My SPS experiences

[nudibranch]

I've never been a big fan of the "MH lighting or bust for SPS" opinion. Many people kept SPS prior to MH being around. My LFS doesn't suggest half the light some of the people on here recommend and the owners are some of the most highly respected reefers in the area and local fish club. It's really just a matter of what works best for you. I had some type of SPS in an old tank that was doing really well on 18W of PC lighting. It was a ~2-3g nano.
Thats aside, I do like the 20K MH, thinking of putting a 70W one over a future 10g.

 

[nudibranch]

mjsdas - Sorry to get off topic a bit BUT...when are you fragging those zoos in the orange montipora capricornus pic??? *hint hint*
If/When the time comes...I'd be willing to take a few polyps off your hands in whatever kind of arrangment we can figure out...esp if there was something I have that you'd like...let me know.
Nudibranch@luckyreef.com

 

[mjsdas]

you've got mail

 

[manjisann]

I agree with all of the above praise, this is a very well thought out post, and the pics help very much. I was thinking of keeping only mushrooms and polyps and maybe a hammer coral, but now, with additional research of course, I would be interested in some of the harder corals. I beleive you said that the montipora were fairly easy to keep? Thanks again for this great post.

 

[mjsdas]

:::UPDATE:::
tonight I sold away the millipora, the pocillipora, and the acropora tortuosa....
the millipora was starting the bleach out at the base as was the new tortuosa at a fairly quick rate. the pocillipora rapidly began to bleach out on the underside and edges where the lighting was not strong as in the top center. The green acropora slimer isnt nearly as bright as it once was, however it shows no signs of bleaching so I held on to that one.
this is kind of dissapointing since I thought that I was having some good luck. However, my montipora species are still thriving and i'm happy about that.

 

[cliffrouse11bas]

I want to see some more pictures Can we get a full tank shot..

 

[mjsdas]

here is the tank a little less then a month ago, since then the those three sps's are gone, and i've fragged a bunch of zoos, i'll take some more pics in a day or so maybe
from left...

 

[mjsdas]

front

 

[mjsdas]

and the right side...

 

[overanalyzer]

Nice post and way to keep a record to help advance the knowledge of all hobbiests!!
Of course I am not a huge SPS fan ....but it is nice to know there are some thoughtful folks out there with sps nano's willing to share both triumphs and mistakes!
Thanks!!

 

[nudibranch]

mjsdas - just got them. WOW! I really like so far! Can't wait until they open fully. My PPEs are ready to go, I'll be dropping them off tomorrow @ 2:00 ish.

 

[liverock27]

Great post!! I just started cycling my 20g w/20gL sump/refug. I have the 96w powerquad lighting, love it, especially with the legs you can get for it. I have been doing lots of research on corals for it and your info has helped me out alot. Like to see some more pics...what do you have on top of your powerhead in the one shot?

 

[fmelindy]

Maybe the bad luck you had wasn't a result of light (or inadquate light at least). I see a lot of soft corals in the full tank shot including some leathers (I think?). Many members of the Octocoral family are known to be highly toxic to stony corals, especially SPS. Of course, the main menthod of their toxicity is by the secretion of chemicals. In a very small reef system like your nano, it is possible perhaps that the SPS were stunted by the accumulation of toxic chemicals. I'd like to see a similar experiment tried in a nano tank entirely devoted to stony corals before I'd be willing to conclude that light was the problem... (correct me if I'm wrong but there were some leathers in there right?)