Coral now?

[Justin_92_92]

Hello again

My tank is over 6 weeks old now. I'm still not 100% that I have cycled yet but pretty sure. I have maybe 30lbs of live rock and bunch of crabs and a damsel and few snails in my 28g nano tank so far.

My question is; I am going to be near a pet store, closest one to me is 2.5 hrs away. If I bought a piece of coral and put it in my tank (recommendations for starter coral?) and my tank did start to spike, would I be safe to put it in my quarantine tank? I have a 10g with nothing but saltwater and filter and power head on it for quarantine.

I really think my tank has cycled but I didn't get to test it at the time. ,y damsel has been in the tank for over 2 weeks and I have been feeding a little above normal.

 

[Justin_92_92]

 

[Justin_92_92]

My pics always rotate on here lol not sure why

 

[Russellaqua]

You're probably ok. 6 weeks would usually allow enough time to cycle. Damsels can be pretty tough and aren't the best indicator. The only way to know for sure is testing, but I suspect you're fine. Softies and nearly all LPS are good starters. Stay away from non-photosynthetic corals if you can't or are unwilling to target feed regularly.


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[fragmatic]

You're probably ok. 6 weeks would usually allow enough time to cycle. Damsels can be pretty tough and aren't the best indicator. The only way to know for sure is testing, but I suspect you're fine. Softies and nearly all LPS are good starters. Stay away from non-photosynthetic corals if you can't or are unwilling to target feed regularly.


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+1
The fact that you have surviving snails is a decent clue. I'd feed the tank just a little, and increase that food dose every so slightly for a week, to keep that clean-up crew thriving. Test constantly while you do this and don't let your No2, NO4 or PO4 climb. Maintain that feed quantity unless you add fish or more CUC. If you stop feeding the tank suddenly you can kill off bacteria and that too can cause a small tank crash. I'm only talking about something like ending up with doubling your feedings. I don't know how much you are feeding now, but most people don't realize you have to feed the fish AND the tank.

Take the food build slow so the bacteria can keep up. This will build up your bacteria count. You will be building nutrients in the tank system to better support everyone. If the tank clouds any back off on the increasing increments. Seriously take this slow.

Yes I agree, try a small softie frag like an umbrella, it may be mad at you for a day or so. If it opens any and survives you are getting there. If it opens up nice and shows off you will have gained a nice show piece. If it never opens and melts you haven't lost the farm, but need to work on something, maybe just more time.

 

[Justin_92_92]

Great! Thanks for the input from both of you. I did go through an early period where I had a lot of algae and the cuc took care of that.

When you say feed the tank, your just talking fish food correct? I give a pinch of flake and some dried crill. Little around noon and little more around 10pm. I have been on top of my readings almost daily since I got my new test kit (after week 2) and everything looks great.

I will start with a small coral just in case too. I have no problem taking things slow in this hobby as with a little research I've already seen that my wallet will take longer to replenish lol.

We have to go to our dogs oncologist office and that's really close to the fish place and almost 3 hours away so I "need" to buy something

It's a really nice mom and pop store with a great saltwater setup in Burlington vt. Pet advantage.

 

[fragmatic]

oops. If I may push my opinion and one that many many will agree with. No, to the dry flake foods. They tend to push up the PO4, I'd buy a good frozen cube package. Let your LFS recommend one. Just knife off a portion of a cube and push the remainder back into the pack and back into the freezer. Thaw it in a (I use a shot glass) glass of tank water and feed. That will do for now, later as you add coral you may want to buy an additional package of frozen food which is intended to feed corals, don't worry about that for now.

It is a matter of opinion, but once a day for the feeding is fine, and it hurts nothing to skip a day here and there.

 

[Justin_92_92]

Great! I wasn't sure what to get for food so I bought pellets flakes and crill. That's all they have local. But tomorrow I will be picking up a cube package. Thanks for the heads up!

I need to get a ro/di setup soon too.

 

[Justin_92_92]

I just got back from te pet store. I ended up picking up a couple clowns ad one coral. I bought a frogspawn that has like 7 heads on it. It looked great at the store and like I expected it is all puckered up as I got it home. My plan is to drip acclimate them both over the evening after they get a 30 minute float. Does that sound alright?

Also we bought (recommended by shop) phyto feast and mysis shrimp and brine shrimp from the frozen section.

 

[peterthegamer]

Sound good. If you plan to get picky eater maybe think about rotifers or pods.

 

[Justin_92_92]

I poured the water and the fish and coral into a bucket I have and letting water drip into it. I will toss some water as it gets near top a few times. I hope this is ok. I just got thinking that I hope it's ok I put them together.

 

[Justin_92_92]

Well there all in the tank now. I fed them one of the frozen brine shrimp cubes. Might have been more than needed seemed like it turned into a lot but they all ate it up good. The damsel seemed mad about the new clowns but after eating there coping with each other. I just have the blue nite lights on right now and probably will till bed.

That's another thing I need to figure out. I have a jbj hood MH lights. Quad or something like that. How should I keep the lighting for a schedule? Is it ok to leave te nite lights on all nite or nothing on at night?

 

[fragmatic]

A whole cube is a heck of a lot. LOL.. I wouldn't be doing that anymore, LOL. Clowns aren't smart enough to stop eating, . As for night lights, they are for you, nothing in the tank needs them. I have a very small night light too, it is for me 'cause I like it. A normal "plug it in the bathroom so you don't stub a toe" light is plenty.

Did your LFS recommend the brine shrimp cube? Brine shrimp are candy for fish and have almost no nutritional value. Sorry. If your LFS recommended them, ummmh, ummmh, that is interesting.

The clowns eating good is a wonderful sign. Realize they will hang out and act dorky, and it will be because they are clown fish, this is what they do. It is normal.

EDIT:
Sorry, I almost missed the MH schedule thing. Yes, get a timer that can handle the lights. Every tank is different, you may try about the same number of hours as we actually have out doors at first. These can be different times of day though so you can enjoy the tank, but I'd start with about the same number of hours. Currently my system lights go on at 7AM and go off at 7PM, but that is my reef and it is a lot of hours for most reefs. I tend to run lower watts of LEDs than most so I run long hours. This is a whole different can or worms, don't worry about it. You will have to learn to adjust your "lights on" hours according to what your tank wants and what you learn.

 

[Justin_92_92]

Yeah the lfs (college kid) handed me the frozen food. I told him what I have and that it was recommended i get frozen food and he handed me the brine shrimp and the other kind as well.

I was shocked when I saw the cube break up and how much it was lol. I have maybe too many crabs so maybe they will get some of it?

I have a timer so I will set that up so it is on schedule.

The clowns are really cool to watch. There very active. The store said they will pair and that one will turn or something. I think he was talking as far as mating.

 

[fragmatic]

Clowns are A sexual. The larger will become the female and dominate. The other will become the male.

Your tank may cloud up and may take on a mini crash because of the fish addition and the whole cube of brine. Be ready with some change water if this happens.

So, ummmh, be aware that your LFS "may" not have your best interests at heart during future visits. But you have R2R.

I think you will find though there will be healthy differences of opinions at times, that R2R members will absolutely have yours and your reef's life forms best interests at heart.

 

[Justin_92_92]

That store is my second closest place to buy SWF from. The closest is only 2 hours away. I had to go to the vets out that way so we stopped in there too.

How often should I check the levels? Twice a day?

The kid at the pet store seemed kind of rude and annoyed when I asked a couple questions about corals. I told him I was new to it and wanted something on the easier end of the spectrum. The frog spawn just looked nicer to me than the mushroom he recommended. It's already opening a little.

 

[fragmatic]

The frog was a wiser choice. The sroom not so wise, it could crash and crash your new tank. He was perhaps rude because he didn't know what he was doing and was covering. He also may of been wanting to ditch the sroom. The frogspawn should look really cool in the AM. It needs to flow back and forth gracefully some but not be pushed over flat when it comes out. You may need to move it or adjust flows directions. It likes light but not being fried, easy at first, too little light is an easy fix, too much is a tough heal.

IMO, once a day is plenty for now, if everything goes well you will be able to begin to slack off on the testing slowly as you learn to watch the critters and let them tell you how they like the water. Then you test to see what they are trying to tell you. BUT, that is later.

 

[Justin_92_92]

Great! I did look up a,little about the frogspawn and saw the flow that you mentioned. I moved my power head so it's not on it direct but near it so I can see some movement but not too much like you said.

I really appreciate your help. I am pretty happy with my tank right now. It's taken a while to have something to look at but it's been worth it.

 

[fragmatic]

Addiction

 

[Justin_92_92]

I'm very big into hobbies. I operate a hobby shop that we specialize in remote controlled hobbies. I also am addicted to those hahaha but I can see this can be as expensive and more