Please share your mixed tank photos and experience

[melhe]

Hi all good everything. I have 6 months old 300g lps dominated tank now and getting my first sps next week . I heard it’s very difficult to have sps and lps mixed tank . Anyone has successfully kept mixed tank please share your tank photos and experience . How do you manage perfect lighting and flows to keep both sps and lps thrive . The photo is my current tank . I am nervous to add my 1st sps . I hope I won’t kill them

 

[lopez052308]

Nice tank everything looks healthy.

 

[melhe]

Nice tank everything looks healthy.

Thank u , still very young tank .

 

[JGT]

My question to you is where are you going to add them? The tank already looks too crowded. Adding more SPS into such a crowded tank is not going to end well. Coral warfare will quickly become a problem.

 

[PeterC99]

Great looking start. Lots of trial & error. The corals will let you know when you get it right!

Here’s my before and after:

 

[melhe]

My question to you is where are you going to add them? The tank already looks too crowded. Adding more SPS into such a crowded tank is not going to end well. Coral warfare will quickly become a problem.

To top of the island . Use some coral sticks maybe to build structure on top of the island . Some gonis need to be relocated . It’s peninsula design . The other side of tank is not full

 

[melhe]

Great looking start. Here’s my before and after:

Omg , sooooo nice

 

[PeterC99]

Omg , sooooo nice

2 1/2 years later…

 

[Morpheosz]

I am having pretty good luck. I built a lot of structure at varying heights and keep the SPS in the upper sections and the LPS in the lower sections. I found it really useful to rent a PAR meter early on and I dialed my lights such that the upper reaches hit the lower level of SPS needs and the low-mid are well suited for LPS. The PAR meter really helps you understand what you're working with. Also helps to choose less picky, lower light tolerant SPS. I have some easier ones such as birds nest and stylophora that are growing like crazy, and some trickier ones that are living but growing REALLY slowly. In my opinion, you could use some more vertical in your structure to support some SPS up higher. Again, the PAR meter really helps you understand the significant differences in your tank at different depths and distance from lights horizontally (if you have any spots).

Here's a recent pic of my tank illustrating how I have it laid out. The bad illustrations at the top are representing that I have two LED spot lights at the top which create a hot spot in the middle suitable for some SPS. It falls off around the edges so I have some LPS up high on the sides or back corners but the middle is my SPS zone.

 

[melhe]

Great looking start. Lots of trial & error. The corals will let you know when you get it right!

Here’s my before and after:

How many years does take to get after ? Those torches are insane

Also where are those scolies, plate and zoas in the after tank ?

 

[melhe]

I am having pretty good luck. I built a lot of structure at varying heights and keep the SPS in the upper sections and the LPS in the lower sections. I found it really useful to rent a PAR meter early on and I dialed my lights such that the upper reaches hit the lower level of SPS needs and the low-mid are well suited for LPS. The PAR meter really helps you understand what you're working with. Also helps to choose less picky, lower light tolerant SPS. I have some easier ones such as birds nest and stylophora that are growing like crazy, and some trickier ones that are living but growing REALLY slowly. In my opinion, you could use some more vertical in your structure to support some SPS up higher. Again, the PAR meter really helps you understand the significant differences in your tank at different depths and distance from lights horizontally (if you have any spots)

Right now my bottom tank is about 120 par , top of the rock only 240 highest . I don’t think it’s enough to support sps . Agree with u , need to build more vertical structure higher.

do u know any acros less picky and low light tolerance ?

 

[JGT]

To top of the island . Use some coral sticks maybe to build structure on top of the island . Some gonis need to be relocated . It’s peninsula design . The other side of tank is not full

Looks like your rock is completely covered with frags one right next to the other. As they grow you will be left with no room. Peninsula or not I’d add some more rock structures and spread out what you have.

 

[melhe]

Looks like your rock is completely covered with frags one right next to the other. As they grow you will be left with no room. Peninsula or not I’d add some more rock structures and spread out what you have.

Thanks for advise . I know I bought too many

 

[HB AL]

My mixed reef. Feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions.

Hi all good everything. I have 6 months old 300g lps dominated tank now and getting my first sps next week . I heard it’s very difficult to have sps and lps mixed tank . Anyone has successfully kept mixed tank please share your tank photos and experience . How do you manage perfect lighting and flows to keep both sps and lps thrive . The photo is my current tank . I am nervous to add my 1st sps . I hope I won’t kill them

My mixed reef. Feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions, tired from golfing the last 3 days and falling asleep.

 

[Morpheosz]

Thanks for advise . I know I bought too many

It may or may not be too many in the end, but I think it's too many for the rather sparse base rock you have right now. Perhaps buy a batch of marco rock and build out some more structure to spread them out. You seem to have loads of free space. Check out the videos on BRS for building out HNSA aquascapes, that's how I built mine out and it was pretty easy and fun and turned out really great.

 

[melhe]

I am having pretty good luck. I built a lot of structure at varying heights and keep the SPS in the upper sections and the LPS in the lower sections. I found it really useful to rent a PAR meter early on and I dialed my lights such that the upper reaches hit the lower level of SPS needs and the low-mid are well suited for LPS. The PAR meter really helps you understand what you're working with. Also helps to choose less picky, lower light tolerant SPS. I have some easier ones such as birds nest and stylophora that are growing like crazy, and some trickier ones that are living but growing REALLY slowly. In my opinion, you could use some more vertical in your structure to support some SPS up higher. Again, the PAR meter really helps you understand the significant differences in your tank at different depths and distance from lights horizontally (if you have any spots).

Here's a recent pic of my tank illustrating how I have it laid out. The bad illustrations at the top are representing that I have two LED spot lights at the top which create a hot spot in the middle suitable for some SPS. It falls off around the edges so I have some LPS up high on the sides or back corners but the middle is my SPS zone.

What’s par levels u have at sps and lps Portion ? Do you think when ur sps grow larger in the future will put too much shade over lps ?

 

[Morpheosz]

Right now my bottom tank is about 120 par , top of the rock only 240 highest . I don’t think it’s enough to support sps . Agree with u , need to build more vertical structure higher.

do u know any acros less picky and low light tolerance ?

My upper reaches are in that low to mid 200's range as well. I have stylophora growing really fast, pocillopora growing moderately fast, 3 types of birds nest all growing pretty quickly, digitata growing slowly, a tabling acro growing pretty fast, and 2 other acro's that I can't recall that are looking great but barely growing.

 

[JGT]

It happens. I did the same when I started. You get excited and want all different types. Better off going with less and letting them grow out. Coral warfare is one of the bigger problem especially in a mixed reef. It’s a catch-22. You want your corals to grow, but when they grow and kill other corals you want them to stop growing. Here’s a few pics of my mixed reef.

 

[Morpheosz]

What’s par levels u have at sps and lps Portion ? Do you think when ur sps grow larger in the future will put too much shade over lps ?

I think that if I get to that point it will be a "good problem to have". In all seriousness though, I doubt it, my tank is quite deep front to back so in addition to vertical, I have them pretty well spread front to back. Most of the corals should continue to have a clean sight line to the light for the forseeable long future. I also have a wide reef brite led that hits the reef from the front in addition to kessil's in the middle so it gives the lower light coral another light source other than straight above.

 

[Morpheosz]

It happens. I did the same when I started. You get excited and want all different types. Better off going with less and letting them grow out. Coral warfare is one of the bigger problem especially in a mixed reef. It’s a catch-22. You want your corals to grow, but when they grow and kill other corals you want them to stop growing. Here’s a few pics of my mixed reef.

That is stunning, and huge, how many gallons?