sps,lps and soft coral compatibility?

Just wondering if sps and lps keepers also have soft corals in the same tank? I've heard that keeping them together can be a bad thing for the stonies. Are finger leathers, mushrooms, zoos etc. harmful?

 

Finger leathers are the most likely to create problems. If you use carbon and change it regularly and often it is not a problem.

 

I have had bad luck with acro frags dying after 2 months of pretty good growth. I do have a very large fingerleather, shrooms, and zoos that I kept from my old tank. Montiporas, birdsnests,favias acans etc. seem to be doing great. Acros not so good.

 

Acros need phosphate to be below .05ppm to keep them going. Nitrates need to be below 5 ppm.

 

T-BASS

I have seen many fine looking mixed reef tanks, but I found myself unable to replicate
tank size and flow method may make a big difference in being able to find areas that are suitable for all the species in the same tank

creating flow conditions that seemed to be appreciated by my SPS frags left very little low flow areas for other species

as stated by 2 in 10 - leathers and toadies are known for chemical release so if they are upstream of an SPS and your not using enough or changing frequently enough your carbon you can experience issues

other corals like shrooms and Zoas can irritate SPS corals

its do able, many people do achieve it
but I made a desicion to focus on the SPS and then cater for their needs, without worrying about the needs of other species or running the risk that chemicals released are greater than my carbon use is capable of absorbing

SPS cost more, take more time to grow, and are in the main more demanding of the water chemistry and parameters

I figured it would be a shame to waste the added effort and have an SPS colony bleach or RTN/STN due to the presence of a coral that could be kept in a much simpler easier to maintain set up

(so a 2nd tank for softies and LPS is an option to consider IME)

Steve

 

Steve said it best..

I do have a mixed reef, but can tell that my SPS get angry when my carbon is older than 2-3 weeks. I do like LPS and Zoanthids but it is a serious PITA to fine tune flow to keep every coral happy and alive. I will be selling my LPS and the rest of my softies soon and going all SPS.

 

Yeah, it happened again. Just got a shipment of coral from reef empire yesterday and the two acros are already bleaching from the bottom up. It's driving me nuts! I have tested water every week and everything looks good. Man I'm frustrated.

 

from the bottom up sounds like an Alkalinity problem. Whats your DKH?

 

I'll check it now. 8.8 dkh (salifert) 8 dkh (Api)

 

your alks low