Partially Submerged Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Are there any SPS that don't mind frequent small changes (temperature and salinity) in their environment? If have a very tiny tank (3g) and would love a birdsnest coral or an M. digitata, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Link to comment
Ruester007 Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 How small are the changes and are you prepared for the care that SPS require; ie lights, etc.? Link to comment
Jackal_Knight Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Montipora or a birdsnest should be fine i was having temp swings from 80-85 degrees a day and mine were fine. Till i accidentally OD my tank on kalk and almost killed everything. But its all healed up now. Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Birdsnest, Montipora, Pocillopora - got it. Thank you! How small are the changes and are you prepared for the care that SPS require; ie lights, etc.? I have a 14W Coral Compulsion Par30 over 3g. That should be fine, right? The temperature is set to 78, but can go down to 76 at night and up to 80ish on hot days. I don't think I want to mess around with too much supplemental dosing, but I use Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, which gets replenished every week (weekly 100% water changes). Link to comment
Ruester007 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Birdsnest, Montipora, Pocillopora - got it. Thank you! I have a 14W Coral Compulsion Par30 over 3g. That should be fine, right? The temperature is set to 78, but can go down to 76 at night and up to 80ish on hot days. I don't think I want to mess around with too much supplemental dosing, but I use Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, which gets replenished every week (weekly 100% water changes). I've always thought 100% water changes were extreme, but honestly I have never run anything smaller than a 10g. Link to comment
gulfsurfer101 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Yup, too many variables with 100% wc's but if you test your water, make sure your alk, calc and mag remain consistent. Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Could be. All I know is that this is my first reef tank, and it's been running beautifully for several months. I've never lost any livestock, and I don't have algae, so I'm just going to stick with it (until something goes terribly wrong ). I am heavily influenced by some posts written by brandon429 (on tropicalfishkeeping.com; not sure if he posts on this board), who makes a very good case for doing 100% WCs. When monitoring alc, calc, and mag, do they actually need to be consistent, or do I just always need to have a certain amount in the water? I other words, if the ideal amount of, say calcium is X, do I always need to maintain exactly X or is it fine if my water hovers between X and X+1? Link to comment
gulfsurfer101 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 The closer the range the better, but I have seen some beautiful tanks using 100% water changes. Just test your freshly mixed water and make sure your ranges are good. I know instant ocean is kinda weak on calcium and alk so I have to adjust it before I change it out, but I'm not too familiar with the reef crystals brand. It may have higher levels. Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Excellent, thank you! When I'm ready to pull the trigger on an SPS, I'll test a fresh batch of Reef Crystals water and post the parameters here. Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I donno, my pocillipora is horrible.... Lost tons of tissue while my acros and expensive SPS is just fine? I guess everyone is different, but my pocillipora is a jerk, lol Link to comment
metrokat Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Birdsnest, Montipora, Pocillopora - got it. Thank you! I have a 14W Coral Compulsion Par30 over 3g. That should be fine, right? The temperature is set to 78, but can go down to 76 at night and up to 80ish on hot days. I don't think I want to mess around with too much supplemental dosing, but I use Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, which gets replenished every week (weekly 100% water changes). Feed your tank heavy the day before your water change. Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Thanks! I decided to go SPS-less for the time being. I don't think I actually have a good spot left that has high flow and good light and isn't too close to something else. Eventually I may have to take my centerpiece torch coral out (if it starts to zap other corals - right now it's a great citizen). If that happens, I'll have a wonderful place for one of the above mentioned SPS. Link to comment
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