HELP! Beginner with corals+Red Sea Reef Foundation Program= confusion

[dacianb]

Even if I am not quite a newby in SW, soon I upgraded my system to a much better/larger one and I am planning to add various corals into it. Last 2 years I kept LPS and zoas in badly maintained, poor parameters and technique tank - they didnt grow, but also didnt died either.
This time I am trying to offer best I can to my corals - proper water, proper flow and light. After cycle was done, all fishes added into system (between august and end of december) now is CORAL time.

So I bought Red Sea Reef Foundation Program and NOPOX and related test kits trying to bring the water in perfect parameters before buying corals, but then confusion starts. I plan zoas+LPS+SPS but have no idea which of the parameters I have to target according to RS. I dont plan to enter frags business, so no need for fast grow, but still want corals to be nice colored and hopefully to not stay as big as I buy them for next 5 years.

Once parameters are fixed, what are the allowable swings in them? I dont think a tank can be perfectly stable in time, some small changes occur, but within what limits is still safe (referring to SPS as probably are the most sensitive)

Thanks for help

 

[dacianb]

and of course then will come the next question regarding RS reef energy and coral coloration program. Are those 2 exclude each other - you may use either one of them, or both at same time?? I dont want fast grow, but still some grow and nice colors.

 

[Rini]

Hi,
I'm using the complete program as well. As far my understanding goes you have 2 options. Aim for grow or for colors.
At the moment i'm aiming for grow since I have mostly frags.
My water is close to the desired grow levels (SPS)



How I understand it. Don't shoot me directly if i'm wrong.

With grow more Zoanxelle (Always have problems with this word) will come and a more brownish look. As far my understanding goes these zoanxella give the Coral +/- 85% food. The rest you dose with the energy A & B. As soon you go for colors in the Coral you are trying to get rid of the zoanxella, low nutrition. To be sure your Coral is not dying you have to adjust the reef energy A & B. Give a bit more to compensate.

The color program A/B/C/D you dose 1ml for each 10 ml CA you add. If you do not add CA, you have to calculate how much CA your tank is consuming +/- and adjust the A/B/C/D to that consumption.
I did not understand that right first. When I was not adding CA I stopped with the colors. Till i spoke with an red sea sales man.

This is my understanding and how i'm using it. In short you need the reef energy & Corals color (A/B/C/D) together, for grow & Color.

EDIT:
If you go for colors in the corals, you adjust the reef energy A&B (more). The color A/B/C/D need to be adjusted still how much the tank is consuming CA. So probably a bit lower as when you aim for grow. Important to know how much CA your tank is consuming and then adjust the colors a/b/c/d.


Not easy to make your self clear in another language. Hope it is not that bad.


greetings from Holland.

 

[dacianb]

Bedankt Rini,
It is very clear if want either one or the other approach. But how this interfere with other types of corals?
As I read around, stability is the key to all corals, in the end. Suggestions around is to keep Ca at 450, Mg at 1350, PH 8-8.2 and KH > 10 but stable, whatever is 11 or more. Nitrates and phosphate low, but not right 0, just a bit of them (0.2-0.5). Those parameters, together with light and flow are the basic and most important.
Reef energy and all kind of trace elements are beneficial, but not critically needed.
I think this is the best way to go. I will give a try to the ReefEnergy and coral coloration program, but first I want to see SPS surviving in my tank before saying that I am not happy with the colors . Honestly I am a bit nervous about SPS.

 

[Rini]

Hallo Buurman Ik zie het nu pas : Belgie.

I have an mixed tank. With lps, sps and leathers. As far I know SPS do require a bit more Nitrate.
So going to color route for me would mean to lower the nitrate so far that my sps frags probably go into strike mode.
For my tank in mixed mode it will be harder to go for candy colors and not losing any sps. An friend of mine has an mixed mode tank as well. For her SPS she keeps the nitrate around 1-5.
For me I can only follow the color program with the lower CA / MG / dKH. The Nitrate and phosphate need to be where they are now to keep the sps happy.

So it is a bit more complicated I think with mixed mode reef tank.
Would be nice to get an red sea answer on this.

 

[dacianb]

Hallo Buurman,

Last 2 months I tried to keep a copperband butterfly alive by overfeeding my tank and using a not so accurate NO3 test kit. Still had in the tank 3 Euphyllia, an Acan and some zoas (the ones I know and can survive anything) - the acan I dropped in first day of tank and made it over full cycle.
After my copperband died I bought new tests set and NO3 level was around 30-50. Quite high, but everything was doing fine, so I planned slowly to get things in decent levels.
But christmas came and my family made me a great gift - 2 x superb acroporas.
No options than to put them in the water and hope for the best. Then I started the NOPOX program and monitor all levels.
The acros, specially one blue, turned in brown in 2 days and I thought - bye-bye.

Now I am at NO3 - <10, put the acros under strong leds and some flow and seems that life is coming back to them. I think I am the only one dumping SPS in NO3 at 50
The tips of corals become whitish (light blue) and I believed that is just the bare skeleton, but at sundown and night (low light levels) the polyps came out - so the bastard is still alive .

But, as effect of NOPOX my immortal acan shrinked to bare skeleton and probably will not recover - looks terrible.
THis is how my acan looked during the cycle of the tank, few months ago.