Giving up on SPS!

[daniella3d]

I have a 75 gallons full of SPS. My tric...no sump and lots of softies.

I have a 15 gallons full of SPS. I do have a sump but lots of softies still.

What's with the softies and SPS? I never had any problem mixing both.

High alkalinity with low nutrient and fluctuation in parameters are probable the problem here, not the softies.

Originally Posted by Titus99

I have a 26 gallon tank with 35 sps

My trick. Is a sump is a must and no zero nada. Softies

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

I have a 75 gallons full of SPS. My tric...no sump and lots of softies.

I have a 15 gallons full of SPS. I do have a sump but lots of softies still.

What's with the softies and SPS? I never had any problem mixing both.

High alkalinity with low nutrient and fluctuation in parameters are probable the problem here, not the softies.

Isin't 9-10 dkH like sweet spot? None of the params fluctuate other than dKh falling from 10 to 9 in 2 weeks. Not sure about other traces like iodide and stuffs.

And I thought low nutrient is preferred by SPS :|

Its so confusing!!!!

[daniella3d]

10 is too high if your level of nutrient is low. That will cause all sort of problem like RTN, STN etc..

Sweet spot is natural sea water, 7.5 to 8 is ideal.

Low nutrient is good for SPS but they do need food then. Especially if you have a weak light, no wonder they are dying in your tank.

with low nutrien you need a good light, good food on regular basis and around 8 kh, no higher.

People think that SPS only live from light alone but in nature there is tons of zooplankton. This is also why SPS grow much better and faster in a mature tank of at least a year old, because by that time zooplankton and all sort of larveas have started to colonize the aquarium.

I feed my SPS every other day with zooplankton food like Fauna marin, reefroid, coral frenzy and I feed Zeovit amino acid and coral vitalizer each day. This makes all the difference in growth and color.

Originally Posted by mrhasan

Isin't 9-10 dkH like sweet spot? None of the params fluctuate other than dKh falling from 10 to 9 in 2 weeks. Not sure about other traces like iodide and stuffs.

And I thought low nutrient is preferred by SPS :|

Its so confusing!!!!

[mrhasan]

I read from a reliable source that on avg, dkH in NSW remains around 3.5meg/L (aprox. 10dKh)

Alongside, I do feed coral snow about twice a week.

Maybe the light and the nutrient is the issue. Whatever that is, SPS are just not worth it to me

Originally Posted by daniella3d

10 is too high if your level of nutrient is low. That will cause all sort of problem like RTN, STN etc..

Sweet spot is natural sea water, 7.5 to 8 is ideal.

Low nutrient is good for SPS but they do need food then. Especially if you have a weak light, no wonder they are dying in your tank.

with low nutrien you need a good light, good food on regular basis and around 8 kh, no higher.

People think that SPS only live from light alone but in nature there is tons of zooplankton. This is also why SPS grow much better and faster in a mature tank of at least a year old, because by that time zooplankton and all sort of larveas have started to colonize the aquarium.

I feed my SPS every other day with zooplankton food like Fauna marin, reefroid, coral frenzy and I feed Zeovit amino acid and coral vitalizer each day. This makes all the difference in growth and color.

[dreef]

It will be very hard with a small mixed tank.My tank is at least 90% acropora with softies and leathers but it's a 100 gallons,no carbon.Don't feed them anything but tons of light.Yeah..their boring and brown..i really hate this ugly one.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by dreef

It will be very hard with a small mixed tank.My tank is at least 90% acropora with softies and leathers but it's a 100 gallons,no carbon.Don't feed them anything but tons of light.Yeah..their boring and brown..i really hate this ugly one.

That's a nice colony

Well its boring to me since I can't keep it :P

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

I read from a reliable source that on avg, dkH in NSW remains around 3.5meg/L (aprox. 10dKh)

10 is fine, mine sits there often and I don't have any problems. I've run it regularly as high as 14. Again, no issues.

[daniella3d]

Even with low nutrient system?

Originally Posted by Aquattro

10 is fine, mine sits there often and I don't have any problems. I've run it regularly as high as 14. Again, no issues.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

Even with low nutrient system?

Yes. I lost track for a few months and tested it at 12. Someone told me zeo systems do best at 7, but that's too low for my liking. 10 is low compared to what I've run in the past. I find colors are crisper at higher alk..