2 SPS Questions

[Ryan S]

1. When is the best time to feed SPS? Either target feeding, or adding coral food to the entire tank. (Food such as Coral Frenzy, Reef Snow, etc.) I would guess night time when the lights are out?

 

2. I am running 2 MP40s right now on Reefcrest mode, at 100% intensity. At night time, should I lower them to their lowest setting? Do you guys keep your pumps running the same intensity 24 hours a day? What would lower at night achieve? Do fish need less current to sleep? Or would it help corals eat food from the water at night?

[sportzfish]

If I ever feed, it is usually at night when the polyps are usually out. As for setting the MP40s, I run my in lagoon 100% all day long. I used to run them in night mode, but I did not see much difference in what was going on in my tank, plus I think the polyps on the sps like the flow.

[Ryan S]

If I ever feed, it is usually at night when the polyps are usually out. As for setting the MP40s, I run my in lagoon 100% all day long. I used to run them in night mode, but I did not see much difference in what was going on in my tank, plus I think the polyps on the sps like the flow.

 

Why do you prefer Lagoon over Reefcrest?

[sportzfish]

I guess I do not like the lull in the Reef Crest mode and I have so many obstructions in my 5 foot long tank that I feel that I need to have a stronger current running in the tank to create the desired level of turbulence.

[Ryan S]

I guess I do not like the lull in the Reef Crest mode and I have so many obstructions in my 5 foot long tank that I feel that I need to have a stronger current running in the tank to create the desired level of turbulence.

 

Cool. I'll give lagoon a try tonight. I haven't tried it yet.

[Ryan S]

Nutrient transport mode looks pretty awesome too:

 

http://ecotechmarine.com/ecosmart/vortech-ecosmart-driver/ecosmart-modes/

 

I don't have ES vortechs. For those of you that do, do you ever use this mode? I think a mode that keeps the sand bed clean and particulates suspended in the water (so the overflow can grab them and send them to the skimmer - or so the SPS can constantly have a food source) sounds like the perfect mode? I wonder if this mode is worth upgrading for?

[Novi]

I run both of my MP40w's on Short Pulse (BLUE) to get that perfect sway. I switch it to Night mode around 9 or 10pm for a more calming atmosphere

[OUsnakebyte]

To answer your question - yes, night is the best time to feed, as this is typically when those corals will extend their polyps to match the daily plankton migrations.

 

I would also think that reducing the current to some extent - i.e. going into night mode - would also be favorable to allow gentle flow by the polyp but you don't want to reduce it too much. You'd like to keep the food suspended as long as possible.

 

Cheers

Mike