Starting SPS

sdoubt64

sdoubt64

New Member
so im startting to get into SPS corals. I currently have a 46GBow with softies and SOME lps. LPS include Frogspawn, and Candy cane coral, nothing too exciting. I have mainly softies in my tank.
Im getting bored with softies. fragging them is way too easy and wanting to try something different. I know the basics of SPS high light, high flow, high calc and alk. What else is there that i need to know? what are the easiest to start out with and what are the hardest? I recieved a couple frags of acros, and a birdsnest, but didn't seem to keep alive. Birdsnest still has some color, but looks to be dieing
..
I have t5 lighting which should be enough.. i think.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
thanks!
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
when I went to SPS I didn't do anything special. like you said, high flow and high light. maintain alk and calium. low nitrates and phophates as well. I would say just get the ones you like that arent expensive and make sure you get aquacultured frags. Also try to get frags already bonded to plugs, not freshly cut until you've had some success. I found that the first month or so not much goes on with growth and color but after that they really get alot better. I've had them change to completely different colors within a few months (all yellow to yellow with dark green tips and all pink to pink with blue tips)
 
sdoubt64

sdoubt64

New Member
ok awesome thanks. ya the frags i got were not on plugs.. just cut off from a guy i know.. they were all really brown tho.. not sure what that means. is it cuz theyre not getting enough light??
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
usually brown means not enough light or some other variable BUT they will color back up over time if put in good conditions. I forgot to mention sometimes the color just doesn't keep like you wish it would even in (what you think are) good conditions.
this one was in june (ora turquise staghorn) and you can see how bright blue it was

by august you can see how much it grew in 2 months but not nearly as blue

this valida went from this when I got it in feb(color inhanced by me. wasn't that yellow)

4 months later from the top down you can see it looks almost completely green. it had NO green when I got it

and 6 months later from when I got it (it actually finally looks like a valida)

green millipora acro is a great starter acro IMO

almost but not even 3 full months later! to the far right

I've just began to put SPS in my new set up (30g) so I'm starting fresh with SPS for just the second go round for me (still pretty new at it). Its almost ready for update pics
. funny when that tank broke the only thing I couldn't seem to get rid of were the SPS and now ALL those including expensive stuff like superman monti are nothing but sump rubble in my current tank.
 
sdoubt64

sdoubt64

New Member
man i wish i could get my tank looking like some tanks on here. speciallys yours. yours looks nice from the pictures
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
agreed with going the aquacultured route. they r much hardier and will end up growing faster anyway. the colors changing is mostly due to lighting. sps will chng colors even if one runs mh. it doesnt mean its unhealthy. i hv sps that hv changed from green to brown to ivory. most monti and staghorns r easy. good luck.
 
sdoubt64

sdoubt64

New Member
I have the Nova Extremes.. ya ive been doin some reading on aquacultured sps.. seems to be the ticket. Whats the best way to add flow? and do they like Direct flow??
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Originally Posted by Sdoubt64
http:///forum/post/2760349
I have the Nova Extremes.. ya ive been doin some reading on aquacultured sps.. seems to be the ticket. Whats the best way to add flow? and do they like Direct flow??
Indirect flow is the key. Bounce it off of rocks, walls, other powerheads, etc... Just dont point it at them. I shoot mine at the surface and it goes up there, comes down on the SPS frags I have, but you can see on my millepora that the flow is pretty random cuz it's polyps wiggle in all different directions.
 
sdoubt64

sdoubt64

New Member
ok. the Koralia pumps pretty good to add a lot of flow? ive heard lots of good things about em.. but just wondering what peoples oppinions were on them. Thanks!
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
the regular nova 4x54w is barely sufficient for some sps. u will need to put them at the very top.
 
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