coral placement question (sps, rbta, mushrooms)

[phish7740]

ok...so check my info for my specifics...first ill try to discribe my flow/filtration

in the far left corner i have the suction for the fuval (pads, ceramic and carbon) and the skimmer. on the far right i have the three powerheads at various depths, one aimed in the middle, one behind the rocks and one at the surface. the outflow of the fuval is on the right side also split ... 60gal/hr going through a 9w coralife twist uv.

The RBTA is about 1/3 from the left side about half depth, unmoved since i got it loged deep in a large foundation rock, clown hosting, healthy directly under the MH. the tenticals wave to the right. eventhough the powerheads and fuval flow points the other way (right to left).

all my mushrooms and zoas seem to be doing fine spread out throughout the tank.

i tried some sps and have lost 5/7...my lfs and i have been trying to figure out why and we are stumped. yesterday i moved one from the left side of the RBTA to the right side and the polyps were all dead in less than 24 hours. can a bta kill/sting an sps if the sps is downflow from the bta?

should i not have SPS with a rbta in the same tank or do i need to keep the sps "upstream" from the anoeme?

why is the bta flowing from left to right when all the powerheads and fuval flow point right to left?

should i move things around? if so how?

the lights are off now but i can post a pic tomorrow if needed.

thanks for any help

[Devilishturtles]

i tried some sps and have lost 5/7...my lfs and i have been trying to figure out why and we are stumped. yesterday i moved one from the left side of the RBTA to the right side and the polyps were all dead in less than 24 hours. can a bta kill/sting an sps if the sps is downflow from the bta?

should i not have SPS with a rbta in the same tank or do i need to keep the sps "upstream" from the anoeme?

Many would argue that anemones do not belong with corals. I would bet that you have some heavy chemical warfare going on in your tank and that that is why the corals are dying. Unless you get a superpowerful skimmer, add activated carbon, and do weekly heavy water changes, you might not be able to acheive the mix.

From reading your "my info" looks like you have softies, anemones, sps, AND lps. This is likely your problem, unfortanetly. I would actually not rule out the LPS for causing some of your problems either.

why is the bta flowing from left to right when all the powerheads and fuval flow point right to left?

My guess is that it is trying to get to the light. Do you just have a pendant hanging above the tank? If it is in the middle, and the anemone to the left, my guess is that it is leaning right to get the most exposure to the light.

HTH

[ellisz]

I have a mixed reef and my SPS seem to outgrow my zoos and lps at this point. I would run carbon 24/7 if you don't already.

What SPS are you losing and what is living?

[phish7740]

well thanks....i havent read anything about which types of corals dont go together in the same tank...

i want to keep the anemone and the mushrooms and recordias and zoas....will the LPS also survive with these?

what should i remove to have a healthy tank

im bringing the SPS to the lfs for trade.

[Devilishturtles]

I have a mixed reef as well, and have been unsuccesful in keeping anemones. A lot of people don't go with LPS for the simple fact of the chemical warfare issue. I have noticed, since starting to run carbon a few months ago and changing it out, that my corals seem much happier. Carbon may be your answer.

If I had to return anything, I would try the LPS first. Do you have a QT you can put them in?

[phish7740]

can anyone point me in the direction of a good article/webpage with info on mixed aquariums or dos and donts when it comes to mixing corals


like i said i am running carbon...actually a lot of carbon (four chambers in my fuval)

so im guessing the SPS and LPS shouldnt be in the same tank or is it the SPS and anemone, what about LPS and anemones?

[melosu58]

I dont have any SPS in my tank and have alot of LPS and soft corals in my tank. If you are going to move the SPS out you should be OK. Just make sure you have 5 to 6 inches between.
It can be done just dont have them near each other or you`ll have the Chemical war that DT and Ellisz are talking about. I`m puting a pic of my tank so you can check out my placement. Many of these have been with me for 5-9 yrs.