Can my tank handle SPS corals?

reef dude

reef dude

Member
I have 2 175w metal halides and 2 NO 40w actinics on my 90 gallon reef. I have a few LPS and some softies. However my softies seem to not like the light very much because they only open up when i move them towards the lower half of the tank and my LPS corals take a long time to adjust to the lighting. I was wondering if buying SPS corals would be an option. If you think i could get away with some of the "lower" light demanding SPS corals, then i would love to try some, but if you dont think i have enough lighting, please let me know.
Also, the tank is just over a year old and all param's are extremely stable and right on the mark(calcium is 500, alk is 3.5 meq/L, etc...etc...)
 
spsfreak100

spsfreak100

Active Member
I personally dislike the watts-per-gallon method. Most of the time it's not even close to an accurate answer. The 6wpg could mean anything, from Normal Output lighting to halide lighting. It's better to determine the amount of lighting being used on a single area, rather than adding the watts up and devide by how many gallons you have.
Anyway,
You could try some lower lights scleractinians. Most likely they wouldn't "thrive," but they would most likely survive. You could possibly try the lower-light scleractinia. This includes Hydnophora, Some Montipora varieties, birds nest, and some pavona corals.
I would personally start out with a Captive Raised Hydnophora. From my personal experience, the Hydnophora is definitaly one of the most hardy Scleractinia out there (in my opinion and only in my opinion). I would see how it does over 3 months time. If it does fine, than you may slowely move on to the other low-light scleractinians.
Remember to keep an eye on the Alkilinity and Calcium. All Stoney corals are calcium carbonate based and will use up calcium. Keep a steady calcium level.
May I ask how old your tank is?
Graham
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Looked at this post earlier and figured some of the "SPS" guys would help out.
By the way graham I've been looking for you...think you could e-mail me...I have a question for you.
bdjr@3lefties.com
 
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