Should tanks be specialized?

[Miami Reef]

Should a reef tank be specialized for best results?

My favorite corals and invertebrates are SPS and clams. That’s my true desire.

But I also like some corals that move (a few toadstool leathers).

I was thinking of a BTA for my current maroon clownfish pair. That’s definitely an eye catcher!


LPS corals like hammers, frogs pawns, and Duncan’s are cool as well!

So, what’s a guy to do? Just stick with SPS and clams, or make them tank the way I want it to be (a little of everything).

Keeping an only-acro tank would look most aesthetically pleasing, but might be a bit static without the contrast from the moving corals.


I don’t see why high light and flow requiring organisms can’t be placed on top and lower lighting animals can’t be on the bottom?

 

[Uncle99]

I like a little of everything, a mixed reef, bit of a challenge to get everyone happy, but I like the diversity, the colour and fullness.

 

[ZoWhat]

Well. My unpopular opinion is you need to sit in either the SPS or LPS camp with your tank.

LPS corals
* Heavy on Actinic 400-500nm blue light with just a hint of white to SIMULATE an ocean depth of 20-30ft
* Heavier on fish load so fish poop feeds the LPS coral
* Nirtate target is 10-15ppm
* Phosphate target is 0.1ish
* The flow is light to a max of mild

SPS
* Heavy on full spectrum including 14kelvin white light mixed with lots of 400-800nm light to SIMULATE an ocean depth of 3-10ft
* Lighter fish load to keep water quality high and clean. Any excess fish poop needs to be skimmered out quickly
* flow is much much higher than LPS, sps want fast moving very clean water
* Alkalinity needs to be tested everyday and the Alk swings must be super stable
* Calc and Mag need to be constantly monitored thruout the week too
* Trace element replacement super important
* basically super clean water with all elements inside a fairly tight range
* no3 around 1-2
* po4 around 0.0x max

Keeping SPS and LPS requires very different approaches as described above. Lots of ppl have excellent mixed reefs but is a heck of a lot of work to meet both coral demands