them STN/RTN after you spent hundreds and thousands of dollars.

If you’re asking this question you’re most likely not ready. Just being honest.

Good luck either way. I don’t want to discourage you, but they can be very picky and everything needs to be calculated.

Yeah, This isn’t my first attempt with SPS. As for asking this question, it was mainly due to knowing there’s several things needing to look out for but what was most important to wait for.

It’s my aim to not spend thousands right away but also I forgot to mention, I only have a RS max nano making it EXTREMELY hard to have SPS as I need to be selective and really happy with what I go with. It’s also a year old tank.

Nutrient management is a weekly water change of 10l (around 15%). Nutrient levels I will be testing today so I’ll add them in at around 2pm GMT/BST (I keep forgetting which time we’re in now). Source water currently is hard to find as my closest LFS shut with almost no warning (Literally like an hour before they open they mention it’ll be the last day of being open). Alk remains stable all throughout the week - again I will test that later and do the results as what I got for today.

 

[i cant think]

I'm not sure why you'd need to wait. What are you concerned about?

I’m concerned about getting myself something like a PC rainbow or a Pink Lemonade (Over here a small frag of this can be £100+) and having it die off.

The other thing I have an issue of is how some Acros prefer dirtier water and some prefer cleaner water.

 

[Reefahholic]

Yeah, This isn’t my first attempt with SPS. As for asking this question, it was mainly due to knowing there’s several things needing to look out for but what was most important to wait for.

It’s my aim to not spend thousands right away but also I forgot to mention, I only have a RS max nano making it EXTREMELY hard to have SPS as I need to be selective and really happy with what I go with. It’s also a year old tank.

Nutrient management is a weekly water change of 10l (around 15%). Nutrient levels I will be testing today so I’ll add them in at around 2pm GMT/BST (I keep forgetting which time we’re in now). Source water currently is hard to find as my closest LFS shut with almost no warning (Literally like an hour before they open they mention it’ll be the last day of being open). Alk remains stable all throughout the week - again I will test that later and do the results as what I got for today.

Man, not having a RODI with Acropora is begging for trouble. Personally I’d never trust any LFS to make my water. That’s just me though.

Other than that, it sounds like the tank is stable enough. Being a small nano will make it more difficult in one sense, but nutrients can be easier to deal with by doing small water changes. Stability will be more challenging though.

 

[Reefahholic]

I’m concerned about getting myself something like a PC rainbow or a Pink Lemonade (Over here a small frag of this can be £100+) and having it die off.

The other thing I have an issue of is how some Acros prefer dirtier water and some prefer cleaner water.

I think they all like a bit of nutrients. I don’t run any less than .05 and 5 in my tank. You can get away with lower numbers but it’s too close to the danger zone for me.

Nutrients need to be assessed frequently if the tank is low. It’s safer to run higher IMO.

 

[i cant think]

Man, not having a RODI with Acropora is begging for trouble. Personally I’d never trust any LFS to make my water. That’s just me though.

Other than that, it sounds like the tank is stable enough. Being a small nano will make it more difficult in one sense, but nutrients can be easier to deal with by doing small water changes. Stability will be more challenging though.

The Stability part is kind of balancing itself out - 7 small fish helps a lot.
It’s becoming extremely close to making my own saltwater I won’t lie, although 2 tanks using a total of 60 litres is rather hard to do over here.
I have a stable 4’ tank that if I ever have to use as an emergency (Or even setting up a new tank/upgrade) I can use that.

 

[Reefahholic]

The Stability part is kind of balancing itself out - 7 small fish helps a lot.
It’s becoming extremely close to making my own saltwater I won’t lie, although 2 tanks using a total of 60 litres is rather hard to do over here.
I have a stable 4’ tank that if I ever have to use as an emergency (Or even setting up a new tank/upgrade) I can use that.

If you want to keep Acro’s, that is the 1st thing I would buy. Don’t skimp on a good RODI.

My RODI:

 

[i cant think]

If you want to keep Acro’s, that is the 1st thing I would buy. Don’t skimp on a good RODI.

My RODI:

Definitely going to look into that.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Someone on here (I think @jda) mentioned that when you're first starting with acros, a couple may just fail to thrive. This holds true - my hawkins echinata has been struggling. But, I think as long as you keep an eye on your parameters, monitor alk closely, and keep up with maintenance, some more acros/sps should be fine.
You won't be able to create parameters that every single coral/acro will be happy with, but I will say that any long term captive specimen (ORA comes to mind) will likely do just fine.

Take this all with a grain of salt - I am no sps guru - but am in a similar boat as you - just starting to experiment with acros

 

[Tamberav]

If they are growing and holding color… then get some more

Expect **** to die and money lost… at some point. **** happens. Sometimes **** out of our control.

I lost a bunch when the central air broke and I was out of town AND it was during a bad heat wave.