easiest sps?

my nano is cycling right now and i plan to get a par30 over it. i have not kept sps in a while my last 2 tanks were softies. what sps should i start off with? i plan in the future to have mostly rarer ones that are pretty expensive because in wuch a small area theyll fill it up easily. any ideas?

 

IME
Montipora species would be ideal starter / test SPS corals

M Digitatta
M Spongodes
M Capricornis
M Confusa

any of them should be a reasonably good option for checking conditions for SPS in your set up

Steve

 

thanks steve i really like the looks of the montiporas, i plan on having one as the center piece of the tank. what about acros such as birdsnest? are those particularly easy?

 

pocillopora or monticaps are good starter SPS. I wouldnt set your heart entirely on filling you nano with expensive corals until you are fairly confident you have mastered the nano tank. water levels & param's can swing much faster than a big tank.

 

yeah, well im planning on starting with some easier ones to see if im ready for the more difficult ones. i was thinking maybe a chalice later on, are those difficult? also what about the more rare varieties of the montiporas such as the watermelon and superman?

 

For sure. In a nano, you sneaze and the parameters go through the roof LOL. Montis are and pollicioporas are probably about as easy as you'll find. There are some very cool rare montis that are pretty easy, if you really want the rare theme.

 

Completely agree! I would start with the zoas.

 

birdsnest are often described as a hardy SPS coral
but
the branching of them can be incredibly intricate and this can make them a target for any floating flotsum and jetsum in your set up
this branchwork, has the ability to trap and then harbour rubbish
which then goes on to create an area of high nutrient within the vicinity of the coral and can result in GHA appearing on there

random flow so that nothing settles on them is key for all SPS IMO
Its just a bit trickier to do with a coral as intricate as a well formed birdsnest

but a frag with a few branches on would also be a great starter SPS IMO
Steve

 

I agree, I have had more problems with BN, than any other sps.

Montipora and Pocillpora would be the direction I would go with a nano.

 

I would go with birdnest as my second tier group of SPS. I would suggest a Stylophora though for starters.