Corals before Clowns?

[calimel]

Hi all! I've been cycling my tank for about two weeks (live sand, live rock, and Dr. Tim's and Prime). The nitrites are stalling a bit high, so I am being patient and waiting for the cycle to complete. Salinity is at 1.025, Temp is at 80.2, NH3 is at 0, NO2 is at 2.0, N03 is at 5.0, Ph is at 8.2.
When it's done, I was going to start by adding two clownfish. One of my LFS said that this was a good idea, as I don't want to add softie corals until fish are in and diatom bloom passes (currently there is no bloom).
Another reputable LFS said this is not a hard and fast rule. The marine specialist said I could add zoa's or kenya trees BEFORE the clownfish, because in some regard, these corals are hardier and more resistant to new tank parameters.
Now I'm confused! After my tank is cycled, do I add clownfish or corals first??! Thanks everyone.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Personally, I added corals into my first build and clowns first in my second. Really did not seem to make a difference but the corals did seem to respond well after the addition of the clowns due to the nutrient increase. Either way, you should be fine.

 

[Kryptonian]

Just depends on the coral. Zoas are hardy against diatoms and algae but my acans have had a lot of trouble against diatoms forcing their way in the skeleton if any bleaching is present. Hammers normally aren’t affected.

either way, it shouldn’t really matter.They are two different things altogether. Clowns are going to do their own thing just as your corals are going to be themselves. Timing isn’t going to be a big factor imo

corals normally like a small bit of nitrate present but your cycle should end with some nitrate anyway.

 

[calimel]

Personally, I added corals into my first build and clowns first in my second. Really did not seem to make a difference but the corals did seem to respond well after the addition of the clowns due to the nutrient increase. Either way, you should be fine.

Thank you!

Personally, I added corals into my first build and clowns first in my second. Really did not seem to make a difference but the corals did seem to respond well after the addition of the clowns due to the nutrient increase. Either way, you should be fine.

Which corals did you add to your build first?

 

[calimel]

Just depends on the coral. Zoas are hardy against diatoms and algae but my acans have had a lot of trouble against diatoms forcing their way in the skeleton if any bleaching is present. Hammers normally aren’t affected.

either way, it shouldn’t really matter.They are two different things altogether. Clowns are going to do their own thing just as your corals are going to be themselves. Timing isn’t going to be a big factor imo

Have you tried scoly's? Or should I wait for those?

 

[PicassoClown04]

Thank you!

Which corals did you add to your build first?

I added monti, mushrooms, gsp, xenia, and some other easy ones the same day I got the tank wet. Would NOT recommend this method but every single coral I’ve had in there has lived so I guess it was okay. I got them as freebies from the guy who sold me the tank so I had nowhere else to put them and had done very little research . Again, would NOT recommend doing that. You can check it all out in my build thread

 

[Kryptonian]

Have you tried scoly's? Or should I wait for those?

Scoly are probably going to reach similar to acan. If they bleach a little, diatoms will find their way into the edges of the skeleton. If this happens you can always dip 3 part tank water 1 part hydrogen peroxide and that will remove the diatoms or algae.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Have you tried scoly's? Or should I wait for those?

i have 3 scolies currently. I would not recommend them for a tank your age as they are quite pricey. Ime, they react (often poorly) to changes around them so I would definitely wait on one until your tank is a little more stable. Mine won’t open fully for a few hours if I accidentally bump the powerhead while cleaning the glass, they’re weirdos

 

[ReefBeta]

The point to not add coral first is so that you don't need to turn up much light for them, to control algae bloom after cycling because of the elevated nutrients. Then add fish, especially tangs and other algae eating fish, get them to settle down, then lights up and add coral. But since you're not even plan to add algae eating fish before coral, it doesn't really matter. Do remember to get enough clean up crew. Also if you plan for a refugium, run it and wait for it to start growing before turning lights up and add coral.

 

[LRT]

I recently cycled my 160 gallon system with bottle bac (fritz 900), a lot of live rock from gulf live rock and a bunch of high end bounce mushrooms.
Depends on the coral and your system really.
Nutrient dosing and Clowns came later..

 

[calimel]

i have 3 scolies currently. I would not recommend them for a tank your age as they are quite pricey. Ime, they react (often poorly) to changes around them so I would definitely wait on one until your tank is a little more stable. Mine won’t open fully for a few hours if I accidentally bump the powerhead while cleaning the glass, they’re weirdos

Wow! I had no idea that they were that sensitive. I'll definitely wait.

 

[calimel]

I recently cycled my 160 gallon system with bottle bac (fritz 900), a lot of live rock from gulf live rock and a bunch of high end bounce mushrooms.
Depends on the coral and your system really.
Nutrient dosing and Clowns came later..

I used Fritz Turbo Start 900 the first week, and my ammonia and nitrites stayed high with no change. Perhaps the bacteria was dead? So I went back to the LFS and they sold me the Dr. Tim's One and Only. Hoping for better results with that + the live rock. It's encouraging to hear that your mushrooms did okay before the fish. I was hoping to go this route...

 

[PicassoClown04]

Wow! I had no idea that they were that sensitive. I'll definitely wait.

Also please make sure to feed them regularly!!! I feed mine 5x a week but that is super overkill, many people do 1x a week or even 1x every 2 weeks and their scolies are just fine. I like mine really fat though, like acanthophyllia looking. Super chunky one on the left has been in the system for 3ish months and the one on the right was purchased a week ago. I live by fat=healthy in aquaria!

 

[calimel]

The point to not add coral first is so that you don't need to turn up much light for them, to control algae bloom after cycling because of the elevated nutrients. Then add fish, especially tangs and other algae eating fish, get them to settle down, then lights up and add coral. But since you're not even plan to add algae eating fish before coral, it doesn't really matter. Do remember to get enough clean up crew. Also if you plan for a refugium, run it and wait for it to start growing before turning lights up and add coral.

I had not thought about the increased light requirements causing more bloom initially. Perhaps a few corals and a clean up crew? No plans for a refugium at this time. Maybe when I graduate to a larger tank.

 

[calimel]

Also please make sure to feed them regularly!!! I feed mine 5x a week but that is super overkill, many people do 1x a week or even 1x every 2 weeks and their scolies are just fine. I like mine really fat though, like acanthophyllia looking. Super chunky one on the left has been in the system for 3ish months and the one on the right was purchased a week ago. I live by fat=healthy in aquaria!

gorgeous!

 

[LRT]

I used Fritz Turbo Start 900 the first week, and my ammonia and nitrites stayed high with no change. Perhaps the bacteria was dead? So I went back to the LFS and they sold me the Dr. Tim's One and Only. Hoping for better results with that + the live rock. It's encouraging to hear that your mushrooms did okay before the fish. I was hoping to go this route...

Mushrooms are extremely hardy corals.
Feedback and consensus of ammonia kits in the hobby have very low if any confidence and should probably only be used as a tool to judge extreme swings from what I'm seeing in research on the forums.
Not saying you can't see extreme swings with the kits.
Just saying they didn't have much to any effect on the mushrooms. Actually the bounces seemed to kinda thrive in the dirtier more unstable environment.

Would not reccomend in any other circumstances.

 

[calimel]

Mushrooms are extremely hardy corals.
Feedback and consensus of ammonia kits in the hobby have very low if any confidence and should probably only be used as a tool to judge extreme swings from what I'm seeing in research on the forums.
Not saying you can't see extreme swings with the kits.
Just saying they didn't have much to any effect on the mushrooms. Actually the bounces seemed to kinda thrive in the dirtier more unstable environment.

Would not reccomend in any other circumstances.

relying on the ammonia/nitrite kits to get me through cycling, and then hopefully I won't have to use as often. I'll look into mushrooms, I don't know much about them...

 

[PicassoClown04]

I’ve never used a test kit in my life lol. Mushrooms tell me alk (will start looking bad if too high), growth rates on the stonies and clam tell my calcium (if they slow its probably not enough), and overall polyp extension and growth of the softies let me know about my nutrients. The tank tells you what it needs if you know how to listen . I’d just finish up those kits for ammonia and nitrite to ensure your cycle is done because it appears to be stuck then buy something easy like gsp or common zoas. I’ve had zoas not open for 4 months (horrible slime algae) and they opened for the first time last week due to a rip clean. Even if a coral isn’t opening, it probably isn’t dead unless it melts

 

[LRT]

relying on the ammonia/nitrite kits to get me through cycling, and then hopefully I won't have to use as often. I'll look into mushrooms, I don't know much about them...

Should be totally fine cycling with test kits ive done it since Y2K lol. If your using API kit you may want to upgrade to red sea or nyos as the nitrate and ammonia api kits are known to fail whether that be user error or just outdated science or combination of all of the above.

In case anyone ever reads this in the future. I want to clarify that not all mushroom corals are created equally when it comes to hardiness.
The only mushroom corals I can speak on in regards to cycling and hardiness are OG bounce, Sunkist bounce, Golden gonzo, Jersey, Cb orange, Frankenstein, most discos. All bounces I have ever grown.

Would not reccomend cycling any system with a Jawbreaker in fact I wouldn't reccomend a Jawbreaker shroom to anyone not in a mature well established stabile system.

 

[calimel]

I’ve never used a test kit in my life lol. Mushrooms tell me alk (will start looking bad if too high), growth rates on the stonies and clam tell my calcium (if they slow its probably not enough), and overall polyp extension and growth of the softies let me know about my nutrients. The tank tells you what it needs if you know how to listen . I’d just finish up those kits for ammonia and nitrite to ensure your cycle is done because it appears to be stuck then buy something easy like gsp or common zoas. I’ve had zoas not open for 4 months (horrible slime algae) and they opened for the first time last week due to a rip clean. Even if a coral isn’t opening, it probably isn’t dead unless it melts

Thank you for the words of wisdom. I have no idea why my cycle is stalling, but I will do my best to listen to my tank. I've heard that GSP's are quite prolific and will take over your tank. Is that your experience?