A guide to keeping an SPS Tank

Knowledge. (Do your homework)

When I first started keeping SPS I did a lot of research and talked with a lot of successful reefers who had tanks I admired. I also used the Internet extensively, giving a wealth of information from various forums and sites.

As I had already started a reef with some common and hardy SPS and making my fair share of mistakes, and learning from them I then decided to do things properly and re-set up the tank specifically designed for SPS corals. The other important thing to remember when selecting your corals is to try and choose SPS corals from the same depth of water.





Calcium & Alkalinity

Calcium & alkalinity supplementation is perhaps the most important ingredient. You must run a calcium reactor as it does a fantastic job maintaining calcium and alkalinity levels. I always use a kalkwasser (limewater) reactor in large aquariums to boost the low pH produced by the calcium reactor and for additional calcium and alkalinity supplementation. These two pieces of equipment are the first things I check when my SPS don’t look right.
I test my alkalinity on a weekly basis to make sure things don’t stray. I also test weekly for calcium, but keeping my dkh in the 8-10 dkh range is an absolute must for my tank. I have experienced faded colours and even some bleaching at the base of certain SPS when the dkh strays into the 7 range.

Lighting

Another key ingredient is lighting. I am using 16,000 Kelvin 250 W double ended metal halide bulbs They produce a nice crisp white look and not the bluish hue you normally get from many 20k bulbs.
I believe that the strong SPS growth and vivid colours achieved are due partly to the bulb and ballast combination.
I do believe in trying to change your bulbs every 6 to 10 months since they are over driven. In combination with halides I have had tremendous success in using T5 as well.



High Import/Export of Nutrients

High import and export of nutrients is also a key ingredient to success. Do weekly water changes of between 10 and 15%. I also believe in skimming heavily. As for the import part, I believe in stocking quite heavily with fish, which are fed twice daily so the corals benefit from the nutrients obtained by liberal feeding. The main feeding consists of a mix of frozen food (brine shrimp, Misys shrimp) and Spirulina while pellets are used for the second feeding. Elements within the fish faeces produced by the fish provide extra nutrition to my SPS and other corals. Cyclop-eeze, fish roe are also added daily which give the corals additional nourishment. 
Every tank differs, so it does take time to find that balance between removing the right amount of waste and feeding the tank. I advocate keeping a slightly “dirty” tank (slightly detectable nitrates and phosphates) vs. one that is sterile (0 nitrates and phosphates) so being a bit heavier on the import side seems to work for me. Faded, less colourful corals can be an indication that corals are starving from too much nutrient export. 
I also utilize a carbon reactor to keep my water crystal clear and a phosphate reactor to keep nuisance algae in check.

Circulation

Flow is another key component. I don’t advocate blasting the tank, but you need to keep things moving to minimize the build-up of detritus and deliver nutrients to corals. Ideally using a powerhead with some form of controller.



Stability

The most important thing in keeping any successful reef is striving to keep the water chemistry stable (stability). For reef keeping, this applies to such parameters as salinity, nitrate, magnesium, and calcium. Perhaps the most important for SPS is keeping alkalinity at a consistent level. Earlier was mentioned that a tank is happiest when alkalinity is at a certain range, but also at a consistent stable basis.
I do everything I can to keep this parameter rock solid and not let it swing significantly over a short period of time.

Avoid Unnecessary Stress

When I first started in this hobby I couldn’t keep my hands out of the tank. I was constantly moving things around in my quest to achieve the “perfect” look. All the rearranging was stressing out the corals and impeding their growth. I also believe the oils from my skin were having a negative impact. Now I don’t obsess over coral placement and the natural look I’ve achieved with my current tank is a result of this practice. Be patient and keep those hands out of the tank when the urge to fiddle strikes.

It is also important to not over-react and create unnecessary stress when the reef keeping gods throw you a curveball. A couple of years ago I discovered Acro Eating Flat Worms (AEFW) in my tank. I did some research on the topic and found that many reefers removed all their Acros and dipped them in a medicated solution to eradicate these nasty pests. This might be ok for a new tank but I think it can do more harm than good for a more established tank. I took a more natural path and used a turkey baster to blow off the worms. 
Some of my fish got in on the routine and followed the baster, scoring an opportunistic meal. Today I still have a few of the buggers around but they really don’t have a negative impact on the reef. I still baste on a weekly basis to keep them in check, but not ripping apart the reef was less taxing and ultimately the right path for my system.

Maintenance

Last but not least on my list of ingredients is maintenance. I can’t stress how important it is to have a regular routine to keep on top of those water changes, check parameters, and perform any necessary maintenance on equipment. Keeping and maintaining SPS in a reef is a lot of work, but putting the necessary time in can reap substantial rewards.