New to SPS

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#1
Hey guys,

I've been to soft corals, some lps and anemone. Now I want to do SPS corals. I've not dosed anything for my 55g tank. I want to get SPS corals. What's good beginner SPS corals? Do i need doser too? Should I get doser first or SPS coral first? How'd I know if my flow is good enough for SPS coral?
 

ivan

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#2
Before anything get some test kits( AlkCa Mag) you Can't dose if you don't know your levels !!
Then adjust the water parameters for sps by getting a dower or doing it manually is up to you and then get a easy coral.
Whatever you do do it slow :)
 
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#3
After you get your kits, and know you're parameters, you can start dosing a good 2-part calcium and alk supplement like B-ionic
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/esv-b-ionic-calcium-buffer-system.html
Also Magnesium, as you'll learn goes hand in hand with calcium. Once yet get a good load of sticks going you
might upgrade to a Kalkwasser stirrer or calcium reactor but they are quite over priced for what they are.
Good beginner SPS are montipora digitata, montipora Capricornis, assorted bird's nest. Save the Acropora for later when you get comfortable with dosing and testing consistently. Make sure you acclimate your SPS to the new light, they need medium to high light but you can't blast them right away with it. You may consider quarantine all new SPS because they can harbor very bad pest organisms that can wipe out you corals and are hard to get rid of once they are there.
 
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#4
what kind of pest are u talking about Bouncingsoul393? I already have test kit right now I only have lps and anemone. Do you recommend to get doser or reactor? I talked to brs and said doser is better than reactor due to doser give more concentrated element trace like alk and cal.
 
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#5
what kind of pest are u talking about Bouncingsoul393? I already have test kit right now I only have lps and anemone. Do you recommend to get doser or reactor? I talked to brs and said doser is better than reactor due to doser give more concentrated element trace like alk and cal.
Pests on SPS include Red bugs, Acropora eating flatworms, montipora eating nudibranchs, and more. Read here:
http://www.melevsreef.com/category/articles/solutions/pests
What test kits do you have now? Personally, I will be getting a doser for my SPS tank that I am setting up now. I prefer it just due to the simplicity of it and also cost. A good calcium reactor is quite expensive and they require a very high quality regulator which is also expensive. Each has it's own pros and cons really. If I wasn't going to use a doser, I'd go with a Kalkwasser reactor instead of a calcium reactor. But that's a whole other story.
 

timmyliauw

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#6
I have red sea test kit for alk, cal and mag, hanna test kit for phosphate and alk, api for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. What's the different between kalkwasser reactor and calcium reactor? Is calcium reactor just focus on maintaining calcium level in the water? I just purchased dos and ddr as well as the mix dry of alk and calcium (maybe too early since I don't have any sps and just to prepare myself for the worse).
 
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#8
For dipping corals, CoralRx is better IMO. Be careful though, not all corals should be dipped. Check out some articles on proper dipping techniques. Also Google the Kalkwasser reactor vs CA reactor, really to much to cover here and there are plenty informative articles in the Reefkeeping magazine archive and elsewhere.
 

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