Hi folks. This is Keith Berkelhamer from reef bum. And I am once again,
collaborating with the Marine Depot on an educational video about reef
keeping
In this video,
I'm going to continue to talk about SPS and some tips on choosing and placing
these corals.
One key to keeping an eye catching SPS dominated reef is to plan ahead
and think about what the reef might look like in a year or two. When it matures,
do your homework and gather all the knowledge you can about the quarrels.
You are interested in adding every reef keeper starts with a blank canvas and
has the opportunity to create their own masterpiece,
but certain best practices and tips on choosing and placing SPS
can be followed to achieve success,
understanding and anticipating growth rates and patterns is critical.
And I can't tell you how many times I failed to take these factors into
consideration. For instance,
I love the color and pattern of the Acropora young guy or green Valley
Slimer, but it grows fast,
really fast and can quickly overtake a significant amount of real estate.
And my old 225 gallon tank,
I put a three inch mini colony of the Slimer in the bottom left hand corner of
the tank. And it grew right to the top of the 24 inch tall tank.
In fact, the tip seemed to be extending outside the top of the tank.
The same is true with birds nest corals.
They can grow like weeds and encroach on other corals inhibiting their growth.
I had a couple of birds nest colonies that I had to frag constantly do the quick
growth given the accelerated growth.
These colonies started to die off at the base since that part of the coral was
not receiving sufficient light and flow.
One option in this instance is to replace the entire colony with a large and
healthy frag from the top of the colony,
a coral can also start to show signs of rapid tissue necrosis or RTN on the main
part of the coral. If it grows too large, again,
lack of flow and light can trigger this type of event.
This happened to my giant Ora Hawkins colony,
but fortunately I was able to frag large chunks in time to save it.
And Capra corners or caps are beautiful scrolling corals,
but they are also aggressive and can easily cover other corals that lie
beneath place, these corals lower down and give them a wide berth.
If you want them in your tank. Another consideration in planning,
the layout of an SPS tank is whether to start with frags or larger pieces.
Some folks like the instant gratification gained by adding bigger pieces
while others prefer starting with small frags and seeing them grow into
colonies.
My preference is to be patient and start with frags since they can evolve and
grow more organically with the reef, providing a more natural look.
Here's an example of a Kelly tort that grew from this frag into this 16 inch
monster and a sexy corals are as passion frag that blossomed into this 10
inch colony, as well as this tub.
Stellato Monte that grew from this Bragg into a beautiful 12 inch colony.
It did take up to two years for these frags have developed into colonies,
but in my opinion, it was well worth the wait,
no matter which way you go give new corals room,
whether they are fast growers or not,
it might seem okay to play us a couple of slow growing corals next to one
another, but the tight placement will limit flow and impact their health.
You also want to avoid stressing out a newly placed coral by pruning or moving
it.
It is also important to bone up on the lighting and circulation demands of the
corals that you are considering. For instance, in Oregon,
blue tort needs a lot of light and good flow and is happiest near the top of the
tank. On the other hand,
some corals such as the Tyree ice fire economics or the RA Hawkins
do well in the middle or lower half of a tank where there is less flow and
light. The hardiness of a coral is another factor. One chicken sitter,
more demanding corals, such as an Aqua SD Rambo.
Milly should only be added after less demanding corals,
such as Montipora has established themselves in a new tank. Finally,
be careful with the fish you add and make sure they don't have a reputation as
coral nippers, certain angel Fisher, okay.
To have in an SPS dominated reef while others are definite no-nos,
it can be a major undertaking to remove a fish from a mature reef.
So do your homework on their habits and tendencies.
A reef is a growing and evolving ecosystem with many interdependent pieces.
So make sure you take this into consideration when building your masterpiece.
Well, folks that will do it for this video. If you liked it,
please give it a thumbs up and hit that subscribe button.
I'll put links to Marine Depot and reef bum,
and the video description below may. Thanks for watching and see you next time.