Should i or shouldn't i - That is the question

C

Cappy

[I have been comptiplaning on putting SPS'S in my tank, but do not know if the lights I have will be OKAY. I have 880 Watt VHO'S in my 200 gal. My GPH'S are 1100 on one side, and 900 on the other. I know that ya'll push the MH, but I do not want the heat--nor hanging above the tank. Any comments would be very benificial.
Thanx Guys and Gals]
 
[Your lighting is not a problem, sps can be very health under vho's. Some acro's may not color up as nicely under vho's as they would under halides. But others could be very colorfull. Your problem would not be lighting, but I do not know your tank, there could be something else? Get an inexpensive easy to keep sps, like a Montipora Digitata and see if that grows well. Then if that lives long and prospers, get something else and try that.]
 
[There may be chemical warfare between your new SPS and the current corals you have in your tank. If you have mostly softies, you might need to run some carbon.]
 
[I don't know, your on the edge at best. thats 4.4 watts per gal.
Make sure you place them high up in the tank.

Rick, how many watts per gal do you run?]
 
[I figured that I would try something hardy, and go from there.
The Softies in my tank that are aggressive are Star Polyps-Finger Leather--Hard Coral RTA-Leather Toadstool. I have been running carbon, and I am curious to why you say run carbon Marc.
Most I have ever read says to keep in the 3 to 5 watts range and you will do fine. I have been reading alot of bleaching Coral stories and want to stay away from that.
This is just a prenumptual idea, and I truely like to look at every aspects before injurying anything :nod:
Do ya'll think the flow can be a factor?]
 
[I would think your limited to montiporra and even then in the top 1/3 of the tank.

Rick said:
Rick prob has 15 WPG, I think he has 4 or 5 halides maybe more. :cool grin: That being said I dont think WPG is a fair measurment. I had over 11 WPG running dual 400's and 2X96 PC and now I am at 6.6 with the Maristar (2x250 and 2X54)and I am positive I am getting more than twice the PAR as before. It is all about light penetration, and IMO VHO's are just not going to punch down more than 6 or 8 inches before losing enough intensity to no longer allow SPS to thrive. Yes they may survive and even grow. Montiporra is your best bet and there are many other unique corals that would do just fine with this lighting, like Blastomossa my current "must find coral".]
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[M. digitatas and Cap should do fine. Even Pocillipora should be OK. Do put them high in your tank and make sure they are getting decent flow. The more I experiement/talk to others the more I think flow is even more critical than lighting.]
 
[Ron I have about 10 watts per gallon. But after listening to Dana Riddle speak at the last MACNA about a study he did, I have the opinion that sps can live on a lot lower amount of light than we think. He found that under vho's or 175 watt metal halides there was more than enough light for sps to get their photosynthetic needs. In fact he found that there is a limit to the photosynthetic needs of the coral and any light over that you can actually shut down the photosynthesis. In fact not only bleaching events, but stopping the growth of the coral in ways which are not so apparent.
While I agree that the tank may have other issues that have been discussed, i.e. current, chemical warfare, or whatever. The lighting he has would be sufficient to keep sps corals, have them grow and be very healthy. Now if you are wondering about how colorfull they may or may not be, thats another story. He would just have to try them and see, but he may be happy just to keep them happy, which is great.]



Edited By Rick on 1097597326
 
[Thanx Guys for all the help. With all the LPS's and most of the gorgonians I really like I believe I will stick to them in this tank.
When I get my 300 tank I will set it up differently. I truely don't want my corals praying for gas masks. :sniffle:]
 
[Exactly how full of lps anf gorgonias are you talking about? I have several lps and soft corals and a couple of gorgonias with a tank of sps corals. I have never had a problem, but I do run carbon 24/7 just in case their is a little non-verbal argument.]
 
[Rick
Do you have any Pulsing Xenias? I read that runnig carbon with these guys is a bad thing--food purpose. How do you feel on that subject?
Thanx Rick]
 
[Kirk,, what Rick is saying about vho's and 175's is correct,, I would suggest trying to keep some montipora,pocillopora damicornis(Look marc, Im not being mean with this word now), stylophora pistillata and P. verrucosa.These can all do well and grow great with nice colors.

I've actually cut my halides back to 4-5 hours a day and belive my corals are looking healthier.....

Nathan]
 
@Cappy wrote:
[Rick Do you have any Pulsing Xenias? I read that runnig carbon with these guys is a bad thing--food purpose. How do you feel on that subject? Thanx Rick] said:
[How do I feel about Pulsing Xenias? :D How do people with nice trees, feel about Mistletoe,? Does that answer the question? As far as I am concerned running carbon is never a bad thing. Of course I think keeping sps in a reeftank is the pinnacle of the hobby. So my aim is in that direction. And I completely understand keeping a tank full of soft corals, it really looks beautifull. :beerchug:]
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[I appreciate the input Nathan thanks.
That is making me feel alot better about the situation knowing that you went with fewer hours of ilumination.
I have a lovely tree, and I like mistle toe soooo I am guessing that you do have xenia's. Right or wrong Please check Box]
 
[OOOHHHH yeah Rick--- I never thought running carbon was a bad thing either-- until I was reading the new magazine Coral.
The forth issue was talking about Xenia's and it stated that running carbon full time with these guys are not recommended for their feeding purpose. It stated run carbon every other month if need be. It really is a good magazine to read. I have read all four issues and have enjoyed them, and am waiting for next months issue impatiently. :shocked:]
 
@Cappy wrote:
[I appreciate the input Nathan thanks. That is making me feel alot better about the situation knowing that you went with fewer hours of ilumination. I have a lovely tree said:
[I have Xenia growing in my refugium. I just tear it out and throw it away when I harvest the macroalgae. I am sorry but I would not put Xenia in a tank, its a weed. Though I totally understand how some people think it looks nice. On a side note though, fyi I run carbon 24/7 heavily and it does not seem to bother the Xenia growing in the refugium.]
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[I wouldnt put xenia in my display either,, but if you wanna good store credit project,, setup a prop tank and get you some rocks and frag it,, grow it out and frag it,,, its a good store credit coral,,lol......]
 
[I just was explained the whole mistle toe killing trees thing, so I understand better now what you are saying. I really don't care for them myself--but the other half sure does love them things. " I love their lil fingers open and closing-their sooo cute" While them cute lil fingers are taking over my tank.]
 
[In my 120rr that I set up first, someone gave me some pulsing Xenia. They also warned me knowing that I intended to keep sps, to keep the stuff off of my main rock. So since my wife and kids also thought the stuff looked cool, I put the rock with Xenia on it, in the middle of a bare area, 6-8 inches from the main rockwork. The stuff grew and grew all over that rock. It was not till one day I was looking down from the top that I noticed the Xenia was only a couple of inches from the main rock work. It had been growing across the open sandbed to reach the rockwork. Needless to say, the rock full of it came out immediately. And that was the last time Xenia has ever been in my reeftank.]
 
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