Adding Corals

[Austin Lee]

Hey guys!

Okay, this may seem like a silly question but I am rather new to the hobby. My tank has just finished cycling and I added my cleanup crew (an emerald crab as well as a few red legged hermits) about two days ago.

I plan on adding my first fish next week and probably my first coral the week after. I am in a 20 gallon long, with two hydor powerheads, about 25 pounds of live rock and my current orbit light will be coming in any day now.

My question is: how do you go about adding corals? Is there something specific I need to use to get the to stick to the rock? I see the little discs they are attached to at the fish store but I am unsure of how to get them to adhere to the rock.

Any help is appreciated

 

[twilliard]

I would hold off on coral for now and add a fishy
Tank is young and you need to give it some time

 

[Austin Lee]

I would hold off on coral for now and add a fishy
Tank is young and you need to give it some time

How long would you recommend waiting?

 

[twilliard]

Well the bacterial load needs to be built up slowly.
Some corals will make it in a newer tank but later on down the road you might regret it.
Like when people add zenia as a first coral.. then watch out!

 

[twilliard]

I would also like to note that you will see your tank go through a few stages.
Once all that clears up and number stay constant then you may be good to go

 

[steve&mari]

Testing will tell you a lot about your system. It'll be the go to when things look off ect. It will tell you when it's ready for livestock by the numbers you get testing. Can't express enough how important testing and stability is to being a happy reef and reefer

 

[3dees]

as long as your tank is cycled, I don't see a problem adding coral but I would go with some of the easier coral. mushrooms, leathers and zoa's are good choices to start. they don't require super high lighting, dosing, or feeding.

 

[Superrmario]

As long as you are 100% sure on the cycle, you should be able to add some softies slowly as someone else said.

Also, someone mentioned Zenias, yes watch out. They will take over.

 

[Harold Green]

Gluing coral on the rock work takes a little practice. I use loctite super glue gel for gluing onto smooth surfaces and a red dyed epoxy for sticking frag plugs on the rock work. One point, a twenty is a small tank and fish added to it should not have a maximum adult size of over a couple of inches. Many choices just stay away from tangs, angels other than pygmies, butterflies and other large growing fish. Your filter system will determine how much bioload the tank will support. Soft corals will be sturdier than most hard corals so I'd start with them. Most hobbyists start with mushrooms, zoa's, brain corals. Polyps like zenia, yellow, anethelia, and kenya tree will all do better in an older tank but will try to take over the tank in the long run so anything like them you'll want on a separate rock that you can remove if you have to.

 

[robert]

Yes - get a fish, maybe two or three...keep them a while and let your tank build up a nutrient base...
You can expect a few things to happen (maybe they won't but probably will)...

As the wastes build up you'll get brown stuff all over your sand and rocks - diatoms, cyano, dino or a combination of all three....you won't like it...

When this happens (a couple of weeks from now)...kill it off with some chemi-clean...do a partial water change...test your water (ph/alk/nitrate is enough for now) wait for it to come back...repeat as necessary waitng 10-14 days between changes...

When you get confortable with water changes, testing, maintenence and can keep the nuisance algaes at bay - then I would add corals -

First fish? Despite what others will tell you...damsels are great first fish - very hardy and inexpensive - clowns are good too...
First corals - if you get a clown - then a bubble tip anemone (not a coral) would be cool...other-wise palythoas are very easy and pretty indestructible. (watch out! many corals are very poisonous - gloves and eye protection) but be advised some of the easier corals can get out of hand and take over the tank...

The best adcice is not to rush - make small additions - get confortable - make small additions - get confortable - no crisis - no panic - no worries...

 

[Harold Green]

Not to disagree but normally you don't have to do anything to get rid of the diatom bloom. It usually goes away in a week or so on it's own. Sometimes replaced by a green coating on the sand bed. Your clean up crew should get rid of some of it while water changes will bring down the nitrates. Make sure you're using ro water and not tap. Leave the chemical treatments to those experienced with them and concentrate on keeping good water quality and good water flow in the tank.

 

[robert]

Chemi-clean is a short-cut...if your not confortable with it don't use it...

 

[Harold Green]

Robert I wasn't disputing your methods. I've seen tanks that were better than I could ever hope to have that had every electronic device known to the trade on them along with multiple dosing and no water changes. The thing is for beginners I personally feel learning to keep good water quality with basic practices is the most important first step to learning the hobby. I think many experienced hobbyists have forgotten how confusing it can be to someone just starting out. Nothing wrong with training wheels on that first bike. There are lots of hobbyists like yourself out there to advise as others want the knowledge to progress further.

 

[robert]

I didn't think you were...but i didn't suggest getting "every electronic device" or "dosing" or "no water changes"...

I thought I said -> get a few fish -> wait -> if you get this brown stuff -> fix it -> wait -> maybe fix it again -> wait -> along the way,
when your confortable with water chages and some basic testing and the new tank blooms are over -> get some easy corals...

Usually the brown slime is the first obstacle. Time and good husbandry will fix it, but an early dose of chemi-clean, before corals, can speed it along...

 

[Harold Green]

Why add something to the tank that isn't necessary just to speed up the process? Most of us realize stability comes with time and technique and shortcuts don't always improve the situation. I don't think anything I said earlier implied that you used those techniques or that they didn't work well. I simply said grabbing an additive and adding it to your tank may not be the best course of action for an inexperienced hobbyist. The best research on chemi-clean I could find is that it contains erithromycin sulfate and was banned in Germany. The msds on the product lists numerous dangers of inhaling or simply coming in contact with the product. I doubt it's any more dangerous than many of the other additives we use in our tanks but why chance it to save a few days of cycling?

 

[RareEarthCorals]

All we need is just a little patience-Axel Rose.

Slow and steady wins the race. There are a lot of good suggestions and comments that bring more information and even more questions. My recommendation is research things before you commit to anything.

When you are comfortable with your decision, then you know the best course of action. We are only here to suggest options. Up to you what you do with that info.

Trust but verify-Ronald Regan

All the best.

 

[robert]

Well thats it then....if you start your tank in germany definately don't use chemiclean...

They banned Red-Bull energy drinks too...seems it had a detectable trace of cocaine...

 

[robert]

We're killing this guy's thread...I posted a thread on cyano in the general discussion form...

Yes - get fish - coral too if you want...go slow...

 

[TheEngineer]

Looks like you've gotten some good advice. As you can see, there are many schools of thought. You need to see which one works best for you. For me, I've had tanks for about a decade and found that I prefer the "taking it slow" approach over using additives. Additives to me require too much attention, but they certainly work when applied correctly.

To answer your original question, I think you can add an easy coral (zoanthids are a good one) as soon as your cycle is finished. Before you say your cycle is finished, I suggest you try a "ghost feeding". Add a little bit of food to the tank and then test it in 24 hours. If you see a spike, you're not cycled yet. If you don't see a spike in 24 hours, test again at 48 hours. If you see a spike, you're not cycled yet. If you're clear at 48 hours, your cycle is over.

 

[RMS18]

To early for corals, I'd wait 2-3 months before adding first coral from end if cycle date. As far as how to attach them, forget super glue and the 2 part epoxy sticks... the 2 part epoxy stick suck once wet and you have to use a lot to hold a heavy piece or something that sways in the water like a torch coral. Spend the extra few dollars and pick up Tunze Coral Gum. Watch some YouTube video comparisons on the two.