Tank makeover

Guttersnipe · Feb 5, 2019

Hi reef2reef!
I have a question for all you sps pros. I will be redoing my reefer 250 tank. It is currently an lps and anemone tank with a ghl mitras light over it. I just sold the
Mitras and will be putting an ATI powodule over it. With the new light I want to redo my tank to sps .
Im torn between having a lot of negative space with a few large
Colonies or having a tank packed with SPS colonies.
What do you prefer? Post pictures of your tank too if possible.
Thank you for checking out my post.

Hemmdog · Feb 5, 2019

Guttersnipe said:
Hi reef2reef!
I have a question for all you sps pros. I will be redoing my reefer 250 tank. It is currently an lps and anemone tank with a ghl mitras light over it. I just sold the
Mitras and will be putting an ATI powodule over it. With the new light I want to redo my tank to sps .
Im torn between having a lot of negative space with a few large
Colonies or having a tank packed with SPS colonies.
What do you prefer? Post pictures of your tank too if possible.
Thank you for checking out my post.

A few massive colonies is much more impressive than who can spend the most money

Waters · Feb 5, 2019

I would do both

A couple of large colonies with a bunch of smaller ones mixed in......looks more natural.

Aaron-A2 · Feb 5, 2019

Waters said:
I would do both A couple of large colonies with a bunch of smaller ones mixed in......looks more natural.

This for sure. Just make sure to plan ahead on placement so you don't accidentally shadow one of those smaller colonies.

Guttersnipe · Feb 5, 2019

Aaron-A2 said:
This for sure. Just make sure to plan ahead on placement so you don't accidentally shadow one of those smaller colonies.

I will make sure of this.
My other tank was poorly planned and I have corals placed too close to each other.

DesertReefT4r · Feb 5, 2019

Start with frags and they will all grow into colonies.

Guttersnipe · Feb 6, 2019

Hemmdog said:
A few massive colonies is much more impressive than who can spend the most money

I don’t know what money has to do with my question.
This thread is about aquascaping.

Guttersnipe · Feb 6, 2019

DesertReefT4r said:
Start with frags and they will all grow into colonies.

I have a lot of frags in my other tank that are more like mini colonies ready to be moved to the reefer 250.

pdxmonkeyboy · Feb 6, 2019

Negative soace really makes an aquarium pop in my eyes. They look like true works of art.

I have seen so many "fruit stands" that I am simply over it.

so yeah.. way negative space because the corals will fill alot of it eventually.

Guttersnipe · Feb 6, 2019

Brian Bieger said:
Negative soace really makes an aquarium pop in my eyes. They look like true works of art.

I have seen so many "fruit stands" that I am simply over it.

so yeah.. way negative space because the corals will fill alot of it eventually.

I have been really liking the negative space tanks lately. I think this is the route I will be taking.

Waters · Feb 6, 2019

Guttersnipe said:
I have been really liking the negative space tanks lately. I think this is the route I will be taking.

I agree....anybody can throw a million frags into a tank......ideally you want to make something that is pleasing to the eye, including the negative space.

Mystikal · Feb 6, 2019

You want to look at “other” things;
Growth pattern,
Color,
Growth rate,
Polyps,
Natural vs. engineered

I went through this with my reefer 250, however I went from frags to colonies of colorful inexpensive pieces transitioning into frags of higher end pieces.

Before:

Now:

As you can see, now it’s just a waiting game, which I don’t mind playing. Seeing the corals encrust and grow now, is an enjoyable approach for me. I’m also managing the growth patterns by frequently pruning and using a lot of coral gum to avoid SPS fights.

Guttersnipe · Feb 7, 2019

Mystikal said:
You want to look at “other” things;
Growth pattern,
Color,
Growth rate,
Polyps,
Natural vs. engineered

I went through this with my reefer 250, however I went from frags to colonies of colorful inexpensive pieces transitioning into frags of higher end pieces.

Before:

Now:

As you can see, now it’s just a waiting game, which I don’t mind playing. Seeing the corals encrust and grow now, is an enjoyable approach for me. I’m also managing the growth patterns by frequently pruning and using a lot of coral gum to avoid SPS fights.

You have a beautiful tank. I have thought about most of the other things you mentioned. I don’t know what you mean by
natural vs engineered part though.
I would like to have even less rocks than what you have in your tank. I already have frags lined up just waiting to move into the reefer 250 once I figure out exactly what i will be doing. Ideally I would like to keep my euphyllias with the sps I will be putting in there. I just don’t think the lps can handle all the new

flow I will be adding once I place sps in there.
Here are the frags I will be putting in the reefer 250. Thanks for the suggestions.

Mystikal · Feb 7, 2019

Beautiful tank!

Lps can take a lot of flow. Right now my MP40s are on the back glass running a max of 65% each on random flows throughout the day (plus, gyre, etc).

What I meant by nature/engineered look, is dependent on your aquascape. Maybe the word "engineered was a poor choice, but unnatural. Different set, or multiple islands, a few large rocks, stacked rocks, dry rock, or that purple rock that is currently man made.

Seems like all of your frags are ready to be placed. Remember that they will be encrusting, and may potentially fight, just be prepared to stick some coral gum, to avoid a loss. Or you can always gamble on either one