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SPS lovers tell me why you love SPS because I can't get into it

Altohombre

Altohombre

Maybe its because I am new to reefing, maybe I just haven't seen the right ones, but I just don't understand why people like SPS. To me they don't do anything but stand there like a craft that you could make out of Playdough. I understand that there are some nice colors and they are easy to frag. I just don't understand why someone wouldn't rather have a tank full of the LPS that actually expand and contract, sway in the water and act alive. I am in love with frogspawns, hammers, torches, etc. If I am in the wrong, please show me the right.

-Matt
 
R

roadking05

LOL, Sounds like me 6 months ago. ::) Now I have 180G with full of SPS. If you want to see SPS expand and contract, come see my SPS. You really don't get out much....
 
C

concept3

To each his own love, matt. I almost look at SPS as some kind of underwater Bonsai garden. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance and did I mention patience in giving the corals time to grow, cutting them so they don't get too close, forming or mounting them to rocks that speed up their growth, placing them under different conditions to acquire variances in color and growth. I think for me, patience has definitely been the biggest factor, and the fact that they stay within each other's boundaries instead of giving them ample space to enlarge when the lights come on.
I've had softies before, and I loved them just as much, I think part of the SPS mentality too is the fact that they are slightly more challenging to keep. With the right combination, a tank could go from this:

June2005.jpg





to this in about a year!

April2006.jpg
 
B

Brian

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I felt the same way when I got into the hobby...I loved all the "flowie" stuff and couldn't understand people obession with SPS. Then I got one frag, then two...then three...(you get the idea) and I was really enjoying watching them grow. Depending on the flow & light then take on different growth patterns. Don't get me wrong, I still have LPS and a few softies in there to satisfy my needs to watch something moving around. Merv's description of a Bonsai garden is spot on.
 
MikeNapoli

MikeNapoli

I'm with Brian and Merv.

I really like the challenge of keeping something that most people can't. I even go that way with my fish selection.
 
P

pnoyreefer

I love the challenge and you can buy frags and see them grow and also the way it colors up in your tank.Im not a big fan of SPS but I do have some and enjoying it :)
 
S

steve68

Yeah those stick looking things don't do nothing for me LOL
to me it's all about growth patterns i just love the way the SPS will start
growing with the flow of the tank acroporas are nice but i love montiporas
it's sad to say they can RTN over night.
 
S

saltwater4life

The thing that turned me on to them was along time ago when someone posted pictures of some Japanese reef tanks.
I think the best thing is when the tank is full of them and let them grow out for a year or so, but mixed tank looks good too.
Anyways you'll probbly start to like them after you are in for awhile
 
blange3

blange3

You are not alone Matt!

I can appreciate the growth and colors of some SPS, but I prefer the life and flow of LPS and many soties.

My upgrade to a 180 will not be as most seem to progress to. I'm not moving to halides and a lot of acros. I'm sticking with VHO's and using the extra real estate to add more scolies and lobos to my Euphylia collection.

I do like some of the easier SPS like caps and millies, but I want to run my tank in a way that favors the LPS; lower flow, less intense light and higher nutrients. Any SPS that can live that way are welcome. The rest can find a home with the harder working reefers in the club. ;)
 
Altohombre

Altohombre

that guys tank is pretty sweet I must admit. I think I liked it better when the pictures started then what it was like in May though.
 
T

tangdude

I keep a couple of tanks one for lps and softies and one for sps. it is not only the challange but someday this will be the only way to get corals is from people growing them in there tanks. hopefully someday there will be a fool proof way of doing things. I like the interaction betwen people to further my knowledge and to improve the quality of life for the creatures we keep. I also treat my lps tanks pretty similiar to the sps.
 
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