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finger / tree leather with SPS - keep or not keep
- Thread starter skierajs
- Start date
susyq458
Non-member
It is possible. Just keep the leathers down flow from the SPS so that any toxins they are emitting go into your overflow for cycling and filtration. Good filtration is key. Also , don't let the leather touch ANYTHING. I'm learning that the hard way now that I have 3 kinds in my 29 sharing space with mushrooms, zoas and one happy SPS colony. Good luck.
randoma
Non-member
Assuming that your using an overflow box of some sort (mostly surface water gets filtered). And assuming that your SPS is high in the tank and your leathers are low in the tank. How exactly do you keep the leathers down flow from the SPS? Won't any toxins eventually get to the surface to reach the overflow box? Or are the toxins relatively short-lived?
No matter how good the filtration is, toxin will go everywhere regardless the location of the leather. I don't think carbon can take care of much of the toxin at all.
The question is what are the toxins and are they real.
Good points Dong (dzt).
IIRC, the common reccomendation for keeping leathers downstream is for leathers that go through occasional sheds like toadstools. Idea being that the shed skin can be irritating to SPS and other corals.
As far as carbon removing toxins, I have no idea of the effectiveness, but I've seen it reccomended in several books.
Details on said toxins? I've never read or seen anything that elaborated on this idea beyond the blanket statement that "many leathers/softies release toxins" ???
Fact; many reefers do succesfully keep mixed reefs with both leathers and SPS, but some can't seem to keep both together successfully long term.
Guess; I'm inclined to think that many leathers/softies do release toxins AND the best way to deal with this "chemical warfare" is to do regular water changes.
Personally I've always been a bit lax about water changes, and I've never been succesful keeping SPS for more than 2 yrs in my sinularia and sarcophyton dominated system. (Exception being monti cap and digitata that seem to be bulletproof)
IIRC, the common reccomendation for keeping leathers downstream is for leathers that go through occasional sheds like toadstools. Idea being that the shed skin can be irritating to SPS and other corals.
As far as carbon removing toxins, I have no idea of the effectiveness, but I've seen it reccomended in several books.
Details on said toxins? I've never read or seen anything that elaborated on this idea beyond the blanket statement that "many leathers/softies release toxins" ???
Fact; many reefers do succesfully keep mixed reefs with both leathers and SPS, but some can't seem to keep both together successfully long term.
Guess; I'm inclined to think that many leathers/softies do release toxins AND the best way to deal with this "chemical warfare" is to do regular water changes.
Personally I've always been a bit lax about water changes, and I've never been succesful keeping SPS for more than 2 yrs in my sinularia and sarcophyton dominated system. (Exception being monti cap and digitata that seem to be bulletproof)
Cheetos
7 Gallon Cube
I have a finger leather next to a blue milli. I figured the leather would win the battle over the milli but I guess I was wrong. The milli continues to grow at a very fast rate and the parts of the leather that touch the milli stay shriveled up.
Go figure. Right now I have a toadstool, green tree, finger leather and cabbage leather amongst many sps and everything does well.
Go figure. Right now I have a toadstool, green tree, finger leather and cabbage leather amongst many sps and everything does well.
RayD
The Chicago Experience!
That's funny I can't keep Monti Cap or Digi for beans! Neither one will keep for me and my system is well established (3 years) and doing amazing.
It's actually frustrating at times.
Ray, it is known in the old-school reefing community (say, Tyree et al) that some tanks would develop "antidoe" for certern kinds of corals. Caps are one of the corals by the way. For example, I can't grow orange cap in my tank but other SPS are growing fine. But, there is no scientific backing for the idea.
reefinghabit
Non-member
at some point you will have to decide wich type of coral you want to keep more of. depending upon your lighting of course. if your liking the lps and sps than depending on water volume and carbon you will be able to do so.however. if you do not perform the recomended water changes of about 10% each week and run a good activated carbon you may have a hard time keeping and maintaining sps long term. if the majority or corals is soft leathers and it over rules the sps in your tank than thats not very good for the sps. if your sps over rule your softies than thats more preferable. remember we are keeping closed environments. the longer we wait and the more we add the faster things go wrong. maintainence and habit is the best medicine for any succsesfull reef.
reefinghabit
Non-member
hey ray is the orange cap still doing well?
Thanks for all the info on this. My tank is going to be LPS and SPS dominated. The leather was the first coral I got when the tank had cycled and before I added the MH lights.
I think I'll take the leather over to the LFS I bought it from over the weekend and see if they will trade for it.
I think I'll take the leather over to the LFS I bought it from over the weekend and see if they will trade for it.
If you run carbon. It's should be fine.
