Starting SPS in my new tank???? Help

[RedSea500MaxS]

I am sure this question is asked a lot so sorry but.....

My tank was built in April 2019, so 6 months old. Full reef, seasoned live rock, live sand, skimmer, algae refugium, marine block run by Apex with DOS and 2 Part dosing, with AI 26 LEDs.

Added LPS and limited fish....Gem Tang, Bristle Tooth, clown pair and Blue tang pair with inverts.

Recently added Monti Cap, green slimmer and 24k ACRO mini colonies....that are growing slowly.

QUESTION 1....WHY IS after 1 YEAR THE IMPORTANT DATE FOR STARTING TO ADD SERIOUS SPS ACROS? WHICH DO I ADD FIRST, SECOND AND LAST? Are my AI 26 LEDs proper?

Alk 9.6, Ca 420, Mg 1360, pH 8.1-8.3, NO3 ~10, PO3 low, temp 78 (chiller) so normal and pretty stable.

QUESTION 2......THEN HOW TO ADD SPS? Wild Colonies or Tank Grown Large Frags?

Thank you reef friends.

 

[SeaDweller]

Some people believe it has to do with tank maturity, 1 year being a good mark for a tank that began with dry everything. Most will argue it depends on the skill and dedication of the reefer.

Regarding what to get, it’s up to you and what you’re willing to deal with: instant gratification of large, wild colonies that you have to be diligent about making sure they’re healthy and pest free, coloring them up, dealing with them potentially not making it, OR be patient and enjoy the process of SPS from frags that are better adapted to aquariums and have a better chance of surviving, depending on your skill. Frag sizes suck, but you learn more. Pick your poison.

 

[EW_Fish]

Some people believe it has to do with tank maturity, 1 year being a good mark for a tank that began with dry everything. Most will argue it depends on the skill and dedication of the reefer.

Regarding what to get, it’s up to you and what you’re willing to deal with: instant gratification of large, wild colonies that you have to be diligent about making sure they’re healthy and pest free, coloring them up, dealing with them potentially not making it, OR be patient and enjoy the process of SPS from frags that are better adapted to aquariums and have a better chance of surviving, depending on your skill. Frag sizes suck, but you learn more. Pick your poison.

Well said honestly. I was new and wanted colonies I picked wild and mari cultured. Well it was a major waste if you dont have proper qt and time to treat pest. Frags are fun but also takes time to grow and have a beautiful tank. I pick frags because well it's like 2 for 1 depending on what "name" you're buying. I would buy wild again but all the really good wild stuff gets picked before the hobbyist get it.

 

[bar|none]

I started my tank similar timeframe and its my first tank. Cycle started last week in April 2019, lights on June 6th.

I now have a bunch of SPS, acros, millis in the tank. I feel like I am finally over the hump but you never know when the next shoe will drop.

I would add a few (frags), wait a few weeks, then add more if all is well. After my first few I let my P hit 0 and that triggered Dinos and that was a nightmare which also made me lose a couple of SPS. But after Dinos were beaten back, I've started to have success.

My advise and obviously I am a beginner so take it with a grain of salt is.

1. Be careful not to let N and P hit 0, esp with a young tank.
2. Get a couple of hardy SPS first, Aussie Green Slimer, Rainbow Monti, Blue digitata are good ones.
3. Rent or buy a PAR meter (BRS rents them). I ended up being low on PAR coverage and I changed my lights to Hybrid LED/T5 and that seems to have made a huge difference for me.

I found that frags that were fully encrusting their plugs started growing a lot quicker in my tank than newly glued frags. WYSIWYG is good for picking based out frags.

Regarding colonies, I did buy my first colony from my LFS (Only after was confident things were doing ok). I was lucky because it was a tank grown colony that a customer traded in and had been at the LFS for a bit and doing well. Having even one colony really helps the tank look more mature.

 

[RedSea500MaxS]

I got a colony from LiveAquaria to give that a try, only $69 but it is very nice! Not Walt Disney, but also not $1500. Seems to be doing well.

Like I said I have a green slimmer....probably 150% in size in 2 months. Monti's frags all growing. A 24k Acro mini colony from my LFS, nice polyps and grown maybe 10% in 6 weeks. Progress.

I see these INCREDIBLE SPS TANKS on R2R and appreciate all your expert help! I am excited to where I have grown tank to and cannot wait to see it at 1 year, 2 years......Thanks all for the help!

 

[SeaDweller]

I got a colony from LiveAquaria to give that a try, only $69 but it is very nice! Not Walt Disney, but also not $1500. Seems to be doing well.

Like I said I have a green slimmer....probably 150% in size in 2 months. Monti's frags all growing. A 24k Acro mini colony from my LFS, nice polyps and grown maybe 10% in 6 weeks. Progress.

I see these INCREDIBLE SPS TANKS on R2R and appreciate all your expert help! I am excited to where I have grown tank to and cannot wait to see it at 1 year, 2 years......Thanks all for the help!

Honestly, just take it slow. It's really heart breaking to see TN wipe out frags, let alone large colonies.

 

[DarkSky]

I cured my dry rock for 12 months, and then it sat in the tank for 6 months before it had light over it. You probably won't need to go extreme as I did, but a good rule of thumb is to watch your coraline growth. When it starts growing on your rocks, you're probably ready for SPS.

I waited, and now my rock is solid purple. No pests, no dinos, no cyano. No GHA.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Where are you going to find tank grown large frags?

 

[DarkSky]

My last tank, and a few local buddies.

 

[Chris L]

I recently started my tank back up. I would say after about 4 weeks i put the first test frag (SPS) in the system. This was a frag from an LFS that i liked and they had been growing colonies and fragging for a very long time so i knew it was very robust. After about 2 weeks of careful observation noticing polyp extension and coloration i decided to try another pretty hardy coral (ORA) REd planet. I can tell you that it was pretty brown from the LFS (Leds) and now it is under Led/T5 it is already getting that Red with Green color after a week. I have been in this hobby for quite some time (24 yrs) though ;Bookworm

 

[ScottB]

I started my tank similar timeframe and its my first tank. Cycle started last week in April 2019, lights on June 6th.

I now have a bunch of SPS, acros, millis in the tank. I feel like I am finally over the hump but you never know when the next shoe will drop.

I would add a few (frags), wait a few weeks, then add more if all is well. After my first few I let my P hit 0 and that triggered Dinos and that was a nightmare which also made me lose a couple of SPS. But after Dinos were beaten back, I've started to have success.

My advise and obviously I am a beginner so take it with a grain of salt is.

1. Be careful not to let N and P hit 0, esp with a young tank.
2. Get a couple of hardy SPS first, Aussie Green Slimer, Rainbow Monti, Blue digitata are good ones.
3. Rent or buy a PAR meter (BRS rents them). I ended up being low on PAR coverage and I changed my lights to Hybrid LED/T5 and that seems to have made a huge difference for me.

I found that frags that were fully encrusting their plugs started growing a lot quicker in my tank than newly glued frags. WYSIWYG is good for picking based out frags.

Regarding colonies, I did buy my first colony from my LFS (Only after was confident things were doing ok). I was lucky because it was a tank grown colony that a customer traded in and had been at the LFS for a bit and doing well. Having even one colony really helps the tank look more mature.

Pretty solid advice from the newbie here.

I also like @DarkSky words about coralline algae growth.

As to colonies versus frags. This is a tough one. IMO, you should assume EVERY frag & colony is coming to you with a pest and pest eggs. And spores of various undesirables. We are all trying very hard to avoid bugs, but it is tricky. Personally, I feel more comfortable with my ability to properly dip and inspect a frag versus a colony. Add to this the acros that remain on my bucket list are prohibitively expensive in colony size.

If you find a colony you cannot resist, consider cutting it off of whatever rock/base/plug whatever and remounting it fresh.