What makes SPS difficult or expert level

[Russ265]

I do not have a phosphate kit. Nitrates are at 0 ppm

what kit?

 

[CoRaLJuNkiiE]

The solution to test the phosphate....

 

[James w Lewis]

sps are not difficult at all. IME the true difficult corals are chalices.

Yes sir, my acros grow like weeds and I don't have to do anything. Chalices are a ***** to get to live and to grow. They are beautiful but they are a pain. Im getting into the amazing colored acros that CB sells because they are so much easier. Also, where do you put a chalice but on the sand bed. Acros grow on and cover the rock.

 

[SunnyX]

i disagree with filteration above light. i have no skimmer or export of measurable reason (yay sponges and tunicates) and i keep sps just fine.

you cannot keep sps without light however

you CAN keep sps without any other filtration than live rock.

flame away. but your sps will die without light. filteration and the level at which you filter is the road to overcomplication.

i dont water change either(regularly)

Well, I won't "flame away", but I place filtration, specifically biological, over lighting as it has a greater overall impact on coral health. At this current point in time lighting has become plug and play. We have many fixtures and lighting methods available today to grow corals.

If someone is simply looking to keep corals alive, then by all means carry on and pay little to no attention to filtration. While lighting is a simple matter, plug and play, creating an environment for your corals to thrive based on bacteria populations and nutrient export is much more important. It wasn't until I focused on biological filtration that my corals exhibited the vibrant colors I've come to expect.

As I've said, there is no wrong way to create a reef. I relied on strong skimming, carbon dosing, with only a few water changes a year to bring out the best in my corals.

As for the "try to grow SPS without lighting" comment: Try and grow COLORFUL SPS with high nutrients. [emoji14]

 

[Russ265]

Well, I won't "flame away", but I place filtration, specifically biological, over lighting as it has a greater overall impact on coral health. At this current point in time lighting has become plug and play. We have many fixtures and lighting methods available today to grow corals.

If someone is simply looking to keep corals alive, then by all means carry on and pay little to no attention to filtration. While lighting is a simple matter, plug and play, creating an environment for your corals to thrive based on bacteria populations and nutrient export is much more important. It wasn't until I focused on biological filtration that my corals exhibited the vibrant colors I've come to expect.

As I've said, there is no wrong way to create a reef. I relied on strong skimming, carbon dosing, with only a few water changes a year to bring out the best in my corals.

As for the "try to grow SPS without lighting" comment: Try and grow COLORFUL SPS with high nutrients. [emoji14]

oh high nutrients!

good

let me show you my "high nutrients" i love these games.

https://vid.me/mJRo

now i have no skimmer or any nutrient export in my 300 gallon volume system. please tell the class how they can get 300 par?

nothing is colorful with 0 nitrate. ill show u so many pics of pale pastel colors with lack of nutrients.

or you can go to the zeo forums

again. lighting is more important than filtration.

oh... you didnt like my 0 nitrates? less than rodi water probably. lol. im trolling a little but ill say this... that little particle suspender you call a skimmer doesnt get rid of nitrates.(stupid nemotodes)

oop. i let the cat out of the bag

 

[SunnyX]

oh high nutrients!

good

let me show you my "high nutrients" i love these games.

https://vid.me/mJRo

now i have no skimmer or any nutrient export in my 300 gallon volume system. please tell the class how they can get 300 par?

nothing is colorful with 0 nitrate. ill show u so many pics of pale pastel colors with lack of nutrients.

or you can go to the zeo forums

again. lighting is more important than filtration.

oh... you didnt like my 0 nitrates? less than rodi water probably. lol. im trolling a little but ill say this... that little particle suspender you call a skimmer doesnt get rid of nitrates.

Why Am I watching a nitrate test?

 

[Russ265]

Why Am I watching a nitrate test?

......


As for the "try to grow SPS without lighting" comment: Try and grow COLORFUL SPS with high nutrients. [emoji14]

because you were going to tell me about high nutrients and lack of filtration!

how do i gain par with my existing lighting?

please continue

 

[SunnyX]

because you were going to tell me about high nutrients and lack of filtration!

please continue

Lol, what? You do know that live rock, live sand, sponges, and bacteria count as filtration? Hence the terms "biological filtration". You don't need a skimmer nor do you need to do water changes in order to have a successful reef tank. But with that being said, I'll still say that filtration should be classed higher than lighting. In 25 years I've never measured PAR, and probably will never feel the need to. My corals and reef setups have always looked great by focusing on water quality.

I don't know why you're angry and worked up. There is no wrong way to build a reef. I'm curious though, what do your corals and reef look like?

 

[Russ265]

Lol, what? You do know that live rock, live sand, sponges, and bacteria count as filtration? Hence the terms "biological filtration". You don't need a skimmer nor do you need to do water changes in order to have a successful reef tank. But with that being said, I'll still say that filtration should be classed higher than lighting. In 25 years I've never measured PAR, and probably will never feel the need to. My corals and reef setups have always looked great by focusing on water quality.

I don't know why you're angry and worked up. There is no wrong way to build a reef. I'm curious though, what do your corals and reef look like?

my point is. the sponges, tunicates and other life arose because of the lack thereof.

i cannot summon my lights to gain more par.

mother nature balances our tanks in so many ways we cannot fathom. sure we can add whatever reactor or whatever to our system but energy required to grow our corals cannot be "waited out".

our systems are all so different because mother nature is flexible enough to accomodate our systems.

i only wanted to point that out. nothing against anyone's thoughts.

i wish the best for ALL reefers

 

[SunnyX]

my point is. the sponges, tunicates and other life arose because of the lack thereof.

i cannot summon my lights to gain more par.

mother nature balances our tanks in so many ways we cannot fathom. sure we can add whatever reactor or whatever to our system but energy required to grow our corals cannot be "waited out".

our systems are all so different because mother nature is flexible enough to accomodate our systems.

i only wanted to point that out. nothing against anyone's thoughts.

i wish the best for ALL reefers

I'm in agreement with you. Other than a skimmer I don't use much tech. I've always avoided controllers and the other tech that complicates the hobby. If I didn't feed the tank so much I wouldn't have need for the skimmer. I like to keep things simple, allowing nature to do what it does best.

It was nice conversing with you.

 

[CoRaLJuNkiiE]

Sorry to intrude guys but uhmmm can anybody give me some pointers on the cyphastrea question? Pls.

 

[that Reef Guy]

oh high nutrients!

good

let me show you my "high nutrients" i love these games.

https://vid.me/mJRo

now i have no skimmer or any nutrient export in my 300 gallon volume system. please tell the class how they can get 300 par?

nothing is colorful with 0 nitrate. ill show u so many pics of pale pastel colors with lack of nutrients.

or you can go to the zeo forums

again. lighting is more important than filtration.

oh... you didnt like my 0 nitrates? less than rodi water probably. lol. im trolling a little but ill say this... that little particle suspender you call a skimmer doesnt get rid of nitrates.(stupid nemotodes)

oop. i let the cat out of the bag

Some good quotes in this Thread from Wesf

"Nice tank man! I didn't mean to call anyone out. I just wanted to point out to a beginner that there are a lot of "experts" who give advice with unimpressive tanks. A good rule of thumb is to take advice from people who have tanks you admire. I remember taking advice from people when I was starting out and then I saw their tank and it looked worse than mine!

There are a lot of people who keep SPS, but only a small percentage of them are able to get to that colorful mature SPS reef that makes your jaw drop. So if someone tells you it's easy, or gives advice, ask for pics of their tank. . It takes years to get there and there are many potential pitfalls along the way."

So lets show off some Tank Pics between (Russ265 and SunnyX)

I think we know who will win!

LOL
LOL
LOL

 

[Tahoe61]

oh high nutrients!

good

let me show you my "high nutrients" i love these games.

https://vid.me/mJRo

now i have no skimmer or any nutrient export in my 300 gallon volume system. please tell the class how they can get 300 par?

nothing is colorful with 0 nitrate. ill show u so many pics of pale pastel colors with lack of nutrients.

or you can go to the zeo forums

again. lighting is more important than filtration.

oh... you didnt like my 0 nitrates? less than rodi water probably. lol. im trolling a little but ill say this... that little particle suspender you call a skimmer doesnt get rid of nitrates.(stupid nemotodes)

oop. i let the cat out of the bag

This post type is discouraging and why long time seasoned hobbyist simply do not post as much, or in some cases not at all.

Logically I will give more weight to the system and those images presented by a hobbyist that display a stunning reef. In my old school way it's a sign of respect. I can only hope my tank even comes close to ever being that awesome.

Discussion is one thing, but diplomacy goes a long way in making an enjoyable discussion.

JM2C.

 

[Diesel]

Sorry to intrude guys but uhmmm can anybody give me some pointers on the cyphastrea question? Pls.

Ok, as Russ already mentioned you need to know your Po4, as you tested for No3 and the results are 0.0.
0 on the No3 ain't good as you know now.
But there are a lot more factors in this game, Flow, Light are just two.
Sometimes if you just move it into less or more flow it can gif you wonders.
It seems that your other corals are doing great, if it is just this coral I would think placement.
Maybe if you answer these questions we can have an idea,

A. Total water volume ( Please include sump, etc.)

B. What are your parameters? ( CA, ALK, PO4,Salinity, etc.)

C. Type of lighting. Please include age, watts, and bulb/ballast name.

D. Filtration method (Skimmer, GFO, DSB, etc.)

E. What types of corals do you keep other than SPS?

F. How long has the tank been running?

G. What are you dosing? Dosing schedule?

H. Which brand of salt are you using?

I. What brand of test kits are you employing?

J. What are you using for CA/ALK supplementation?

K. What are you using for flow? (Pump names, how many, placement, etc.)