Differences between LPS and SPS

Hi,

I'm really new to this hobby (well the saltwater side at least) and I'm totally confused about the coral part. I just cycled my 46 g and someone suggested mushrooms and zoas. But what are the differences between lps and sps? What do they even mean? And do corals close and open? What do I feed them? Sorry there are so many questions

 

lps- large polyped stony, generally moderately hard to keep. require medium lighting. they move a lot and usually have tentacles.

sps- small polyped stony, harder to keep, need a lot of light and pristine waters.

 

neither of those corals you mentioned are lps or sps, those are simply polyps, they are some of the easiest corals to care for.

sps are known for needing very very intense light, lps not so much.

 

to start out, would zoas work with t5 lighting? tank is only 20 inches deep

 

yeah you could probably grow zoas with a standard fluorescent strip light, not picky at all when it comes to light.... or water quality for that matter. haha

 

yes that would be fine, how many bulbs? a quality t5ho 4 bulb set up could house anything.

 

Just 2 bulbs

 

~~~bad advice~~~

 

With a 2 bulb setup you're not really gonna be able to grown any LPS, or even be able to think about SPS. You will basically be limited to zoo's, shrooms, and soft corals. Not entirely a bad thing when you're just starting out though.

 

I would think some low light lps wouldnt be out of the question...