SPS Corals

So I've been doing some research on SPS corals and I really like the look of the stylophora and would like to have one eventually; that'll be way down the road of reefkeeping. What exactly are the specifications of keeping SPS? I am aware of them needing metal halides (doing more research I now know it's not completely necessary) and nitrates being nearly undetectable... Which seems pretty difficult to achieve. I'm positive that there are SPS keepers on 3reef, so mind sharing your advice with a noobie? I have a 10 gallon tank... Yeah, a ten gallon (can't wait to see reactions on this lol). Thanks in advance. ;D

 

Near 0 nitrates, near 0 phosphates, high light, high flow, proper calcium/alk/magnesium levels, proper salinity.

NOT necessarily MH; T5s or LEDs can work just as well. Flow that will keep any debris from settling in the branches is really what you need, and they grow faster under higher flow since they can then absorb more calcium from the water.

As for nitrates/phosphates, they're easy to control with a place to grow algae or very consistent water changes. A GFO reactor will help with phosphates quite a bit, too, if the refugium doesn't cut it.

 

Yeah I just edited the Metal halides part. Let's say I do some softies and LPS first. I keep them for a long time, they're doing great for about 6 months. I just do water changes with red sea coral pro weekly and keep ph, calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity in check. Now Let's say I add a sump with a protein skimmer and a fuge with lots of chaeto and I have a pretty strong CUC from reefcleaners. Do you think I'd be able to pull off SPS with just that? Oh yeah I forgot to mention how much flow would SPS need?

 

I have only had mine since Oct. and it is the first one I have ever had. I believe they will do fine under both T5 and PC. Member 2in10 has his under T5 and it is beautiful.

Mine is under MH mid in the tank mod flow, with supplemental Ca, buffer and magnesium.

 

dont worry im trying to keep SPS in my 8 gal i like stylophora too. check out the second page of the coral section, Corailline talked about some SPS keeping on http://www.3reef.com/forums/coral/ok-well-i-fragged-frag-pics-added-103379.html and my thread http://www.3reef.com/forums/coral/sps-pcs-103559.html

 

wow it looks very nice

 

I have a Red Planet acro with a 425 GPH powerhead placed 6 inches away pointed directly at it. I also have about 1000 gph from returns, 2 x 250 gph Koralias, and a Vortech MP10. About 2000 GPH, before you count the Vortech, in my 55g tank.

 

you need a ton of flow for sps, im talking like 4 pumps, also not necessarily metal halides, pc's t5's and led's can work just as well, pc's arent as efficient though and need built in individual reflectors but it can be done

 

Jumper, for my 29g tank I will be running a 3.5g fueg in an 11g sump with a coralife 65 and a duel reactor with GFO and ecoBAK biopellets. I hiope this does me well.

For flow, I have 3X koralia nano 425's along with the 450gph return of water from my sump. This will put me at over 90X turnover(with 37 lb of rock, I really only have 19g) This should be plenty for SPS. I could go higher if I wanted, but is it really necessary? Does it need to be as high flow as this?No, and no.

I will have 48w of LED over my tank. I'd like to get 2 of these bulbs as son as they come out.

Hands-on Preview of Orphek's PR-25 PAR38 LED Spotlight - Captive Aquatics: An Aquarium and Ecology Blog

 

Basically perfect water! hahaha Once you get the hang of sps coral and understand what they need, it's pretty easy! I have a thread called "SPS Requirements" if you would like to check that out! I got a ton of great responses and opinions! A 10 gallon is pretty small to keep sps in. Is it from scratch or a "ready reef system?"

I have a 70 gal with

2x1400 Koralia
1x1200 Koralia
=37x turnover

2x250 watt Metal Halides
=around 7 watts per gallon