Can I do a coral only tank with LPS ?

[Mark Allan]

I am new and have read and watched lots of video's on reefing. Most tell me to add a fish then corals ect. If I am only interested in coral only and if LPS only needs light to grow then would I need to do water changes? Does LPS require wastes from fish to grow and survive?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any truly photosynthetic LPS. Most LPS that I think of (bubbles, scolys, micromussas, etc.) tend to need/grow better with feeding in the home aquarium. This bypasses the whole "have fish in your tank to produce waste for the corals to feed off of" idea, and just feeds the corals directly.

That being said, I'm sure you could do a coral only tank without fish. You would probably need to do water changes from time to time to remove waste products/add in essential elements that get taken out like calcium/magnesium. But you could also look into the Trident method which claims to bypass the process of doing regular water changes as well.

 

[Mark Allan]

Thanks I was wondering that the coral will need nitrates from the fish to grow but thought that that there was food for coral only (Reef chilli??) I thought I heard about that. My attraction is corals and not so much to fish other than clean up crews. Maybe a clown or two? I have been looking at how to stuff and they all say add a few fish then corals just wondering if that was the only way?

 

[ScottR]

Have you considered adding a clean up crew? Shrimps, snails, etc. You could feed frozen food in small amounts a couple times a week. The CUC will help to clean leftover food from coral feedings as well as process the food you’re feeding them. In this case (as with keeping fish and corals), you will need to check nitrates and phosphates to make sure you have enough and not too much. But to answer your question: yes, you can keep an LPS tank without fish.

 

[lion king]

Lps corals do need nutrients to thrive. Many if not most benefit greatly from target feeding. Depending on what you are keeping you could broadcast feed coral foods. Brains, acans, duncans, etc you can even place coral pellet food in their mouth. Target feeding mysis with a pipette is another method. Research feeding lps corals. You also need to maintain proper ca, alk, and mg; testing and dosing if necessary. Just relying on water changes will usually not suffice. Here's some pics of some hungry lps corals that are waiting or have just been fed.

 

[Psychedelic Reefer]

Hi guys, I’m just come across this thread and I too am thinking of keeping a coral tank with some CUC. If the tank is coral only would I still require a protein skimmer as there’s no fish waste and I’m doing weekly water changes?”

 

[RedFrog211]

Hi guys, I’m just come across this thread and I too am thinking of keeping a coral tank with some CUC. If the tank is coral only would I still require a protein skimmer as there’s no fish waste and I’m doing weekly water changes?”

What size tank are you considering? I would say no though- if you’re only target feeding corals, IMHO, I doubt your bio load would be enough to justify a skimmer.

 

[RedFrog211]

As for coral only tanks, it’s definitely possible. I would recommend a smaller size, maybe 10-20g, so it’s easier to maintain, and you won’t be dosing like crazy, but that’s just my opinion.

It would behoove you to buy a fish in the beginning, to help create ammonia for the nitrifying bacteria. Once your tank is cycled, I’d remove the fish, check all parameters, and you should be good. I’d start light though- don’t get 10 at once. Start with one or two, give it a week, then add more. As for CUC, I’d recommend doing some research, as some common crustaceans (such as emerald crabs and peppermint shrimp) have been known to pick at LPS.

 

[Psychedelic Reefer]

As for coral only tanks, it’s definitely possible. I would recommend a smaller size, maybe 10-20g, so it’s easier to maintain, and you won’t be dosing like crazy, but that’s just my opinion.

It would behoove you to buy a fish in the beginning, to help create ammonia for the nitrifying bacteria. Once your tank is cycled, I’d remove the fish, check all parameters, and you should be good. I’d start light though- don’t get 10 at once. Start with one or two, give it a week, then add more. As for CUC, I’d recommend doing some research, as some common crustaceans (such as emerald crabs and peppermint shrimp) have been known to pick at LPS.

Thanks so much for the quick reply and information. The tank I’ll be using is a 50g cube tank. Would that be too big to run without a skimmer?
I agree with starting light. I wasn’t planning on overloading the tank straight away. The plan was to be patient and start slowly, and monitor the parameters.

do you have any advice on ideal parameters for a coral only tank?

 

[RedFrog211]

Thanks so much for the quick reply and information. The tank I’ll be using is a 50g cube tank. Would that be too big to run without a skimmer?
I agree with starting light. I wasn’t planning on overloading the tank straight away. The plan was to be patient and start slowly, and monitor the parameters.

do you have any advice on ideal parameters for a coral only tank?

I have mostly softies like zoas and palys, along with some LPS. I keep my tank at 1.026, 79°F, nitrate ~ 5 (zoas love it). If you have room for a skimmer, I guess you could argue it wouldn’t hurt, but it is possible to have too clean water. Too clean, and the corals don’t get the proper nutrients they require to grow, too dirty and you risk algae blooms and infectious bacteria. I personally wouldn’t run a skimmer though, cause whatever you feed to the tank is intended for the corals. You won’t be broadcast feeding for fish, which is definitely the highest cause for nitrate and waste.

 

[Psychedelic Reefer]

I have mostly softies like zoas and palys, along with some LPS. I keep my tank at 1.026, 79°F, nitrate ~ 5 (zoas love it). If you have room for a skimmer, I guess you could argue it wouldn’t hurt, but it is possible to have too clean water. Too clean, and the corals don’t get the proper nutrients they require to grow, too dirty and you risk algae blooms and infectious bacteria. I personally wouldn’t run a skimmer though, cause whatever you feed to the tank is intended for the corals. You won’t be broadcast feeding for fish, which is definitely the highest cause for nitrate and waste.

Thanks so much! You’ve been extremely helpful today.