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What SPS questions do you have?


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2 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

A bad one says AROI...

Great rewards come with great risks ! But like I tell Sirena, if I buy a high end Coral there is a good chance it will grow and be worth more in the future. When she gets that high dollar Kate Spade bag it’s never going to be worth more!😀

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21 hours ago, youcallmenny said:

How do you personally determine your light schedule, spectrum and intensity?

Good question and so many different ways to approach this.  Here is what i do.  For my light schedule i went for a 10 hour day, why's that?  I copied the average day of sunlight in the tropics.  That 10 hours a day is not full intensity but figures in the slow ramping up to a peak intensity and then ramping back down through the 10 hours.  I use radion leds over my main tank for that feature.  If you run t-5s, halides, or other leds that dont increase and decrease their intensity you can setup timer to turn on or turn off certain bulbs in a sequence to mimic sunrise and sunset.  As for spectrum you will need to understand light penetration into the oceans water. Here is a good article that covers that  http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/underwater-photography-lighting-fundamentals  I personally like what is called a 20k look a blueish white light that the majority of corals flourish under.  In the wild that would roughly equate to about 40 to 50' in depth.  

In regards to intensity this is where a par meter comes in handy.  There has been lots of research into what par certain sps corals do best under.  On average since most sps are light loving corals a rating of around 350 to 400 seems to provide the right amount of intensity to keep most sps happy.  There are of course exceptions to this rule, such as a lot of the fine branch sps (ie red dragon) will do just fine under a lot less intensity.  A lot of it ends up being trial and error.  What i like to do is take several frags off of a colony and place them in different areas in the tank to see how they do.  After a couple months look for the one that exhibits the best growth and color, get a par reading of that area so you know what that coral likes the best

Edited by stylaster
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20 hours ago, cjmdh said:

What is the best acclimation protocol when introducing new frags to your tank?

Since sps corals seem to come in with a host of pests more so then other types of corals.  I always quarantine in a separate system.  Dip the corals in your favorite pest dip (ie revive, bayer, etc) and put the coral into the quarantine system.  I will place new frags off to the side or edge of the aquarium away from direct light for a week.  I make sure they get adequate water flow and check them daily for any pests.  After a week has passed i will move the frag closer to the light so its getting about double the light it originally was for another week.  I will keep doing that for a months time.  If the coral looks good and has adapted well to the system ill then move it out into the main display tank.  If you dont have the option of a separate system or even a frag tank attached to the main tank i would start the frag out in the lowest area of your tank near the front so you can easily observe it.  Move the frag every week up closer to the spot you want to put it.  Do this over a months time so in theory you should move the frag 4 times until you reach the desired spot on your reef

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20 hours ago, youcallmenny said:

What are the preferred levels for NO3 and PO4?  How about alkalinity?

In my system i run NO3 at 5 ppm and PO4 at .05 ppm.  Try not to strive for 0 on those level you need small amounts of each to maintain healthy corals.  The zooxanthallae in the corals tissue need both nitrate and phosphate to survive.  Ive had successful reefs running nitrates as high as 25 ppm and phosphates up to .1 ppm

For alkalinity i run mine around 9 dkh.  On average between 7 to 11 dkh is fine for a reef tank per some online queries.  I have noticed though below 8 your sps will tend to brown out and lose their color.  Above 10 and they will get 'burnt tips' ie the flesh will die back from the tips of the coral.  Alk swings will also effect sps more so then other corals.  The colors will shift or become lighter or darker.  Growth will slow down and possible rtn or stn will happen with unstable alk.  Stability is the key with alkalinity.  Be sure to keep calcium (450ppm) and magnesium (1300ppm) at their respective levels, all three work in conjunction to help the coral create its carbonate skeleton.

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17 hours ago, Salted_Waffles said:

How to integrate sps into a mixed tank and keep them happy? 

I run a mixed reef, still predominately sps corals but here is what i do.  I keep the SPS corals in the upper half of the tank in the spots where there is maximum amount of light and flow.  Ill keep the branching ones up high.  For the ones that plate ill keep them down low.  Remember that form follows function.  A branching coral is designed for higher water movement and brighter light, where a plating coral is designed for lower light and slower flow.  As the sps corals grow and spread out they create areas under them that are perfect for shade loving corals such as leptoseris or leptastrea to grow.  Most sps corals use the quick growth strategy to assert themselves on the reef.  They tend not to sting their neighbors but instead will try to outgrow them.  In placing other corals next to sps corals give them about 3-4" of space.  This will in general give enough distance from corals with tentacles from reaching out and stinging sps corals.  Be sure to check at night with this kind of placement, a lot of lps corals will send out sweeper tentacles at night to sting their neighbors.  

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18 hours ago, Brian Tesch said:

Best reactionary procedures for common problems like STN, RTN, Coral bleaching, and even color fading. 

If any of these are happening check your levels (alk, ca, mg, salinity, ph, temp)  If any are out of range, bring them back into the appropriate values.

For stn or rtn infections.  If possible cut off branches about 1/2" above the dying tissue line.  Remove the rest of the dying colony from the tank.  Take the frags you are able to make and give them an iodine dip (lugols) for about 10 mins.  Use a container with tank water and put the frags in.  Add enough iodine till the water color is light tan.  Put your frags in and let them sit for 10 mins.  Take the frags out wash them in clean saltwater and superglue them on a frag plug.  Put them back into the tank with lower light and strong water flow.  Give them about a week to see if they recover.  

Coral bleaching is usually caused by either excessive light or temperature swings with the coral losing its zooxanthallae.  Check your light schedule make sure it is working properly (ie lights arent running 24/7) and check your temperature range.  Move the effected coral down away from any strong light sources.  Give it about 2x less light then what it is currently receiving if the coral is under high light.  If the issue is tank temperature bring the temp to around 77 degs.  Reduce the lighting schedule to 6 hours a day for 2-3 weeks if you suspect lighting is the issue and watch how the coral responds.  If it is going to recover you will notice dark spots in the coral tissue as the zooxanthallae try to recover in the coral tissue.

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Hey Roy [mention=13307]stylaster[/mention] these are some great answers. I think the idea was to let the panel answer them live at the meeting though - just wanted to give you a heads up so you could save some typing [emoji846]. On the other hand, they are now captured for future reference!
Party popper.... Ahaha[emoji38]

Sent from my man cave while drinking Coronas at Holly's [emoji481]

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Here is an EXCELLENT article on lighting.. natural vs artificial and it also brings up the notion of Daily Light Integral or DLI.   This is basically the sum total of light energy received throughout the day.  So I have X par from my T5.. and X par from my MH.. So you multiply the hours for each and then add them together and see how they compare.  You can have a longer light cycle if it is not as intense.  

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/12/lighting

more on DLI here...  From exhaustive (eg... compulsive) reading of R2R threads, many successful sps guys there try to use the DLI method. 

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/5/aafeature

 

Does this mean I can't have margaritas? 

 

 

 

 

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Here is an EXCELLENT article on lighting.. natural vs artificial and it also brings up the notion of Daily Light Integral or DLI.   This is basically the sum total of light energy received throughout the day.  So I have X par from my T5.. and X par from my MH.. So you multiply the hours for each and then add them together and see how they compare.  You can have a longer light cycle if it is not as intense.  
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/12/lighting
more on DLI here...  From exhaustive (eg... compulsive) reading of R2R threads, many successful sps guys there try to use the DLI method. 
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/5/aafeature
 
Does this mean I can't have margaritas? 
 
 
 
 
I'll kick you down some jello shots...

Sent from my man cave while drinking Coronas at Holly's [emoji481]

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1 hour ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

Here is an EXCELLENT article on lighting.. natural vs artificial and it also brings up the notion of Daily Light Integral or DLI.   This is basically the sum total of light energy received throughout the day.  So I have X par from my T5.. and X par from my MH.. So you multiply the hours for each and then add them together and see how they compare.  You can have a longer light cycle if it is not as intense.  

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/12/lighting

more on DLI here...  From exhaustive (eg... compulsive) reading of R2R threads, many successful sps guys there try to use the DLI method. 

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/5/aafeature

 

Does this mean I can't have margaritas? 

 

 

 

 

Good stuff!

oh, and you weren’t getting margaritas regardless ☹️

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