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Many people do just that with their old canister filters.
How to measure health/happiness in SPS?
- Thread starter derek_s
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SPS health is measured by color and growth. If its a nice color and growing nicely then you're in good shape. Color is tricky with these things though. Each SPS is going to have different requirements to achieve optimal coloration.
SPS happiness is easy to measure though. Just look carefully at the polyps at night. When the SPS are happy they are perked up and form a thumbs up or smiley faces. The opposite is true when they are depressed.
SPS happiness is easy to measure though. Just look carefully at the polyps at night. When the SPS are happy they are perked up and form a thumbs up or smiley faces. The opposite is true when they are depressed.
IN my opinion there are some keys to color but as others have said it takes time as in months not days.
You must have very low nutrients. nitrates should be unmeasurable on a test kit and phosphates should be less the .03 (also unmeasurable on a test kit) As stated before. If there are excess nutrients the pigments won't show through the symbiotic algea.
Parameters must be constant (stable temp, decent ph (way overrated in my opinion), alk, calcium and MG all appropriate and super stable) Flow is important as it lets the coral breath and lighting is important but those are easily rectified. The first is what takes the work!
Some people think it's really important to feed. I've honestly never intentially fed SPS in my life. I do make my own fish food from fresh seafood so they get fed when I feed the fish but generally I'm a huge believer that there is plenty of food in your tank for them to thrive. Could you get them to grow a miniscule amount faster? possibly but you also risk adding nutrients to your tank which has a much larger effect.
If I was going to feed the SPS it would be live rotifers and newly hatched brine.
You must have very low nutrients. nitrates should be unmeasurable on a test kit and phosphates should be less the .03 (also unmeasurable on a test kit) As stated before. If there are excess nutrients the pigments won't show through the symbiotic algea.
Parameters must be constant (stable temp, decent ph (way overrated in my opinion), alk, calcium and MG all appropriate and super stable) Flow is important as it lets the coral breath and lighting is important but those are easily rectified. The first is what takes the work!
Some people think it's really important to feed. I've honestly never intentially fed SPS in my life. I do make my own fish food from fresh seafood so they get fed when I feed the fish but generally I'm a huge believer that there is plenty of food in your tank for them to thrive. Could you get them to grow a miniscule amount faster? possibly but you also risk adding nutrients to your tank which has a much larger effect.
If I was going to feed the SPS it would be live rotifers and newly hatched brine.
You know, I went over to see Mark's tank, and his halides were on, and he had crazy polyp extension. I have virtually none during the day. I noticed particularly his validia, since I have a frag of the colony. Also my digitata has some polyp extension, but nothing compared to the mother colony at SWC. I hope I'm not being overly concerned, but I'm still not sure that something is not wrong. I just added a phos reactor, but what else should I check for problems.
I'm wondering if I have a light problem. I have a 400W 12k reeflux in a lunibright over the 29 gal at 18" off the water.It is dimmable, so I have it dimmed at 50%. No idea on the par. Is that too much/little?
I'm wondering if I have a light problem. I have a 400W 12k reeflux in a lunibright over the 29 gal at 18" off the water.It is dimmable, so I have it dimmed at 50%. No idea on the par. Is that too much/little?
Well, if you aren't getting polyp extension during daytime, and only minimal extension at night, what things should you start looking at to improve? I know I have a good strong flow, altough it is not randomized. All tank parameters look good except for phos, which I dont have a test for (but I have almost no algae). Most my SPS seem to have good coloration except maybe the validia. It has nice bright tips, but the rest is pretty brown.
