lps and sps

[kellen85]

i've heard you can't mix these two types of coral together. can you or can't you. i read that it has something to do with chemicals they give off

 

[ric maniac]

no, you cant have them close together. you can have them in the same tank but you cant have them within the same area. for some reason when they get together they give off their chemical defense, whether it be nematocysts or slime. and they do this untill one is dead. this would be fine in the ocean because the chemicals can simply drift away, but in our home aquariums they stay there and linger wich can kill other things.

 

[jamparty]

they don't just resort to chemical defense...
if they are close enough to each other they can literally expel their guts out onto the more passive one and quite literally digest parts of the other coral until they have as much space as they want. Of course, the bigger they get the more frequently they will be doing this to neighboring corals. Generally at least 4" all around the aggressive ones is what I would shoot for.

 

[kellen85]

would it be safe to have a mixture in a 90g tank? i have all lps now but i'm upgrading mt lighting soon so i can expand possibilities

 

[teen]

you can safely do it in a 90 gallon. ive done it in a 30.

 

[dallas612]

do you have to run carbon to make this work?

 

[teen]

you should be running carbo no matter what imo.

 

[ledzep fan]

Actually carbon pulls out a lot of elements from the tank. I only run carbon when needed. JMO

 

[nycbob]

i mix sps, softies and lps in my tank. not a problem at all. i do run carbon tho. i also direct the flow from the sps to the softies.

 

[sudc]

Running carbon 24/7 isn't advisable imo/ime, especially with sps. Like ledzep said, it pulls out things that you need. I run carbon for 1-2 days maybe once a month if the water isn't real clear or there is some water quality issue.
Lps and SPS are fine together and shouldn't wage any warfare unless they are too close too each other.
SPS and leathers can be a problem in the same tank though.

 

[nycbob]

i hv 3 leathers in my 72, so running carbon is just a precaution. so far, my sps r doing great. no adverse effect i hv seen.

 

[dallas612]

Originally Posted by SUDC
SPS and leathers can be a problem in the same tank though.
who wins?

 

[reefforbrains]

Leathers win ever time.
Generally you can beat on a leather and it isnt healthy nor is it in the best interest of th ecoral but it will surive in far less than perfect conditions to say the least.
SPS can go out like lightbulbs in as short as a single night of poor conditions.
-JME