Would like to try a couple of Millepora corals or other SPS. Advice?

[NanoReefer411]

Hi Everyone,
I've been looking around online and have fallen in love with Millepora's. I went to Kevin's and he has the most beautiful Mille's in his large tank display. They are breath taking. When I log onto the DFS website and look up Milleporas, their care level is deemed moderate. I really like the Blue ORA Millepora on the DFS website.I was wondering, if that might be a good coral for me to try? I've got some Monti's and a Pocillipora. I've got tons of flow, a large skimmer ATI BubbleMaster. Everything in my signature is current. Let me know what you think. Thank you.

 

[dailydriven911]

If your monti's and pocilliapora's are doing good I don't see why milli's would have any problems. You have a very fortunate that kevin is so close, I'd talk w/ him and maybe start out w/ a couple frags first.

 

[SueT]

I agree A. millepora is not too demanding of an acropora to keep. If your doing good with the montipora and a pocillopora and your water levels are good, flow is random then go for it. I happen to love mille's too. I'd take one of every color if I could find them all.

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
With a 150W bulb I'm not sure you would be able to keep the color you like. Acropora millepora usually take moderate to high light to maintain their color especially the blue ones. A 250W bulb would be more reliable in maintaining color.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[NanoReefer411]

Hey Kevin,
Would any Mille's maintain their color in my system? I can place them pretty close to the MH. If blue wouldn't work, what about a Peach Color or a Green Mille? Let me know. TY

 

[Cwazy Clown]

dude, you have a BM150 on a 40g?

that is crazy. i only have my dumb remora

 

[Cwazy Clown]

i think it would work....40b is only 16" tall, 150 mh for that is fine. even though i have 250. w/e

 

[kevinpo]

The green A. millepora holds it color very well. It turns a beautiful dark green under 150W and 175W bulbs.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[NanoReefer411]

Thank you. Kevin do you have any green frags of Mille? I was hoping for a peach or pink mille too My fav of course is the blue Ora that Liveaquaria sells. Love it.
Cwazy clown, yup a Bm150 on my 40. It's been really making me mad lately though. I think the mesh wheel is coming loose or something. I have to open it up and see. I don't want to b/c that thing is a hard little guy to put back together.
I did have the Remora Pro, since I went with a sump though, I bought the Bm150. It was between that and a Tunze 9010 or Euroreef or bullet. When the BM doesn't fuss, it's the most awesome skimmer. Gives me 1 days worth of waste compared to a Remora's 2 or 3 week run. Nope not feeding more than with the Remora. Just like the BM. Plus I planned ahead because I knew this little tank would soon have to be upgraded. LOL =) So hopefully this skimmer can go a couple sizes off. Hopefully Kevin will have a full set up ready for me when the time is right. No more DIY for me. Not ever again! =) I have a 150 gallon freshwater planted tank that is coming down. I am just tempted to turn that into a reef one of these days. Or just sell it and use the money to buy everything already done. We'll see.

 

[kevinpo]

Kevin do you have any green frags of Mille?

I don't think so at the moment. There are many colonies of it locally and it comes in often. You could also check with club members as I know several have nice colonies. It is a very fast growing table form of millepora.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[NanoReefer411]

I don't really know any of the members that well. I guess I will wait and see. TY though. Let me know if you get any in Wed. Or I will check the board. I also need to give you those GSP. How toxic are Mushrooms? I have a couple, but not many. TY

 

[seismic]

kevinpo, a question for you...not to hijack this thread....what if he has 2 x 150W...would that be good enough to keep the blue ones ?? That would be 300w...which is more that 250W...is that how it works ? Or is this wattage referring to intensity ?

 

[SueT]

the wattage is referring to the intensity. I personally have not used anything lower than a 250w halide. I have no problem keeping blues. This is with 10k. I do happen to know several that have tried keeping acropora under 175w and have not been very successful in keeping the vivid colors. This was also with a 10k.

 

[kevinpo]

Hi Gina,

How toxic are Mushrooms?

Mushrooms are not toxic in the sense they release toxins into the water column. They are closely related to anemones and can sting corals when they make physical contact. The most common form of reproduction is pedal laceration (or splitting of the foot) and as they spread they can become a real nusiance by climbing up and stinging other corals.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[kevinpo]

what if he has 2 x 150W...would that be good enough to keep the blue ones ??

There is little increase in intensity by adding more bulbs of the same wattage. You get better coverage by that I mean more area of the tank is lit when you add additional bulbs. A metal halide bulb by itself (without a reflector) has the most intensity in a small oblong shaped circle directly under the bulb with decreased intensity radiating outward. This is why a good reflector is so important to try and break up that hot spot in the center.
For example if you place a coral to the left of the bulb one side of the coral will be exposed to much more light. By adding an additional bulb on the other side then the coral will be exposed to about the same intensity but covered from both sides.

Wattage mostly has to do with penetration depth of the water column. That's why as the tank gets deeper (or the light is hung higher) you must increase the light wattage.
*see this inverse square law link for an excellent explanation.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/forces/isq.html

Regards,
Kevin

 

[kevinpo]

One other note:
There are Acropora species that come from deeper water and do quite well (maintain their colors) under 150W and 175W. They do tend to be more expensive and harder to find. There is a thread in this forum that has some pictures of them.
As my friend Anthony often says "form follows function". If a coral has thin delicate branches you can be pretty sure it did not come from a shallow fore reef environment. The branches would be shattered by the first wave

Regards,
Kevin

 

[MarineTeng]

i have a green millipora that does well underneath my 175w 14k hamilton, it's near the top, i find it's a bit harder then montis. It starts to bleach at two of the tips and usually doing a water change helps it and it recovers it's color, all in all though it's doing well and it's growing reasonably fast

 

[seismic]

Lets say with good reflectors, how deep is the penetration for a 150W bulb ? If I 'm going to upgrade to 250W from a 150W, I need to change the ballast, do I need to change the contacts as well ??

 

[NanoReefer411]

That is kind of a bummer about the Acros and Mille's. =( Guess my light just isn't strong enough. I'm getting into SPS more now too. Well, I guess I'll see how I do with the one's I have now. Maybe my next tank I will just use t-5's. I've seen many SPS tanks on RC using just T-5's. I'd like to cut down on the heat. Even my 150 MH with the 2 PC's make the water warm. =/ I'd love to set up my 150 gallon FW tank and turn it into a reef. Maybe in the future. Steady as she goes as Kevin told me. =)

 

[kevinpo]

Lets say with good reflectors, how deep is the penetration for a 150W bulb ? If I 'm going to upgrade to 250W from a 150W, I need to change the ballast, do I need to change the contacts as well ??

Hello,
With the light 6" off the water surface, high light SPS corals need to be within 12" of the surface of the water.
With a 250W they need to be 18-20" and with 400W 24-30".
This is just a general guide because there are so many types of SPS available today.

You will have to change the sockets. The 250W and 400W use the same sockets but the 150's are different.

Regards,
Kevin