SPS questions..

[jcs11236]

Just have two questions about keeping sps's: First of all, i picked up a nice piece of birdsnest from a fellow member yesterday. The sps opened up nicely today except for one small branch that seems to have turned bone white. Did this tiny piece die off? Will this tiny piece grow polyps back or should i snip off the small piece?
next question is that i was curious in knowing if you feed you tank/sps's anything particular? rods food,oyster feast, dt's and how many times a week..
THanks for any replies

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

well if its bone white and looks coarse like nothing on it then it has died off. as for feeding someone who knows a little better then me will have to answer that one. i always fed mine. and i did phytoplankton, and cyclopezze. but now there maybe some better stuff out there. just my 2cents

 

[jcs11236]

thanks for reply. do you think i should snip off the branch that seems to have died off or is it okay to leave as is?

 

[pauliwalnuts]

It's possible that is was burned by another coral when you were placing it in your tank. And yeah, you can do whatever you like of it (cut it off or let it grow over itself). Oyester eggs/feast and zooplankton is what Sps prefer to eat. But, if you have a refiugium just do the oyster eggs ( there should be plenty of zooplankton in your refiugium).

 

[jcs11236]

thanks pauliwalnuts

 

[jackson6745]

Just have two questions about keeping sps's: First of all, i picked up a nice piece of birdsnest from a fellow member yesterday. The sps opened up nicely today except for one small branch that seems to have turned bone white. Did this tiny piece die off? Will this tiny piece grow polyps back or should i snip off the small piece?
next question is that i was curious in knowing if you feed you tank/sps's anything particular? rods food,oyster feast, dt's and how many times a week..
THanks for any replies

If there are no polyps and the skeleton is exposed that section of the coral is dead, in which case snap it off. If it is white but you can see polyps it is bleached and should recover given proper conditions.

If you are new to SPS don't worry about feeding. They really don't need to be fed to have bright colors and grow fast. Your biggest challenge will be keeping a low nutrient environment, especially low phosphate. This will require a combination of the following:

Good Skimmer
Refugium
Frequent water changes
Chemical Media such as phosban and carbon
Carbon Dosing
Mechanical filtration (pads, socks etc)

There are many ways to successfully run an SPS reef tank but they will all export the wastes from your system. I prefer to use a very large skimmer, phosban, and occasional water changes because it is very effective and sort of idiot proof . I also like refugiums because they keep algae growth from the main tank. Besides waste export keeping proper and steady cal, mg, and especially alk are crucial to health and growth.

HTH

 

[anthony27]

you should ask jarret he is good with sps or he might chime in on this but if it is white then yeah it is dead

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

the more i think about that sps i sold you it might of got stung by another coral on the frag rack

 

[jcs11236]

hey Ant, i did ask Jarret. Im just trying to get everyone elses feedback in regards of feeding.
Jarret i dont think it was stung in your tank because the one white small branch is the one in the middle of the sps.. I see two/three polyps showing up so i think its going to come along fine