Make me like sps

[Readywriter]

Ive always been more into leathers than sps and Im getting to the point where I need to start thinking about what Im putting in the tanks I am setting up, the tanks are going to be plumbed together and I dont feel like having to deal with the leathers messing with sps so its gonna be one or the other. I kind of want to give sps a try but I am really not that much of a fan of them.

So, what is your favorite sps and why is it your favorite?

 

[coralboi56]

Blueberry fields acropora. In a hobby full of green body corals, this definitely catches the attention. The dark body with green polyps make it very unique

 

[Brymac1]

Looking at RC tanks of the month got me into sps. Here are some of my favorites:

 

[code4]

I am a gardener. I love to watch things grow. What I don’t like are things that outgrow their space quickly. SPS mostly don’t

 

[Lavey29]

I have multiple large leather corals in an SPS dominant mixed reef. You can have both in a tank.

 

[VintageReefer]

Here’s some I grew out and kept
If your new let me tell you this. The absolute crazy looking ones are usually the most difficult to keep alive and most difficult to get those crazy colors. Don’t waste your money as someone new and inexperienced. Buy some hearty tank raised basic stuff. From another reefer in your area or a LFS so it doesn’t have to go through shipping stress. Start with a few of those and see if you can keep them alive longer than a month. Then try others.

Keep in mind as you add more sps, and as sps grows larger and from frags to colonies, their consumption of calcium and alkalinity increases. So you need to keep track of these parameters and ideally have a dosing system easy to use and adjust when needed

Here’s a reef I kept many years and it was mixed style - I had sps, lps, and softies and a large leather. You an include some leathers, which seem to be your passion, just kept things spaced apart.

 

[MrGisonni]

Awesome structures and amazing colors. SPS mixed reef is the way to go.

 

[vcollins9850]

Here’s some I grew out and kept
If your new let me tell you this. The absolute crazy looking ones are usually the most difficult to keep alive and most difficult to get those crazy colors. Don’t waste your money as someone new and inexperienced. Buy some hearty tank raised basic stuff. From another reefer in your area or a LFS so it doesn’t have to go through shipping stress. Start with a few of those and see if you can keep them alive longer than a month. Then try others.

Keep in mind as you add more sps, and as sps grows larger and from frags to colonies, their consumption of calcium and alkalinity increases. So you need to keep track of these parameters and ideally have a dosing system easy to use and adjust when needed

Here’s a reef I kept many years and it was mixed style - I had sps, lps, and softies and a large leather. You an include some leathers, which seem to be your passion, just kept things spaced apart.

Sorry to chime in here, but what is the name of the milli in 6th pic down?

 

[Bob Weigant]

At first sps was not my favorite coral. But after seeing other peoples tanks I ended up getting some. Some are harder than others . Currently I have a mixed reef with lots of chalices and quite a few sps. Some are named and some aren’t. Today I picked up a strawberry shortcake that’s been coloring up since it came in

 

[VintageReefer]

6, 8, and the giant one near the surface in picture 3 are all the same piece, just different points in time

It’s either a sunrise Millie or an sunset Millie. They are different and I forgot which is which

I don’t have all my photos archived and easily available but here’s a few I have

Started as a 2” stick. I mounted the plug to a rock. Then waited. And it turned into this



Top right…

 

[VintageReefer]

@vcollins9850
Forgot to tag, not sure if an edit with a tag sends a notification. Check the post above this one

 

[kevgib67]

I have a mixed, the only leather is a sinularia and the sps are the easy ones. Coming up on 2 1/2 years next month. You can do both.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I have 40g or less tanks. For me I have found it is easier to separate the two, not for the usual reasons though. LPS/softies move and grow fast, in my softie tank it seams I am always stopping a fight every other day. In the SPS tank, I look at it as I am going to have to trim that this weekend.
It takes so long for SPS to grow, so it's annoying that a softie/LPS can take a huge chunk of it out overnight.
In bigger tanks things can be a bit more curated, so having a mixed reef is a bit easier in terms of flow, lighting and placement.

 

[billyocean]

You either try them and enjoy the difficulty of the marathon and variations it brings....or you pass out the water to the runners and enjoy from the sidelines.
Edit..to answer of favorites:

Personally, I have quite a few acros that are my favorites for various reasons like color, history, growth structure...etc.

 

[vcollins9850]

@vcollins9850
Forgot to tag, not sure if an edit with a tag sends a notification. Check the post above this one

Ty I have one similar that i got from a guy as a nub last year and now this.always wondered what people call it. Base is almost hot pink with greenish polyps.

To OP, i’d say do both. I always loved movement so mostly lps tank. But this coral really made me appreciate the movement in the sps polyps so added some more. Reason to love is you can find endless color combos in sps, and doesn’t have to be fancy expensive pieces, just something that you like the way it looks.

 

[Uncle99]

Ive always been more into leathers than sps and Im getting to the point where I need to start thinking about what Im putting in the tanks I am setting up, the tanks are going to be plumbed together and I dont feel like having to deal with the leathers messing with sps so its gonna be one or the other. I kind of want to give sps a try but I am really not that much of a fan of them.

So, what is your favorite sps and why is it your favorite?

Sticks, and lots of them.

 

[Bob Weigant]

Here’s a strawberry shortcake I just picked up

 

[ieatbugman]

Have you considered lps? (I know this is a sps discussion but i feel like thay are a happy medium)

 

[Uncle99]

Here’s a strawberry shortcake I just picked up

That is a stunning piece!