Great videos. TFS. Don't mean to hijack your thread, but can you tell me how you decide about coral placement? Is it just SPS high / softies low, and what looks good where? Or do you take chemical warfare into account?
Hi DeeAnn,
That is a great question. I wish I had all the answers for that. My approach has changed many times over the years. It has REALLY changed in the past year and a half when I moved over to the SPS side of things.
I start with my best guess as to where the coral will be the happiest. The right flow, the right light and the right neighbors. Sometimes ya just gotta let it be for a few weeks before you make it the official spot for that coral. Sometimes it takes months to figure out what the coral is going to do. I had a few growing and seemingly doing well, only to find that the further away from the light it grew, the more beautiful it bacame.......pointing out that maybe it needs to be further away from the lights. Others grow really well, but don't hold a nice color. This can mean it is getting too much, or too little light. Unfortunately this can happen for many reasons.....you can blame the light if you know your tank params are good.
Too much flow can really bother some corals, and others will thrive with great flow. Again, I just watch them and move them around until I find a happy place.
Now that the tank is getting full, I search for corals that will thrive in the places that I have left. I am always looking at the tank and finding a space for new coral. I just bought a new Torte that I put under very high lighting. Sitting approx 8" under water with a Kessil A350 directly above it 11" above the water. It has really colored up with the high lighting. I had a yellow Tenuos that was bleached out from the high light, so I moved it lower and it has fully recovered. Trial and error.
I have made some horrible decisions about placement as well. I put three encrusting Monti's on the same rock, about 6" apart. All three have grown into one another and it's quite a war going on. I also have to worry about them overtaking the other coral on the rock. They are very beautiful, but that was not a wise choice.
As for chemical warfare........I'm not too familar with it. I can't say I have ever experienced it. I generally just try to keep the coral from touching one another......this means giving it some space to grow into. There are some super aggressive corals that can really cause damage if put too close to other coral. Sometimes you learn which ones the hard way......after it's attacked your coral.
Always take into consideration future growth. I have a tall tank, so I try not to stack the coral directly above each other. So as the coral grow, the lower corals will still get some light. Eventually that may be impossible with large colonies, but that is a problem I would LOVE to have.
Anyway, sites like LiveAquaria can give you insight into what kind of light and flow a coral might like. However JUST as important is to keep up on your tank parameters. Corals won't thrive without a fairly stable enviornment, even when placed in the perfect spot.
I'm so sorry for such a long response. Ha! Hope that helps.
