flhri97 Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hey everyone, Can anyone tell me if I will have success with SPS under a 150 watt MH 14k and 36 watts of 03 actinic in a 24 nanocube? Water parameters are good and constant. Temp stays at 79-80 degrees. I have read the other threads here, but am not seeing a yes or no. So many different opinions. I will be putting other types of coral also, but SPS seem to have the greatest lighting demand. Link to comment
blooper74 Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Yes you should be just fine with the light you have. I have some SPS under my 70watt MH with a 14k bulb and they are doing great. Link to comment
flhri97 Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 Yes you should be just fine with the light you have. I have some SPS under my 70watt MH with a 14k bulb and they are doing great. Thanks, I really don't want to spend the money on acros just to kill a beautiful piece of coral. Is your aquarium 24 gal. Link to comment
proraptor Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 You have to remember that lighting isnt everything for SPS....You need SUPER CLEAN water...So make sure all your params are at a steady 0....You also need to make sure your CA/ALK is very steady Link to comment
revance Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 While I think you can probably keep most common SPS under your lighting, you must remember that not all SPS have the same lighting demands (or any demand for that matter). For example, various montipora species thrive under anything from moderate compact fluorescent lighting to big MH lamps. I believe some species of pocillopora won't do well at all under intense light. Some SPS live 50m deep, others are exposed to the air for periods during the day baking in the sun, and some are found in both extremes. Sorry to lecture, just pointing out that you must be careful not to make too many generalizations. Link to comment
flhri97 Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 Thanks everyone for your replys. When I order I will call the vendor first and talk to someone before ordering, hopefully they will be honest. My water parameters are excellent, took me a while to get there and learn how to maintain it, but I believe I have a handle on it now. I will have to get the CAL/KH tests first. Just want to do it right for the corals sake Link to comment
revance Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Something else you might want to consider is how they will look in a 25g tank. I have never been a huge fan of how many SPS look in small tanks. So I would pay special attention to the growth patterns and plan aesthetically for the long term. You don't want your tank to look like someone dumped a bunch of broken colored sticks into it. Maybe some encrusting monti would look nice. Link to comment
sheen Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Start out with Montipora, pocillopora and perhaps stylophora. No tank is the same, it is a combination of many factors, water quality being the most important, stability, lighting... try some easier SPS first and if they do well and grow well, you may have a better bet at Acropora. It's really trial and error depending on all the factors in your tank, though there are general criteria under which certain corals will live or won't. Honestly, if you don't mind the color of 10K, that would be much better for most SPS. You'll have to keep the SPS from mid level to high level, under the 150W though, unless they are a less light demanding species. Link to comment
flhri97 Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 Very intuitive revance, I will only put a couple of acros, the rest would be a variety of shrooms, zoos, LPS, softies. will start with frags and go from there. I am still working on the layout of the corals. Thanks for this info you guys? are giving great food for thought Link to comment
sheen Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 If it's your first stab at SPS I would recommend staying away from mixing them with softies and the SPS. LPS will be okay in the short term, honestly, they will eventually outcompete any SPS. Of course, SPS only is the easiest way to do it, I would recommend that wholeheartedly if this is your first SPS tank, and also considering that it is a 25. Softies make all sorts of problems when housed with SPS, because of the toxins they release. Is this your first tank? I just wanted to make sure. Link to comment
flhri97 Posted March 25, 2006 Author Share Posted March 25, 2006 If it's your first stab at SPS I would recommend staying away from mixing them with softies and the SPS. LPS will be okay in the short term, honestly, they will eventually outcompete any SPS. Of course, SPS only is the easiest way to do it, I would recommend that wholeheartedly if this is your first SPS tank, and also considering that it is a 25. Softies make all sorts of problems when housed with SPS, because of the toxins they release. Is this your first tank? I just wanted to make sure. Yes it is my first tank, would LPS and SPS get along? I can live without the soft corals Link to comment
sheen Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Well if it's your first tank I highly highly recommend against SPS, especially especially Acropora of any kind. The reason is that even in a large system Acropora can prove hard to maintain, not to mention in a nano. They need very very stable temperature and excellent water quality, and nutrient poor water. Even then they will just die on you for no reason sometimes, they are quite tricky even for the intermediate to advanced aquarists. Their requirements are very hard to meet. And honestly, I think you will like LPS a lot more, they do a lot more, they eat tangible food, they look cool because they are big and poofy and can inflate and deflate... they're a lot easier to care for and just plain fun. It's fun to venture into SPS as well, they are quite beautiful specimens but just plain hard to care for. LPS and Softies are your best bet for now, it's my recommendation from the heart to stay away from SPS as they are considered "advanced" species. Maybe a couple of months down the road after your tank mature you can consider trying a montipora or pocillopora, but hold off on the Acropora, you won't regret doing so. Link to comment
flhri97 Posted March 25, 2006 Author Share Posted March 25, 2006 Thanks sheen, It sounds like good advice, I will take your advice and appreciate the info from all who responded. I am so glad I found nano reef.com shortly after getting my cube. Thanks again to all Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Please read, re: SPS Renaming Our Corals - Reefkeeping Magazine Link to comment
flhri97 Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Please read, re: SPS Renaming Our Corals - Reefkeeping Magazine Thanks neanderthalman, great article. I will be thinking about what to put in it now for a few more weeks, before pulling the trigger Link to comment
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