Sps Vs Lps

God of thunder · #1 10/26/2007, 11:10 AM

Are SPS harder to keep then LPS? If so, why?

LobsterOfJustice · #2 10/26/2007, 12:40 PM

Generally, yes. They are just more sensitive to changes in water parameters (alk!), nutrients, lighting, and flow. You need to really be on top of things.

Scissorhand · #3 10/26/2007, 03:01 PM

In my opinion, LPS = Softies except just a tad more maintenance. SPS is a whole different beast.

God of thunder · #4 10/26/2007, 03:50 PM

Any particular thing there sensitive to? I´ve got good lightning, and 20x stream in my powerheads. I maintain a temp between 77-78 F My alk is at 3 my calsium 440 ppm nitrate almost very closet to zeromy po4 is between 0-0.1 any thing else??

SALT WATER CRAZ · #5 10/26/2007, 04:05 PM

I hope when you are saying 3 that its in meq/L for your Alkalinity Only other thing I didnt see stated was to make sure to keep your mag in cheak to.

Quote:

Originally posted by God of thunder
Any particular thing there sensitive to? I´ve got good lightning, and 20x stream in my powerheads. I maintain a temp between 77-78 F My alk is at 3 my calsium 440 ppm nitrate almost very closet to zeromy po4 is between 0-0.1 any thing else??

God of thunder · #6 10/26/2007, 04:08 PM

Yeabb meq/l

Craig Lambert · #7 10/26/2007, 04:34 PM

If you're saying you have 20 times turnover for flow you would want to (at least) double your flow from its current level.

LobsterOfJustice · #8 10/26/2007, 10:44 PM

The main thing is to have a plan for maintaining alkalinity. When you begin stocking your tank with SPS, you need to be on top of alkalinity and know how you are going to keep it where you want it. A fully stocked SPS tank can drain the alk out of a tank to dangerously low levels in a day or two, so it's not something you can test every few weeks. Eventually you more or less know your systems demands and can add a certian amount to make up for it automatically without testing.

TylerMoore · #9 10/26/2007, 11:00 PM

honestly, my tank is only 5 months old. But the only thing i've had die is a trachyphyllia brain, which is an lps. I have a monti digi, hydnopora, and monti cap, and a blue ridge coral. All are growing nicely. I have 8 54 watt T5s over my 75 gallon, with about 2,500 gph of flow. I have a kalk doser as well.

My SPS is all thriving, but my open brain died the day I put it in. I think it was because I didn't acclimate it to my lighting enough, and my hermit crabs were pestering it. It just fell apart after one day. I'm scared to get any more LPS corals after that. They don't seem as protected from crabs.

FIJI Reefing · #10 10/26/2007, 11:18 PM

the crabs had nothing to do with the death. They since when something is dying. The brain was dying before they came about. So hermits were definatly NOT the cause. so make sure to keep that in mind when determining the cause of a loss.

FIJI Reefing · #11 10/26/2007, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scissorhand
In my opinion, LPS = Softies except just a tad more maintenance. SPS is a whole different beast.

completly agree with this because their ability to take the swings of a reef tank are too different stories between sps and lps. Sps needs consistancy and lps goes with the flow and can outlive alot of crap.

TylerMoore · #12 10/27/2007, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by FIJI Reefing
the crabs had nothing to do with the death. They since when something is dying. The brain was dying before they came about. So hermits were definatly NOT the cause. so make sure to keep that in mind when determining the cause of a loss.

yah, i know the hermits weren't the cause, but its so much easier to blame them than me. hah..

i'm just saying that whatever caused my brain's death, my sps corals lived through it. there obviously must be something that the brain was more sensitive to than the sps. Maybe the quick increase in lighting? the sps i've recieved have all been under metal halides before i got them, so there wasn't a shock of brightness... who knows. i'm rambeling. hah...

moo0o · #13 10/27/2007, 02:04 AM

ive heard monti's one of the easiest sps to keep.

nava405 · #14 10/27/2007, 02:46 AM

see it this way, you need very clean water to keep sps nice and colorful...if you don't expect to keep the color, it's not that hard to just keep it alive.

DaddyJax · #15 10/27/2007, 07:25 AM

LPS can be very difficult shippers and not take to acclimation very well. If it was dying the first day and falling apart then that tells me there was problems before it got to your tank imo. Dont let this discourage you. LPS and SPS are great tank mates ime.

God of thunder · #16 10/27/2007, 07:39 AM

Of cause i want the colur, is it ok to dose baking soda to keep up the alk?? I don´t have a sump, i´m planing on to get one in a few days, i don´t jave a calsium reactor, should i wait for those 2 things?