What's the big deal with SPS?

[scubagirl12]

Sure some of it has amazing color... but for me coral is beautiful when it moves and you know its alive. I think softies really bring a tank to life as they sway in the current. I love gsp, zenia, shrooms, rics, blastos.. basically anything soft. im not trying to hate and to each his own, but what do you like about sps? whats makes them so great that you spend the extra money to get fancy lighting and LE frags? im just curious

 

[darren24]

Give it some time. You will see. I was also a LPS / Softie lover then as time went on I started liking sps as well. Now I have a mixed tank.

 

[scubagirl12]

ya im sure in the future when i have the opportunity to upgrade my equipment ill get some SPS and eventually become obsessed with them as well. are there any more softy lovers out there?

 

[johnr2604]

For me its the challenge of keeping SPS.

 

[james s_]

johnr2604;254526 wrote: For me its the challenge of keeping SPS.

YUP. Softies are pretty easy to keep and don't require near as much "expertise" so to speak. I am just now getting into SPS and have bleached my fair share. A tank full of colorfull SPS colonies is amazing and my hats go off to those who can pull it off.

Of course my tanks will always be predominantly filled with Softies. I like the movement as well that you get. :up:

 

[ace1204]

Its like anything else, the more difficult it is, the more intriguing it is to attempt to master it, i started out the hobby not even liking sps. Now its my favorite. Its a challenge.

 

[raisingtwo2006]

I bumped up from softies after about a year. Got bored with them, kinda, and wanted to move up to something that not everyone had or could keep.

 

[bobz]

Scubagirl12;254523 wrote: ya im sure in the future when i have the opportunity to upgrade my equipment ill get some SPS and eventually become obsessed with them as well. are there any more softy lovers out there?

I agree! My 210 is predominately soft corals as well. I have some LPS and few hardy SPS. I actually like to keep fish more than corals, so the corals are there to enhance and improve the fish in my tank. I think you guys who can grow and keep SPS tanks successfully are incredible, but it's just not my thing.

Bob

 

[jcusmarine]

I also like mixing corals, and the challenge of a few SPS included. Not sure that I would ever want a SPS dominated tank, but they are amazing and I have enjoyed my tank more since adding a few choice SPS....

 

[stickx911]

I like softies and LPS (well the frog spawn kinda stuff). I may venture into some SPS as some look really nice, but I do not have the time for religious maintenance or money to spend on a coral that can die from a small change in salinity or something of that nature...imo

 

[jason sartain]

We have a mixed tank as well.I like the look of softies(About 40 softies and LPS now) but I also like the "Reef" look you get with SPS's(About 12 frags now).
I'm just now getting into the SPS's after about a year in the hobby.
So hopefully in the future my tank should look the way I want it.

 

[flyingarmy]

I disagree about movement...

If you have seen a nice milli or digitata giganticus the ployp movement is that of xenia at when they are fully extended.

I like SPS since you pay a ton for it and when it dies you have great calcium reactor media!

 

[savingnemo754]

I like both! LPS move and grow really fast some have great color you just have to be careful as to the specimen you pick. SPS now thats what i'm talking about the colors a unreal. Their polyps move you just have to look a little closer to see them. The fact that SPS is what creates the reefs is a large part. I have ofter thought about starting with a bare tank and putting nothing but reef building SPS in it and let it create itself.

 

[derek_s]

Also, SPS usually outgrows most other desireable corals in a good tank. It is sometimes very difficult to get an acan or blasto to outgrow a acro/monti as far as actually space is concerned.

 

[james s_]

flyingarmy;254541 wrote:
I like SPS since you pay a ton for it and when it dies you have great calcium reactor media!

LOL,I guess that is one way to look at it. Makes for some expensive reactor media!

 

[steve]

I was the same way as Ace...

 

[james s_]

This tank is a fantastic read...........

 

[FutureInterest]

I enjoy SPS in my mixed reef tank because they add a component that would otherwise be lacking. There are colors in the natural world that sps alone possess. My vision for my tank is to have a complete color palette which is only obtainable through having a lil bit of everything including softies/sps/lps/nps. In addition to color SPS also give you varied and interesting growth patterns as they fill and occupy empty areas of your tank. They're like tiny lil scultpures painted in some of the most interesting and vibrant colors that nature has to offer.

Once you get a few interesting pieces you'll understand why we love them so .

 

[flyingarmy]

FutureInterest;254610 wrote: as they fill and occupy empty areas of your tank. They're like tiny lil scultpures painted in some of the most interesting and vibrant colors that nature has to offer.

So says Master Jin, guru extraodinaire! Jin puts the feng shui in reef keeping!

 

[dough]

When I started in this hobby some 13+ years ago, SPS where the Holy Grail in reef keeping. You rarely saw SPS for sale in a LFS and not a lot of people kept them, that is to say kept a SPS dominated tank. Back then PC lights where the in thing!

This hobby has come a long way in husbandry and equipment. Now hobbyist can keep more of a variety which includes shapes, color and sizes of SPS. There is also more of a variety available on the market.

I would also agree with a number of the comments above. It is progression of the hobbyist to try keep more challenging corals etc.

I jumped on the SPS band wagon years ago because it was the Holy Grail. Now, well I've been there and down that. But, I'm now trending towards certain shapes and colors to fill the tank out. Sort of what FutureInterest is saying. As far as colors, some the LPS that are on the market these days certainly blow the colors of SPS out of the water, but you'll pay for those. But the dont give you the shapes and dimensions of an SPS.

Also, part of the fun of the hobby is to buy a 1" stick, plant it and watch it grow. See my avatar that started out as a 1" stick.