Thinking of adding SPS

[WillB]

So I’ve been keeping a reef for 5 years. Just started up a new tank though after moving back down to San Diego after school. The current tank has been up and running for 6 months now and is 50G with LPS,soft corals, and an anemone. 2 clowns and a six line wrasse for fishes.
Parameters:
Calc- 430
Alk- 9.9
Mag- 1290
Nitrates- 0
Nitrites- 0
Ammonia- 0
pH- 8.3
Temp- 80
Salinity- 1.025 with one of those float guys. Not a refractometer but it’s stable
I run an oversized skimmer, hob filter (I wanna say aquaclear70) with mechanical, carbon, bio, and Phosban filtration in it.
Reefbreeders V2 LEDs so lighting won’t be an issue

I dose B- ionic 2 part calc alk and mag

I think that’s everything... but I would like to try my luck with some SPS. Now everyone talks about how difficult they can be to keep and it’s got me a little scared to try. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I might be missing or what types to try first before I go for it? I’m thinking acro or millipora.

 

[recess62]

One thing you may want to do is get your nutrients up You did not post your phosphate but with a nitrate of 0 and an alk of 9.9 you may have issues with burnt tips. People are rethinking the need to have 0 nutrients. I Shoot for nitrate 5-10 and phosphate.02-.05 with an alk 8.5 to 9. This has been good for me. I started with an encrusting monti which has been very hardy

 

[WillB]

I’ve actually been thinking about bringing my alk down for that exact reason! I was thinking 9 might be a good level. As for phosphates. I’ve never tested for them so I couldn’t say what they are. I run Phosban though so I would assume low. How would I go about raising my nitrates safely? Feeding more? Less water changes? I do 5g every other week

 

[WillB]

I actually forgot to mention I do have an encrusting monti in there already but I didn’t count that because of its hardiness haha

 

[WillB]

What do you use to test phosphates? I know people have difficulties there

 

[Ranjib]

I think you are good to go. I recommend following progression, introduce each of these after one or two month
Monti (digi or capricornis) -> green slimer -> Tricolor valida -> Harder ones like red dragon,

Its likely that you may have to adjust your dosing regiment, add some trace additives or amino acid additives etc.

 

[Ranjib]

I forgot to mention about the flow. You need a lot of flow, mp40 or an icecap 1K should be ok,

 

[WillB]

I’ve got 2 hydor600 and 1 hydor800 in a 50g so I’m thinking flow shouldn’t be an issue. How will I know what trace elements need to be added? Also I’ve heard mixed reviews on amino acids. What do you think?

 

[WillB]

Update: I bought a cheap acro frag from my LFS. 14$. Let’s see what happens!

 

[WillB]

Acclimated and put in place! Hope he’s happy

 

[WillB]

Just whites. Anyone know the name? Probably nothing fancy

 

[Reefer40b]

Possibly a tort... but not too sure..

 

[recess62]

Good luck. Nice piece for $14

 

[BrianReefer]

I’d suggest slowly going even lower on alk. I go for 7.5-8, i think 8 should be around the max ideal - it also gives you some upside margin of error. But regardless, stability is key

 

[BrianReefer]

Also, what kind of lightning are you running?

 

[WillB]

I held off dosing for all the past two days. Going to test today and see where I am.

 

[WillB]

I use LEDs
The Photon V2 by reefbreeders. They are powerful!