SPS Dominated Tank parameters

[Six2seven]

Stability is key period. I've kept sps in high phosphates and nitrates. Low everything, high everything. Just make slow changes.

+1. My tank has been at its best when the tank was stable at a cool 8dkh.

 

[smartchoice]

i changed the salt i was using to http://http://www.aquavitro.com/products/salinity.html ever since i did this my tank looks great its a bit $$$ but its worth it! you could get it at chance of coral for a good price! ...

 

[Dominic Giusti]

I was under the impression that higher alk would be better for SPS but it seems that everyone likes to keep it in between 8-9. Very interesting. I might keep mine a bit lower since I'm switching over to an SPS dominated tank.

 

[Reefomeez]

In a presentation from Aviad Ben-Zekry at Red Sea, the higher alk and Ca are good for when you're looking for growth. But the lower, normal levels are more appropriate to get color. His theory seemed to make sense and is the basis for the Red Sea program.

 

[Dominic Giusti]

Very interesting? I wonder what it is exactly that would cause that and if it's species specific or a general rule of thumb?

 

[Reefomeez]

Very interesting? I wonder what it is exactly that would cause that and if it's species specific or a general rule of thumb?

They treat it as a general rule. Elevated element levels makes it easier for the coral to form skeleton, i.e. growth. But to provide the energy to the coral to form skeleton you need slightly elevated nutrient levels too, i.e. food. The additional nutrients in the water feeds algae (xooxanthellae) that may change the color of the coral to make it more drab. When you're done with focusing on growth and reduce the element and nutrient levels you have to focus on feeding the things that the good looking xoox will like and use to grow.

That's the nickel version of his presentation.

 

[reefes pieces]

I like to keep my dkh between 8-9 as I think that's status quo. I'm always conscientious about where I'm getting coral and fish from and what their parameters would be. Knowing that most reefers and LFS keep it in the 8-9 range will hopefully be easy on the coral to acclimate to my tank since it won't be a huge alk swing for the coral. For sps, I also look at the type of lighting the frags come from to since I run LEDs. I think others can vouch but sps corals that were cultured under t5 only lights tend to have a much harder time acclimating to led lighting.

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

I like to keep my dkh between 8-9 as I think that's status quo. I'm always conscientious about where I'm getting coral and fish from and what their parameters would be. Knowing that most reefers and LFS keep it in the 8-9 range will hopefully be easy on the coral to acclimate to my tank since it won't be a huge alk swing for the coral. For sps, I also look at the type of lighting the frags come from to since I run LEDs. I think others can vouch but sps corals that were cultured under t5 only lights tend to have a much harder time acclimating to led lighting.

Unless it was an 8 bulb or more over a frag tank...lol then it seems ok

 

[Justkeepswimming]

if its 47ml you have to do it over the course of a day or 2. what i would do is when you do your water change make your new water alk a little higher then your tank

Doesn't the max amount of alk dosed in one day have to do with the tank volume and the amount of alk your corals are consuming?
I have a 120 gallon tank with mainly sps and i dose like 400 ml ( brs two part ) spread throughout the day to keep my Alk around 7... I have no bleaching and everything is growing and coloring up great (as good as leds get IMO), but i am still dialing in the alk-ca-mg dose so it might be precipitating!

Pic for reference, trying to figure this whole dosing thing out also!

 

[Six2seven]

A higher alkalinity has always gotten me better results with sps. Better color and faster growth. The problem is the higher you go, the more dangerous for any alk swings. 12 to 10dkh can kill your tank while 8 to 6 dkh won't hurt many corals at all.

 

[Six2seven]

I like to keep my dkh between 8-9 as I think that's status quo. I'm always conscientious about where I'm getting coral and fish from and what their parameters would be. Knowing that most reefers and LFS keep it in the 8-9 range will hopefully be easy on the coral to acclimate to my tank since it won't be a huge alk swing for the coral. For sps, I also look at the type of lighting the frags come from to since I run LEDs. I think others can vouch but sps corals that were cultured under t5 only lights tend to have a much harder time acclimating to led lighting.

I find it harder to acclimate sps from t5 to LEDs also. When I buy from t5 tanks I tend to leave them on the sand longer and then raise it up slowly.

 

[Zoarder]

A higher alkalinity has always gotten me better results with sps. Better color and faster growth. The problem is the higher you go, the more dangerous for any alk swings. 12 to 10dkh can kill your tank while 8 to 6 dkh won't hurt many corals at all.

And higher alk kills my lps lol its hard to keep sps with lps! One day I'll be part of the cool.group with LE sps lol

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

[Six2seven]

And higher alk kills my lps lol its hard to keep sps with lps! One day I'll be part of the cool.group with LE sps lol

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

Takes a lot of money to be part of that group, because most don't want to admit they killed a $300 frag lol

 

[lowbudget]

And higher alk kills my lps lol its hard to keep sps with lps! One day I'll be part of the cool.group with LE sps lol

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

sps is so 1999

 

[lowbudget]

Takes a lot of money to be part of that group, because most don't want to admit they killed a $300 frag lol

do it all the time. its not my money

 

[Six2seven]

Doesn't the max amount of alk dosed in one day have to do with the tank volume and the amount of alk your corals are consuming?
I have a 120 gallon tank with mainly sps and i dose like 400 ml ( brs two part ) spread throughout the day to keep my Alk around 7... I have no bleaching and everything is growing and coloring up great (as good as leds get IMO), but i am still dialing in the alk-ca-mg dose so it might be precipitating!

Pic for reference, trying to figure this whole dosing thing out also!

400 sounds pretty high. I have about the same amount of corals with a couple giant clams and I dose 144 per day (24 times X 6ml)

 

[Zoarder]

Takes a lot of money to be part of that group, because most don't want to admit they killed a $300 frag lol

I've melted a few hundreds in zoas, does that count? Lol I love fish too much to keep a light bioload, I'm experimenting with biopellet and cal reactor maybe one day...

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

[Six2seven]

sps is so 1999

Haha I like that. Gonna use it as my sig

 

[Zoarder]

sps is so 1999

I heard you were the sps whisperer...

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[lowbudget]

400 sounds pretty high. I have about the same amount of corals with a couple giant clams and I dose 144 per day (24 times X 6ml)

i use to dose around 400ml a day.