Wanting to try M. digitata

[Phranque]

I know the Montiporas are on the easier end of the SPS's, but it's still an SPS.....how picky are the digitatas to water quality compared to other SPS's?

My 28 Nano (89w LED w/Tunze 9002 skimmer) has been up & running for a few months now, and I'll probably wait a little while longer to allow the tank to stabilize (plus I'm going to be changing salt).... just doing some homework.

Current parameters are:
Temp - 79
Salinity - 1.026
Nitrates - <0.5
Phos - 0.00 to 0.02
pH - 8.2-8.4
Calc - 460
Alk - 8.7
Mag - 1400

15% weekly pwc


Admittedly, I do have a little bit of GHA, but I really don't mind. I have 3 scarlet hermits & an emerald crab, so it's just enough to keep them busy and keeps the emerald from munching on my zoas, but it's by no means overrunning my tank.

Currently using Kent Marine Reef salt, but not happy with the Alk. A friend of mine who works at a lfs uses Red Sea Coral Pro, and she has nearly identical parameters as above, but her Alk runs around 10.4-10.8, plus she can get it for me with her discount ($43 for the 175g bucket).

 

[danbstrong]

I know the Montiporas are on the easier end of the SPS's, but it's still an SPS.....how picky are the digitatas to water quality compared to other SPS's?

My 28 Nano (89w LED w/Tunze 9002 skimmer) has been up & running for a few months now, and I'll probably wait a little while longer to allow the tank to stabilize (plus I'm going to be changing salt).... just doing some homework.

Current parameters are:
Temp - 79
Salinity - 1.026
Nitrates - <0.5
Phos - 0.00 to 0.02
pH - 8.2-8.4
Calc - 460
Alk - 8.7
Mag - 1400

15% weekly pwc

Admittedly, I do have a little bit of GHA, but I really don't mind. I have 3 scarlet hermits & an emerald crab, so it's just enough to keep them busy and keeps the emerald from munching on my zoas, but it's by no means overrunning my tank.

Currently using Kent Marine Reef salt, but not happy with the Alk. A friend of mine who works at a lfs uses Red Sea Coral Pro, and she has nearly identical parameters as above, but her Alk runs around 10.4-10.8, plus she can get it for me with her discount ($43 for the 175g bucket).

Just keep waterchanges up and params stable and all coral will be happy omo higher alk for sps i keep mine at 12

 

[Gregcoyote]

I like reef crystals, but I dose continuously. Your parameters look good. I would try out a piece of birds nest or something easy first.

 

[Phranque]

I like reef crystals, but I dose continuously. Your parameters look good. I would try out a piece of birds nest or something easy first.

That's why I'm looking for a salt higher in Alk to avoid having to dose.... If I need to, so be it, but this isn't going to be a full-on SPS tank that's going to be sucking down my Alk.

And I'd love to have a birdsnest... that's one of my ultimate goals, but I thought montipora was easier to keep, not the other way around ???

 

[Gregcoyote]

There are varieties of both that I would consider a beginners hard coral. Capricornus grows fast and doesn't need as much light as some other hard corals.

 

[Phranque]

While I do love the look of capricornus, I am dealing with a nano.... I'd think a large, fast growing chalice will drown out the light for anything around it. To maximize space, I'm going for some fingering & branching corals that still allow for stuff to grow around it, like my trumpet & candy cane LPS.

 

[Gregcoyote]

While I do love the look of capricornus, I am dealing with a nano.... I'd think a large, fast growing chalice will drown out the light for anything around it. To maximize space, I'm going for some fingering & branching corals that still allow for stuff to grow around it, like my trumpet & candy cane LPS.

Very good planning. You are right, but I have also seen birds nests almost growing out of Nanos!

 

[Phranque]

I have also seen birds nests almost growing out of Nanos!

I can only hope I can pull that off!! But, I figure birdsnest & digitata is a lot easier to frag than a big ol' chunk of chalice. The tank's still got a little while before I will consider it mature enough, but I'm psyched to give it a try.....

 

[Gregcoyote]

My son did the DYI install of a third bulb in his original Nano. It got kind of hot somedays but it sure grew corals.

 

[Phranque]

I'm not too concerned about lighting.... I've got the lid with 25 x 3w 14K daylight LEDs. The local club has a PAR meter, just haven't had a chance to grab it yet, but from my understanding, this set-up has more than enough for what I'm looking to do. If I can keep monti & birdsnest, I'll be absolutely thrilled. With this being a nano with some fish & CUC bioload, I have no aspirations whatsoever of attempting to keep the water pristine enough to maintain acros..... might consider that when I can set up the 150 with a sump.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Sounds good to me.