The Dirty Sps Tank

[Myka]

Originally Posted by jason604

Did u guys have long hair algae problems with higher nitrate? I would rather have pale sps than to have a tank full of algae again. It suffocated so many of my corals.

It's all about balance. You need good enough flow, a good enough skimmer, good enough maintenance practices, and the right critters in the tank to help by pecking at rocks (keeping detritus from settling). Phosphate is troublesome with algae, you want that to stay low.

Saying that, I know two tanks personally that are way overstocked and way, way, way overfed (think 4x what they need). One of those tanks sits around 40-60 ppm nitrate (a few softies) and the other is close to 100 ppm (it's fish only, no skimmer). Neither tank would sustain SPS corals, but there isn't a speck of algae in either tank and both tanks have reef lighting.