Convince me SPS dominant tanks are prettier than LPS and or softie dominant

[landlubber]

yes!! I remember the first month when I was just cycling I would just stare at that empty tank for what accumulated to hours hahaha, and now… hours in a day.

That beginning excitement you mention, diving into something new and challenging, that is what i’m looking to have again

i hear ya lol, when i hit a rut where the display feels too normal it only takes one coral and then i'm back with my face stuck against the glass admiring everything again.
to be honest, if your start date is essentially the date your started your system then you're probably right around the place where you could start into sps (birdsnest is a solid starter SPS) or depending on your space allowances perhaps your first anemone which i sort of regret as they really seem to thrive quickly

 

[eliaslikesfish]

I'm dominant acro but mixed reef. The challenge and color change is what draws me to it. It is rather boring for most people outside of reefing. Truth be told...xenia is IMO one of the coolest corals there is for movement. A tank with Xenia, a torch, an anemone with a clownish would cover 99% of what most non reefers would care to look at..lol.

and that’s why I have all 3 of those and my clowns finally realized 4 days ago that their best friend was right in front of them for the past 10 months…

one thing though, I can’t get pulsing xenia to thrive in my tank for the life of me, I’ve tried it in high flow, medium flow, low flow, top of tank, mid tank, bottom of tank. it always shrivels up and eventually dies. I can get LPS and anemones to thrive but I can’t keep xenia alive.. Currently have another little rock of it in medium flow with par about 115 and it pulsed for the first week and now it’s starting to shrivel again. I’ll never understand

note: tank vid at beginning of thread

 

[ryanjohn1]

It’s the challenge and the subtle daily growth

 

[eliaslikesfish]

It’s the challenge and the subtle daily growth

how fast are we talking with acros and montis? (assuming ideal and stable water params)

 

[bobnicaragua]

Acros are demanding. It takes some skill and persistence to grow them out and color them

 

[ryanjohn1]

how fast are we talking with acros and montis? (assuming ideal and stable water params)

You ever watch grass grow?

 

[Charlie the Reefer]

Here’s some cool SPS tanks

 

[IntrinsicReef]

One of the reasons I'm attracted to SPS is that they are reef building corals. Coral atoll islands that are thousands or millions of years of coral growth and death, stacked on a sinking volcano. The image of a wave breaking over a reef crest filled with Acropora tables is the primary image to a reef for me. They are the builders and protectors of the reef.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Sorry, but mixed reefs can't be beat.

 

[Mschmidt]

how fast are we talking with acros and montis? (assuming ideal and stable water params)

Sorry for the bad pics but...fire tower monti, Christmas monti, and ora frogskin acro

New (Oct 27th)

And today...

Accidentally fragged this guy 6+ times too. 50% larger than first pic.

Doubled at least, also fragged once.

Doubled. Correction, tripled at least. Unfragged. The one next to it started as a 1 inch stick about a quarter inch around a year ago. Now base the width of the plug, about an inch without having grown much longer.

 

[Solo McReefer]

I'm dominant acro but mixed reef. The challenge and color change is what draws me to it. It is rather boring for most people outside of reefing. Truth be told...xenia is IMO one of the coolest corals there is for movement. A tank with Xenia, a torch, an anemone with a clownish would cover 99% of what most non reefers would care to look at..lol.

I love xenia

Just not in my tanks

 

[billyocean]

I love xenia

Just not in my tanks

Lol...nope.

 

[Naekuh]

I failed with SPS too many times to attempt it again.
I really see them in my hands as burning money.

But i always tried SPS in a mixed reef setup, which i didn't find out till too late is VERY HARD with SPS.

But still i don't think you will see a LPS melt away as fast as a SPS undergoing RTN, and if your lucky and fast enough you will still have a head possibly that survives, unlike RTN, where even if you clip its still a 50/50 the rest will RTN away.

 

[billyocean]

I failed with SPS too many times to attempt it again.
I really see them in my hands as burning money.

But i always tried SPS in a mixed reef setup, which i didn't find out till too late is VERY HARD with SPS.

But still i don't think you will see a LPS melt away as fast as a SPS undergoing RTN, and if your lucky and fast enough you will still have a head possibly that survives, unlike RTN, where even if you clip its still a 50/50 the rest will RTN away.

IME everything seems to be fine with what makes acros happy also.

 

[Reefering1]

IME everything seems to be fine with what makes acros happy also.

Flow can be tough in a small tank...

 

[billyocean]

Flow can be tough in a small tank...

True..hadn't considered that

 

[Reefering1]

True..hadn't considered that

Other than that, i agree. Everything loves acro water

 

[wishntoboutside]

LPS tanks can be very beautiful with flow and things dancing around.
SPS tanks are my vice. Seeing a nice Milliepora with its polyps moving is just amazing. Knowing it can all die with a blink of an error makes me appreciate it even more. Once can easily have an lps tank with parameters out of wack. SPS tanks a vector be stable and consistent. Seeing people start with a frag and grow it into a large table is easier said then done for many. SPS you also have to balance things for optimal coral if them. Here are some recent shots

 

[Z Burn's Reefing]

You can still get some movement with SPS...maybe try out a Millie or two and see how it goes.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Here’s some cool SPS tanks

IMO this is the pinnacle of an SPS tank! Excellent job!!!