Shoelace November 12, 2014 Author Share November 12, 2014 All right. Deep breath. It sort of pains me to think this way, but after seeing Roni's post about life and SPS not always being compatible, I have decided that I am going to go softies and LPS. I have always loved that swaying tank look. I think it's a good compromise. I also know if I neglect it for a while, it won't crash as hard. With my older kid entering high school and my younger to middle school, things are only gonna get more crazy. A little support here, guys? (Or am I wussing out?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 LPS is a great choice! I can see some softies, but be very choosy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 All right. Deep breath. It sort of pains me to think this way, but after seeing Roni's post about life and SPS not always being compatible, I have decided that I am going to go softies and LPS. I have always loved that swaying tank look. I think it's a good compromise. I also know if I neglect it for a while, it won't crash as hard. With my older kid entering high school and my younger to middle school, things are only gonna get more crazy. A little support here, guys? (Or am I wussing out?) It definitely can be done. I have been growing SPS just fine between being gone half the month on average for work, and having a 19 month old running around. I think a big key to having a successful tank, and a busy life is to make things as automated as possible. You already have a great foundation with your Apex. Dosing pumps, a locker for your skimmate, along with a Swabbie for the neck of your skimmer help tremendously. Once you get things dialed in with consumption rates its really easy. I say don't give up yet - If you want some frags from my tank to try they are yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 12, 2014 Author Share November 12, 2014 Ryan, you are a good friend. Like Professor-X and Magneto! Bazinga! I dunno, dude... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 (edited) Ryan, you are a good friend. Like Professor-X and Magneto! Bazinga! I dunno, dude... Water are your water parameters like now? Perhaps you are stripping your corals of nutrients by running too much Carbon/GFO like I was? As Graham (gws3) told me before with SPS - If the acros look pale on top and very pale on the bottom they probably need - less light or more nutrients. If they are dull and darker brown on bottom - more light or less nutrients. Edited November 12, 2014 by Orion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 All right. Deep breath. It sort of pains me to think this way, but after seeing Roni's post about life and SPS not always being compatible, I have decided that I am going to go softies and LPS. I have always loved that swaying tank look. I think it's a good compromise. I also know if I neglect it for a while, it won't crash as hard. With my older kid entering high school and my younger to middle school, things are only gonna get more crazy. A little support here, guys? (Or am I wussing out?) Ed- I would do what makes you happy. Are you doing the LPS because you think it is going to save you time? I have an 8th grader and a 10th grader, the way I look at it is the 10th grader will soon be able to drive the 8th grader and himself around and save me time. I also employ slave labor. Lots of chores if they plan to be a part of this family. All it does is cut into their computer time. Automate as much as possible, and once it has been established for a year or so it seems thing level out, IMO. Get your kids to help with the tank chores, get them involved so they want to do it and feel a part of the whole project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roni November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 All right. Deep breath. It sort of pains me to think this way, but after seeing Roni's post about life and SPS not always being compatible, I have decided that I am going to go softies and LPS. I have always loved that swaying tank look. I think it's a good compromise. I also know if I neglect it for a while, it won't crash as hard. With my older kid entering high school and my younger to middle school, things are only gonna get more crazy. A little support here, guys? (Or am I wussing out?) Don't let my failure as a reefkeeper influence you I think automation and also simplification are important. Automation in terms of auto water changes and systemic changes to make sure that your husbandry easier without adding too many pieces/equipment to maintain is important. That said, if I didn't have a love for angels, I'd go with an LPS and zoo tank. They are much more forgiving of water quality and to be honest, nicer to look at then a tank full of just sticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 Don't let my failure as a reefkeeper influence you I think automation and also simplification are important. Automation in terms of auto water changes and systemic changes to make sure that your husbandry easier without adding too many pieces/equipment to maintain is important. That said, if I didn't have a love for angels, I'd go with an LPS and zoo tank. They are much more forgiving of water quality and to be honest, nicer to look at then a tank full of just sticks. Exactly, I compromise those nice angels for my zoas. You do have some awesome angels though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 12, 2014 Author Share November 12, 2014 Thanks for the wise words, guys. On the contrary, roni. I don't see your failure as a reefkeeper. I see your success as a father and a person who had to set priorities. We all have to make decisions at some time. Ryan, maybe we can get together sometime to figure out where to go and how I can streamline things. Ken, yeah, I just bought an AFS. I will implement more slave labor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the wise words, guys. On the contrary, roni. I don't see your failure as a reefkeeper. I see your success as a father and a person who had to set priorities. We all have to make decisions at some time. Ryan, maybe we can get together sometime to figure out where to go and how I can streamline things. Ken, yeah, I just bought an AFS. I will implement more slave labor! It is good for the kids, I think too many kids these days are given everything and are spoiled. When my kids act up they get "weeding hours". Yup, go out in the yard and weed the planting beds. They also do their own laundry, fold their clothes, clean of the table after dinner, load the dishwasher, unload it, unload the car anytime we get home from the store, clean their rooms, get the mail, put trashcans out, bring them in, and if they forget anything they will get more weeding hours. I think I just saved myself some time for the tank! They should also polish your guitars! Edited November 12, 2014 by DuffyGeos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 12, 2014 Author Share November 12, 2014 They should also polish your guitars! Pure genius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 12, 2014 Author Share November 12, 2014 (Still don't know what I'm gonna do, though.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion November 12, 2014 Share November 12, 2014 (Still don't know what I'm gonna do, though.) How about adding in some LPS for now, and you can always add SPS later? I know of a guy that can get you a good deal on the best LPS around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 13, 2014 Share November 13, 2014 I say add what you like and don't spend too much money. See how it does with little to no effort. It sounds like you're not going to have time for a dream SPS tank if you're going to miss routine things, or take the time to automate your system as much as possible (see "no time" again.) Do what works. Maybe when the kids are in college, and you get some time back, you can sell off all the LPS and go with sticks. I agree with Ryan, I think you can mix the two of them fine, there are some hearty SPS pieces out there. Don't stress about it, just do what makes sense, which sounds like a mixed reef to me. You could always go FOWLR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 13, 2014 Author Share November 13, 2014 I say add what you like and don't spend too much money. See how it does with little to no effort. I think you nailed it on the head. I know I "could" go SPS again, but I'm just trying to be truthful to myself. I'm just not very consistent as of late. I need to do something I can maintain and not stress over too much. I really do like the wavy tank look. Maybe like this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roni November 13, 2014 Share November 13, 2014 (edited) Ha, not sure my wife would agree I would go with nice hardy sps (most stags and caps) and lps. Do a nice mixed reef. Those are often the nicest looking tanks anyways. Or you could go even easier and get some really nice different colored mushrooms and zoos with some large soft corals...Not sure why people have moved away from the large sarcophytons and sinularia that were popular in the 90's Edited November 13, 2014 by roni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 13, 2014 Author Share November 13, 2014 Have your wife and my wife talked together about this??? I think the whole shift away from softies was because of 1) the color, and 2) the challenge. It was so difficult if not impossible a couple of decades ago so it became the holy grail that people consider the pinnacle today. What are you thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roni November 13, 2014 Share November 13, 2014 lol. The shift was for those reasons but I feel it's been so dramatic that you rarely see beautiful soft coral reefs anymore. If you look at the Reef Aquarium volume 1 or 2 or The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium by fossa/nielson, there are some amazing reefs that are dominated by mushrooms and large soft corals. Anyways, ultimately, you should keep what you like...you just have to find a balance between what brings you more enjoyment then frustration with the resources (time/money/motivation) that you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos November 13, 2014 Share November 13, 2014 Mix it, a little of both. Don't you have those Evergrow LEDs, so they could handle a bit of both. Not as good for SPS IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 15, 2014 Author Share November 15, 2014 After a lot of web surfing and thinking, I've decided to go with an uber-swaying softie tank. This build pushed me over the top and his maintenance schedule seems like nothing. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1980384&page=10 I guess I will be trying to find sinularia, toadstools, leathers, etc. I will also be looking for things like torches with a lot of motion. I'm feeling really comfortable with this path. So... I know are lots of you guys who are trying to get rid of anything softie in your soon-to-be all SPS tanks? Please let me know if you have any cool stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmatt56 November 15, 2014 Share November 15, 2014 Great looking tank! Shoelace, softies are where it's at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 19, 2014 Author Share November 19, 2014 Got some softies from Matt. Thanks, man! Having fun with my macro extension tubes. Still getting the hang of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 19, 2014 Share November 19, 2014 Dude, what do you mean getting the hang of it?! Those are GREAT shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos November 19, 2014 Share November 19, 2014 I am so jealous of your pics! Mine look like they are from a pinhole camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf November 19, 2014 Share November 19, 2014 I have cabbage leather and Tyree green toadstool leather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now