Main rules to keeping SPS'?

[pennyguy23]

What are the main rules to having sps's. What tests do I need to have, and what brands and other thinks I should know. I have the lighting.

[djcool563]

Main rules are lots of light lots of flow and low nutrient water in most cases. Also a very oversized skimmer

[doody]

Dumb question: how do you know if your low in nutrients?

[doody]

How dumb am I? I never noticed this sticky at the top of the forum.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=421812

[MiddletonMark]

Yeah, the `let's talk about ...' threads are all very useful, especially the water quality one.

IMO, water quality, good water movement, and lighting are three crucial aspects - and IMO lighting and water movement can be overly focused on [overdone].

Patience, keeping stable good water chemistry + quality I've found to be more and more my focus. The longer I keep Acropora, the more I correlate my fastest growth with excellent + very stable water conditions.

[Bpynckel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6607634#post6607634 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
Yeah, the `let's talk about ...' threads are all very useful, especially the water quality one.

IMO, water quality, good water movement, and lighting are three crucial aspects - and IMO lighting and water movement can be overly focused on [overdone].

Patience, keeping stable good water chemistry + quality I've found to be more and more my focus. The longer I keep Acropora, the more I correlate my fastest growth with excellent + very stable water conditions.

/thread:smokin:

Right on.. in the 7 years i have had a Reef tank.. water quality has more to do with successful SPS growth and health, then lights and flow combined...:eek2:

[arconom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6606675#post6606675 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pennyguy23
What are the main rules to having sps's. What tests do I need to have, and what brands and other thinks I should know. I have the lighting.

Main Tests are different in the beginning. Ammonia,Nitrite,Nitrate. Once you get going you will mainly be using Alk,calc tests,Magnesium.

Salifert make the best kits IMO for the Calc,Alk,Mag

Recently people have been testing more and more for phosphates. Accuracy using the Salifert kits is questionable. If money isn't a issue they have very accurate Phosphate test kits.

As far as main rules there are alot of rules but it depends on what you choose and who you listen to.

High Flow I think is a must. A decent RO/DI system. There are cheap ones and expensive ones its up to you. Also you should by a TDS tester.

[dulkion]

I cant remember who said it, S.P.S. = Stability Provides Success.

[kabboord]

Don't waste time on a phosphate kit. Generally they are going to be organically bound and you can't teste for those anyways. I would say keep an eye on everything, know your tank. Combine that with real time feed back from a digital pH meter and maybe ORP and you can stay on top of everything real good. SPS being so finicky is a double edged sword. Its good in that you will notice polyp extension\coral tissue\color reacting to a problem when it is still at a point where you can safely fix and remedy a problem. The downside to that is they are so sensitive that when something equipment related puts a lot of bad stuff in at one time, it may be too late.

[pennyguy23]

I have seatest for my calcium and I never can get a reading. It says add drops until it turns pure blue. then divide by 15. I have yet to ever have it turn pure blue or blue at all. If that was the case I was at about 2000 and it still wasn't turning blue. so......?

[pennyguy23]

I just tried to test for mag. I have salifert fot that but I can get a reading on that. I did what I was suppost to do and it never turned blue or gray? So in other words I getting pretty F'in annoyed.