10 things to know

[wilsontantw]

Just to share some of my understanding on keeping sps. Obviously I'm not the most qualified sps reefer, but just thought of sharing this simplified list for sps beginners as it helped me...

1) lighting - T5s are generally sufficient. (average of 6-10 tubes) Try to go for 10-12hrs.. However to bring out best coloration, 250w per 2ft length is recommended. (4hrs) and supplemented with T5s..

2) Ca:420-450, kH:8-8.5, mg: 1200-1300

3) no3/po4 readings (minimum, but don't need to be zero)

4) keep temp around 27 degrees celsius

5) salinity: around 1.024

6) provide good/random wave movement ard sps. use controllable ones if budget allows.

7) ensure good skimming or regular nutrient export (weekly 10% is highly recommended)

8) do prepare salt mix in advance to perform water change anytime u need..

9) prepare for Murphy's visit. Do prepare backup systems to ensure your treasures are safe from power blackouts or sudden outage (especially when you are not at home).

10) the key is to maintain constant parameters for the tank. Avoid making any major drastic adjustments... 10 weeks of 10% weekly water change is not equal to a 100% water change once in 10 weeks.

Disclaimer, everyone's setup is different, and i'm sharing what works for me... And hope it helps you too...

[LaW]

nice +1 for u.

[cedricang]

Wonderful sharing from Wilson, a very comprehensive basic check list for those who got the brave heart for SPS.

[Eniram]

Very good simple guide lines!

[77tj]

Clear cut guide line

[wilsontantw]

Seems like the forum has a good take up of SPS keeping reefers recently (and some drop-offs).

I tried searching in SRC for a similar easy-to-read SPS keeping guide, but to no avail.

Thus thought of sharing this very basic list that I've learnt from the pros and some through my own limited learnings and observations during the past few months.

Just to share and exchange pointers.

[pokmingsheng]

great info! +1

clear points for beginners like me to have a quick picture on their basic care and needs..

[tht79]

Good & simple guide.+1

[TayHongSiang]

the old school of thought system seems to work well for sps...meaning refugium system vs a berlin system....i'm always amazed by iwarna's outdoor tank...

[wilsontantw]

Refugium is indeed amazing.

I am currently using a basket chaeto as nutrient export. But as I don't stay in a landed property where space is not a concern, (even if I do, I doubt I'll dedicated a similar size chaeto tank as my main tank)... As small quantity of chaeto/mangrove alone is not enough to export the nutrients.

Again, this is based on my personal "trial". Never try, never know... Actually I could be wrong, but iwarna's outdoor pond does have skimmer too right? A 6' tall Beckett??

Another great use of having a refugium, pods growth! It's amazing how much (and big) pods you get...

Downside, without proper circulation, refugium collects detritus.. So dont forget to do the regular clean up maintenance.

[TayHongSiang]

Refugium is indeed amazing.

I am currently using a basket chaeto as nutrient export. But as I don't stay in a landed property where space is not a concern, (even if I do, I doubt I'll dedicated a similar size chaeto tank as my main tank)... As small quantity of chaeto/mangrove alone is not enough to export the nutrients.

Again, this is based on my personal "trial". Never try, never know... Actually I could be wrong, but iwarna's outdoor pond does have skimmer too right? A 6' tall Beckett??

Another great use of having a refugium, pods growth! It's amazing how much (and big) pods you get...

Downside, without proper circulation, refugium collects detritus.. So dont forget to do the regular clean up maintenance.

yes....imagine u have these pods in your tank one morning...

[MarcoVan]

Just to share some of my understanding on keeping sps. Obviously I'm not the most qualified sps reefer, but just thought of sharing this simplified list for sps beginners as it helped me...

1) lighting - T5s are generally sufficient. (average of 6-10 tubes) Try to go for 10-12hrs.. However to bring out best coloration, 250w per 2ft length is recommended. (4hrs) and supplemented with T5s..

2) Ca:420-450, kH:8-8.5, mg: 1200-1300

3) no3/po4 readings (minimum, but don't need to be zero)

4) keep temp around 27 degrees celsius

5) salinity: around 1.024

6) provide good/random wave movement ard sps. use controllable ones if budget allows.

7) ensure good skimming or regular nutrient export (weekly 10% is highly recommended)

8) do prepare salt mix in advance to perform water change anytime u need..

9) prepare for Murphy's visit. Do prepare backup systems to ensure your treasures are safe from power blackouts or sudden outage (especially when you are not at home).

10) the key is to maintain constant parameters for the tank. Avoid making any major drastic adjustments... 10 weeks of 10% weekly water change is not equal to a 100% water change once in 10 weeks.

Disclaimer, everyone's setup is different, and i'm sharing what works for me... And hope it helps you too...

for Point 9: besides preparing backup system, you can also adopt a rule which is called in my context: Spreading The Love.

For myself, if I find a nice SPS or collect one, I do not mind trading frags of them with my fellow friends so that in future, I know if mine is gone, I can rely on my friends to return the favour (:

Good gets better!

Anyway, thanks wilson. A very comprehensive write up!

[peacemaker]

I'll be checking this thread again when I'm ready for SPS.

[tench1]

Nice Thread Wilson!

Will be coming here, if im into SPS

[yellowtang]

Good work, Wil.

Point 2 is most difficult for me. Besides sps, i have a giant clam + 2 med sized. 1kh suck up per day. cr also cannot cope. today Kh reading 7.8, tomorrow reading will be about 7.0. Cr set at 6.52 burn and shut 6.48. Can sps luvers advise? kumsia.

[wilsontantw]

for Point 9: besides preparing backup system, you can also adopt a rule which is called in my context: Spreading The Love.

For myself, if I find a nice SPS or collect one, I do not mind trading frags of them with my fellow friends so that in future, I know if mine is gone, I can rely on my friends to return the favour (:

Good gets better!

Well said! Good gets better! Good point on the frag exchange. I've done that with a few bros here too. Share the love...

Good work, Wil.

Point 2 is most difficult for me. Besides sps, i have a giant clam + 2 med sized. 1kh suck up per day. cr also cannot cope. today Kh reading 7.8, tomorrow reading will be about 7.0. Cr set at 6.52 burn and shut 6.48. Can sps luvers advise? kumsia.

Dear sir, my suggestion is to use dosing pump. It really takes a lot of pain away. Once it's passed the first week (daily test for 7 straight days) everything is pretty much automated. I now check only when I add many SPS or when visual observation shows signs of stress.

Based on Iwarna's standard mix, I'm using ard 120ml for KH per day. This volume is automatically divided across 24 times a day and dosed evenly every hour on the hour. I've started using dosing pump since 28 aug. The 20l jerry can is still 50% full.

[wilsontantw]

I'll be checking this thread again when I'm ready for SPS.

Will be coming here, if im into SPS

Dont be too long guys... Remember resistance is futile. Hahaha.

[divinesloth]

Hey Wilson

I'm slowly being drawn into the dark side too

Been dosing manually also, its such a pain. Been wanting to try dosing pump but firstly I dunno how it works and secondly I see all the big jerry cans and tubes all over people's photos connected to the pump so I'm hesitant. Haha. Thanks for the SPS keeping tips!

[peacemaker]

Dont be too long guys... Remember resistance is futile. Hahaha.

Arghhh,,, the force of the dark side...

Anyone has good references / articles to know more about the different types of SPSes and level of difficulty?

[straydum]

great steps bro! i find step 9 is the most important to take note especially once everything else is in place and seems okay

though there may be alot of views on the lighting part. i've recently came across a thread on rc that stated reduced lighting schedule led to better sps colouration and growth with quite a lot of people trying and saying it works but its still a new discussion which i'm going to follow for awhile before trying

[inwear]

Just to share some of my understanding on keeping sps. Obviously I'm not the most qualified sps reefer, but just thought of sharing this simplified list for sps beginners as it helped me...

1) lighting - T5s are generally sufficient. (average of 6-10 tubes) Try to go for 10-12hrs.. However to bring out best coloration, 250w per 2ft length is recommended. (4hrs) and supplemented with T5s..

2) Ca:420-450, kH:8-8.5, mg: 1200-1300

3) no3/po4 readings (minimum, but don't need to be zero)

4) keep temp around 27 degrees celsius

5) salinity: around 1.024

6) provide good/random wave movement ard sps. use controllable ones if budget allows.

7) ensure good skimming or regular nutrient export (weekly 10% is highly recommended)

8) do prepare salt mix in advance to perform water change anytime u need..

9) prepare for Murphy's visit. Do prepare backup systems to ensure your treasures are safe from power blackouts or sudden outage (especially when you are not at home).

10) the key is to maintain constant parameters for the tank. Avoid making any major drastic adjustments... 10 weeks of 10% weekly water change is not equal to a 100% water change once in 10 weeks.

Upz

Disclaimer, everyone's setup is different, and i'm sharing what works for me... And hope it helps you too...

[dnsfpl]

thanks for the info

what is the best way to up KH?

cheers

[yellowtang]

Dr Ang of Bedok Aqua SPS Specialist Center advises me to set my cutoff CO2 at 6.20 ( now 6.48 ). Will be tunning the CR, increasing the range, this evening. Hope the KH will improve.

cheers

[MarcoVan]

thanks for the info

what is the best way to up KH?

cheers

dosing kalk at night helps too (:

[decentkid]

Do take note that as much as you want to maintain the right parameters, ensure that you keep the parameters as stable and constant as possible. If you are too busy to fix the tank, waiting a day would do less harm as compared than an instant fix of just dumping say more kalk into the tank.

Peacemaker: start of with sps like monti digitata or milli, these are some of the easier sps. Millis are also good in helping u gauge whether you are providing sufficient flow

yellowtang: Just wondering, do you add magnesium into the Cr? magnesium plays an impt role in maintaining ca and kh