New to corals

Ksturg · Feb 1, 2017

Ok so I want to get some Zoa frags the store I was at yesterday have them on sale for $5. My question is since I have never done corals is what should my parameters be? My ammonia and nitrite are 0 my nitrate is about 20. What else should I be testing for and what should it be at? And what else do we need to know so I don't kill them?

MaiReef · Feb 1, 2017

How old is your tank and do you test for phosphate?

Ksturg · Feb 1, 2017

Tank is only 2 months old and no I've only tested for the 3 main ones for my fish. I don't know what I need to test for. Oh and I test my ph it's at 8.2

ahiggins · Feb 1, 2017

those look good for zoas.
What lights do you have and what size tank?

The other parameters youll want to test are "the big three":
calcium, alkalinity, magnesium.
Some zoas and palys you can get away with sorta out of whack values because theyre easy corals. Once you get into LPS and other softies, youll want those in check.
Check out this write up: http://reef2reef.com/threads/optima...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

Ksturg · Feb 1, 2017

My tank is 55gal my lights are 96 .5w led full spectrum it said they were good for corals. I'll post a pic of tank and parameters in just a few minutes

Ksturg · Feb 1, 2017

Temp- 80.6
Salinity- 1.025
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 20
Ph- 8.2
Will check calcium tonight.

ahiggins · Feb 1, 2017

is that a lifeguard light?
Looks sorta like my small 24" one.
anyway-dont freak out if you start seeing brown dusty algae growing in your tank. It looks like you havent went through the secondary algae cycle yet.

Coming along nicely, I like your aquascape

Ksturg · Feb 1, 2017

I think it's an aquaneat light...I have had 2 small brown spots of algae on my sand for the past 4 weeks but that's it...they are about dime sized. I've had brown algae on my suction cups and top of heater but that has all gone away. Is it to early for corals or would I be ok if the other big 3 are ok.

ahiggins · Feb 1, 2017

Its not too early for the easy ones like zenia or star polyps (both of these are fairly invasive so watch what you put in the tank) or even some easy palythoa species.
I wouldnt try any LPS/SPS yet IMO. You want to wait until at least after the big diatom bloom for those.
Also, I would suggest getting a fish in there pretty soon too

Your tank wont stabilize fully until you have it stocked how you want it and the parameters have time to compensate for it.
Do you have a skimmer? (some people get away with it but I highly recommend if youre going to have a few fish in there or have corals that need meaty foods.)

I reccomend starting with cheaper paly frags (I find palys much easier than zoas)...we have all killed coral at one point or another-cheaper means less money wasted on learning lessons

Ksturg · Feb 1, 2017

I just picked up 2 clown fish last night they are the first fish in my tank. Now that you mention it I think it was palys that were on sale for $5. Yes I have a skimmer it's not an expensive one I am doing kind of a budget build with this tank. Well once I have checked my water and all looks good I think I may just go for it. They are hard to see cause they are so small but in the bottom left hand corner you can see the clowns.