Request advice: considering adding SPS corals to my LPS tank

[trilinearmipmap]

I have a 120 gallon reef, mixed LPS and soft corals. Everything is going well so far, it has been set up for about 6 months, containing fish and corals for about 3 or 4 months.

The equipment is: 8 x 54 Watt T5 Tek-light, DIY sump with chaeto refugium, EuroReef CS-6-2+ skimmer, kalk auto-topoff.

I had two Montipora digitata frags that Hawk was good enough to contribute a few months back. One bleached out entirely and died about two months ago. The other frag has bleached over the bottom 2/3, this happened whil I was away on vacation, I think there may have been a power outage or other unknown event while I was gone.

I am thinking of trying some SPS but don't know if I really want to. I would invest in a calcium reactor if I knew I would be keeping SPS long-term, but I want to try some SPS first and see how they do.

My water specs are all zeros where they are supposed to be, Ca is around 380, that is with the kalk auto-topoff and occasional DIY 2-part.

Anyway the questions are:

Should I try SPS or just forget about it?
What would be a good/easy/cheap SPS to start with, asides from the Montipora digitata?

[Delphinus]

Monitpora capricornis is pretty forgiving. Pocillopora is also a nice one that I don't think is terribly demanding.

Also some acros aren't too fussy (although it's more an exception I think, than the rule). I have an A. valida (looks like one anyhow) that has lived through everything I could throw at it, and seems to grow (and have ool colour) no matter what the Ca/Alk levels are.

That said most acros, I find, seem to be either "growing" or "dying". I.e., if the levels aren't perfect for optimal growth, the colony is at risk of crashing, because there's no middle ground (or if there is, it's a very narrow tolerance). Just something to keep in mind before you suddenly get an SPS bug or something like that; the more you have, the higher the draw, and thus the closer you need to watch the levels.

[Samw]

Some other easy SPS would be Cactus coral and Hydnophora. I have no trouble with those even when they were only under 110W of PC lighting. Monti caps and Acros give me trouble all the time. My Acros have been improving lately with the addition of the Tunze Skimmer and new MH bulb. My dissolved oxygen level in the morning has gone up from 55% to 70%.

[Ken]

LPS and soft corals in itself is beautiful to maintain in aquarium. I think you would be happy with them, as SPS are demanding in water quality, parameters and lighting setup. I would dedicate an aquarium just for SPS. Regards Ken

[sumpfinfishe]

Well as Tony and Sam mentioned there are some easier to keep corals than others, with that said though I have kept many SPS corals alive and healthy in my small(27gl) and NO lit tank now for the last two years. I have such varities as:
monti cap
monti digitata
bottle brush acro
milli's
pocillipora
hydnophora
table acro
staghorn acro
seriatopora hystrix
turbinaria

Even though the growth rates of these coral's have not be staggering, they are all healthy and growing. I think consistency is the secret if you want to keep these and other less tolerable corals. My reef's parameters usually stay the same including temp,salinity, PH, Ca, etc....
I think you should have success with keeping these coral's if you can keep thing's consistent.
My old roomate once had troubles keeping the same coral's as me, and his tank is twice as big, 100 times more lighting, blah blah blah, the trick is keeping your system running good without major fluctuations. You can see some of my growth rates on my webpage in the pic gallery at the link below. As for specie's- why not try some small frags for starters to see which ones like the lighting, current, etc...
Goodluck :biggrin: