Who has too much in their tank?

[BornHandy]

I am looking to stock up on the cheap. I am willing to pay, but would like to grab some frags from locals that need to do a little pruning.

Anybody getting close to a coral cutting day?

 

[rodney]

Do you need some mushrooms?

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I do need to frag some SPS's if you are interested in them.

 

[H@rry]

I always have frags.

 

[BornHandy]

Do you need some mushrooms?

Always!

 

[BornHandy]

I do need to frag some SPS's if you are interested in them.

Yes, I sure would. When and where? You can send me a PM.

 

[BornHandy]

I always have frags.

I am planning a visit for sure.

 

[eric.battani]

I have a few zoas I could frag

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Yes, I sure would. When and where? You can send me a PM.

You can see some of my corals in the full tank shot here.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Left and right sides:

 

[Tomoko Schum]

 

[Tomoko Schum]

These are iPhone photos so the colors are a bit bluish.

 

[BornHandy]

You can see some of my corals in the full tank shot here.

I am not super experienced with SPS, so I will need some "easy" specimens. I'll take your advice on that.

I have a 75G with a pair of Kessil A360's along with a pair of HO T-5's . I am dosing kalk, and use a controller to maintain temp.

Hopefully, that tells you enough to be able to advise me on good "starters".

 

[Tomoko Schum]

You obviously have enough light. Do you have an ATO? As you may know, the stability is the key. I have some SPS's that are tough and good for beginners and so does Harry the troll.

 

[BornHandy]

I do... I use the osmolator.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Good. I understand that osmolator is a great ATO.s,

Are your pH and alkalinity stable? SPS's use a lot of HCO3 to build their skeletons, and alkalinity can go down quickly. When I started keeping SPS's, I was surprised how fast alkalinity could decrease. Both pH and alkalinity were quite stable when I only had softies.

 

[Brew12]

holy smokes!!! Your tank looks fantastic! It's filled in heavy since I saw it!

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Thank you, Steve. Yes, it's about time that I rearrange my corals. They are growing into each other.

 

[BornHandy]

Good. I understand that osmolator is a great ATO.s,

Are your pH and alkalinity stable? SPS's use a lot of HCO3 to build their skeletons, and alkalinity can go down quickly. When I started keeping SPS's, I was surprised how fast alkalinity could decrease. Both pH and alkalinity were quite stable when I only had softies.

My pH has a pretty big swing from day to night - much higher at night (that refugium is a big help). I just started using a dosing pump to put a little kalk in off and on during the day (yesterday, actually). I have been seeing 7.9-ish for daytime, and 8.2-ish at night. I don't test Calcium or Alkalinity all that much (I just wasn't seeing much difference from one test to another). I am due for another round of testing - probably tonight.

My intent was to increase testing frequency (dosing as needed) as stony coral numbers increase, but I just don't have many right now.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

The pH swing of 7.9 to 8.2 does not concern me much. Mine can swing that much, too. Although I have a lot of chaetomorpha in my refugium, my pH is usually lower in the morning. It's back up to something like 8.2 in the late afternoon.
A dosing pump should help to keep the alkalinity stable. Are you using a controller for dosing as well?