Is My Reef Ready?

CoralNoobDude · Mar 23, 2020

*DISCLAIMER* As you read this I know the temptation may be to immediately respond with the standard be patient response. So this post comes with the caveat that I'm looking to purchase more BEGINNER corals AFTER this coronavirus crisis starts to clear up. So mid to late July timeframe. I just want to know am I ready for that time period seeing that my parameters have seemed stable for the last 2 months.

Okay so first off my parameters:

Salinity: 1.24
pH: 8.1
Alk: 3.2
Calc: 420ppm
Phosphate: .15ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0

My question is...is my tank ready for more coral? I've got GSP and a colony of Zoas. They appear to be doing fine but I know they are on the easier side of the coral family.

The tank is 6 months old and I'm getting this green growth all over my rocks. It's not hair algea thankfully but I dont know what it is and I'm getting different answers on these forums. Is this the beginning stages of coraline? It only appears on the sides of the rock that catch the most light, and it chips off the rock like crust. Thoughts? If it's a bad algea I'd like to get it out pronto.

Also... I'm dealing with dinos currently. They are gradually reducing thanks to a UV filter.

So am I ready for more?

NanoDJS · Mar 23, 2020

you have ti get your alk upto like 8-9 slowly !!!! bring salinty upto 1.026 or 35ppt and you are GOLDEN !!! good work. I would get aquavitro 8.2 dkh buffer to have , everything else water change will keep up with.

CoralNoobDude · Mar 23, 2020

CoralNoobDude said:
*DISCLAIMER* As you read this I know the temptation may be to immediately respond with the standard be patient response. So this post comes with the caveat that I'm looking to purchase more BEGINNER corals AFTER this coronavirus crisis starts to clear up. So mid to late July timeframe. I just want to know am I ready for that time period seeing that my parameters have seemed stable for the last 2 months.

Okay so first off my parameters:

Salinity: 1.24
pH: 8.1
Alk: 3.2
Calc: 420ppm
Phosphate: .15ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0

My question is...is my tank ready for more coral? I've got GSP and a colony of Zoas. They appear to be doing fine but I know they are on the easier side of the coral family.

The tank is 6 months old and I'm getting this green growth all over my rocks. It's not hair algea thankfully but I dont know what it is and I'm getting different answers on these forums. Is this the beginning stages of coraline? It only appears on the sides of the rock that catch the most light, and it chips off the rock like crust. Thoughts? If it's a bad algea I'd like to get it out pronto.

Also... I'm dealing with dinos currently. They are gradually reducing thanks to a UV filter.

So am I ready for more?

My bad. Alk 8.2....darn dyslexia had me seeing 3 as an eight.

CoralNoobDude · Mar 23, 2020

NanoDJS said:
you have ti get your alk upto like 8-9 slowly !!!! bring salinty upto 1.026 or 35ppt and you are GOLDEN !!! good work. I would get aquavitro 8.2 dkh buffer to have , everything else water change will keep up with.

Thanks! As for the green stuff...any thoughts?

NanoDJS · Mar 23, 2020

Thats your rock curing , dont worry , thats what happens with dry rock . It takes a good year to become "live"its not bad at all . This is where your coraline will show first exactly

AquaPhilNJ · Mar 23, 2020

Maybe it's bc now that i'm more experienced it isn't an issue, but even new tanks I just put the corals in and ignore the 6 month or longer rule. However, I don't start new tanks that often. I buy one coral at a time, slowly, and see how it goes. (Semi-unrelated) I buy all my corals via LFS and almost always pay 25 dollars per frag (excluding Acros, BTA, rare), the prices for corals can get crazy. New Jersey however has many options for LFS stores. My LFS stores are still open and the virus doesn't stop me from visiting. (maybe it should... : / )