Mixing sps and lps?

dc4 · #1 12-22-2011, 05:09 AM

Just got a frag of Tyree Pink Lemonade, Tyree Bali Tri Color,
ORA Pearlberry, ORA Red Planet, Shawn Bennett Yellow Tort, and a Plum Crazy and OMFG, these little frags are sick. Most of my tank is dominated by lps and zoas/palys as I have always loved things in the tank that had movement.

I may have changed my mind now, these pieces look downright awesome and I am already planning my next order. I may have to turn to the darkside and convert my tank into a sps dominated tank instead and get rid of my torch, frogspawns, hammer, duncans, bubble, elegance, and the anemones that are waiting for my next set of black ice clowns (first ones were doa

).

For those that have a mix of lps and sps, what are the chances of everything getting along without killing the sps if they touch? My guess would be that the anemones would obviously be an issue however they have yet to move from their island on the right side of my tank, where they were put and its been months.

Snappy · #2 12-22-2011, 05:58 AM

Murphy's law dictates that the anemones won't move until the sps frags get large enough that it's worth their rambling over them for the kill. Then they will head straight for the power heads and really make a mess.

If your lps touch the sps, the sps generally loose that battle.

paddyob · #3 12-22-2011, 11:55 AM

I have both. Allow space for the LPS and it will be fine.

Watch for sweepers on the LPS. Ensure they dont reach the SPS.

As snappy said. Sps won't win against LPS.

daniella3d · #4 12-22-2011, 12:52 PM

It's not the LPS that will kill your SPS unless they actually touch it, it's unstable and unproper water parameter most of the time or unproper light. Especially if you use carbon, it won't be to much of a problem. I would avoir any leather though.

I have many LPS with my SPS and softies and I have no problem, never had.

YOu say they are sick, but what exactly is hapening? RTN? STN? what?

What is your salinity? how do you mesure it? calcium? alkalinity? magnesium? temperature?

Especially a high alkalinity can burn the SPS tips or make them RTN or STN. I try to keep my alkalinity between 7 to 8, and as stable as possible so I dose 16 times per day.

The anemones might move if you change your light.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dc4

Just got a frag of Tyree Pink Lemonade, Tyree Bali Tri Color,
ORA Pearlberry, ORA Red Planet, Shawn Bennett Yellow Tort, and a Plum Crazy and OMFG, these little frags are sick. Most of my tank is dominated by lps and zoas/palys as I have always loved things in the tank that had movement.

I may have changed my mind now, these pieces look downright awesome and I am already planning my next order. I may have to turn to the darkside and convert my tank into a sps dominated tank instead and get rid of my torch, frogspawns, hammer, duncans, bubble, elegance, and the anemones that are waiting for my next set of black ice clowns (first ones were doa

).

For those that have a mix of lps and sps, what are the chances of everything getting along without killing the sps if they touch? My guess would be that the anemones would obviously be an issue however they have yet to move from their island on the right side of my tank, where they were put and its been months.

fishoholic · #5 12-22-2011, 01:05 PM

I think he meant the slang term of "sick" meaning they're really cool looking.

daniella3d · #6 12-22-2011, 03:46 PM

oh! hehe...I missed that completely and that's much better. Yes they should be really cool looking. So no worry then. I am not English so those slang terms are not so familiar to me.

BTW, I have frogspawn, hammer, and 2 large colonies of duncans and I have no problem with any of my SPS.

You got some very nice aquacultured coral and they should be hardy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishoholic

I think he meant the slang term of "sick" meaning they're really cool looking.

dc4 · #7 12-22-2011, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniella3d

oh! hehe...I missed that completely and that's much better. Yes they should be really cool looking. So no worry then. I am not English so those slang terms are not so familiar to me.

BTW, I have frogspawn, hammer, and 2 large colonies of duncans and I have no problem with any of my SPS.

You got some very nice aquacultured coral and they should be hardy.

The red planet and tri color, whited out a bit from the shipping but other than that they are ok, and yes I was using the slang term of "sick".

Any nice sps pieces you guys can recommend, I love the ones that have different base/polyp colors.

daniella3d · #8 12-22-2011, 10:48 PM

If I was you, I would wait a little bit, like 2 to 3 months, before buying too many expensive SPS, and see how those are going to do.

If they survive and thrive, then it will be a confirmation that your tank is suited for SPS. Some of these I bet were quite expensive!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dc4

The red planet and tri color, whited out a bit from the shipping but other than that they are ok, and yes I was using the slang term of "sick".

Any nice sps pieces you guys can recommend, I love the ones that have different base/polyp colors.

Lance · #9 12-22-2011, 11:14 PM

One small warning: some LPS have incredibly long sweepers: for eg: I've heard of some bubble coral with two-foot long sweepers!

fishytime · #10 12-22-2011, 11:38 PM

Ive never had too many issues mixing LPS with SPS (given enough space).....the problem Ive had is the flow requirements for the different corals...... the more into SPS I got, the more I bumped up the flow..... the more I bumped up the flow, the more upset my larger polyped LPS got.....I eventually had to get rid of my massive frogspawn......LPS with a lower profile, like acans and favia still do well in my 100 times turnover tank.....that being said if you can shuffle your corals around into lower flow areas and keep them out of reach of each other, then you might be aw-ight