NOT PATIENT
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robert
Valuable Member
I assume your asking because you've not set up many tanks before...or maybe this is your first.
You can put corals, clams, nems and fish in your system as soon as the salt dissolves, the temp is stable and water clears a bit. I've done it many times without losing anything. Its not hard - but you do have to watch carefully. The smaller the system, the more frequently you have to check it. At 220 gallons - it would be entirely doable if you are willing to check it a couple of times a day.
Smaller BTAs, fish and larger clams (no small clams) can go in together along with fleshy LPS frags - If your running your fish through QT or not - time everything to go in together. A young tank is not an unheathy tank - but it is brittle. You can overload it easily - so be prepared at any sign of ammonia toxicity to use seachem prime and water changes. Ignore your nitrates for a while - let them climb - a build up to a level of 50 wouldn't bother me...
Once you see growth out of your frags/nems - in a month or two - then check your nitrates and water change your nitrates back down into the range you want to run at - 5 to 10 would be a good range to add some trial SPS.
What can go wrong?
The most likely problem you'll face is an ammonia spike. Usually - you'll cause it by overfeeding. Once you dose prime - you can't rely on your API test kit to tell you anything - you have to watch your fish. Dose prime - water change if you see your fish in distress. Don't hesitate.
Ich - velvet. If your mechanical filteration is weak and you didn't QT your fish - expect it. Don't stock ich prone fish to start and don't overstock.
Otherwise - start adding.
PS - don't dose anything - no magic elixers - nothing.
BTW - Nice looking tank.
You can put corals, clams, nems and fish in your system as soon as the salt dissolves, the temp is stable and water clears a bit. I've done it many times without losing anything. Its not hard - but you do have to watch carefully. The smaller the system, the more frequently you have to check it. At 220 gallons - it would be entirely doable if you are willing to check it a couple of times a day.
Smaller BTAs, fish and larger clams (no small clams) can go in together along with fleshy LPS frags - If your running your fish through QT or not - time everything to go in together. A young tank is not an unheathy tank - but it is brittle. You can overload it easily - so be prepared at any sign of ammonia toxicity to use seachem prime and water changes. Ignore your nitrates for a while - let them climb - a build up to a level of 50 wouldn't bother me...
Once you see growth out of your frags/nems - in a month or two - then check your nitrates and water change your nitrates back down into the range you want to run at - 5 to 10 would be a good range to add some trial SPS.
What can go wrong?
The most likely problem you'll face is an ammonia spike. Usually - you'll cause it by overfeeding. Once you dose prime - you can't rely on your API test kit to tell you anything - you have to watch your fish. Dose prime - water change if you see your fish in distress. Don't hesitate.
Ich - velvet. If your mechanical filteration is weak and you didn't QT your fish - expect it. Don't stock ich prone fish to start and don't overstock.
Otherwise - start adding.
PS - don't dose anything - no magic elixers - nothing.
BTW - Nice looking tank.
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Dtackett
Valuable Member
basically as soon as your tank stabilizes you can add coral. yes, even sps. but be sure you have the proper test kits to monitor everything. remember, sps can drop calcium levels quick. just monitor and youll know when you need to start dosing, IF you need to start dosing. all depends on how you run your tank and how much coral you plan to add. I recommend something like digitata. cheap, pretty, easy to come by and will grow like a week in pretty much any conditions.
What is the par of you lights? You need to have a Par meter set to sun to adjust the Radions down so you don't burn up our corals.
You also want to get a good Alk test kit and keep checking it several days a week on a new tank as you add corals the amount of calcium uptake with always be changing as the corals grow and as you add more. We always say take it slow be cause you can over load a tank real fast and you need to learn how to use your test kit and get use to using it. Also log your readings so you know how your tank is reacting to the dosing of your tank.
You also want to get a good Alk test kit and keep checking it several days a week on a new tank as you add corals the amount of calcium uptake with always be changing as the corals grow and as you add more. We always say take it slow be cause you can over load a tank real fast and you need to learn how to use your test kit and get use to using it. Also log your readings so you know how your tank is reacting to the dosing of your tank.
Derek Hill
Community Member
Does no one agree that he should be testing Alk, Calc, Mag and Phos?
Without testing these (almost daily) on a new tank, it's going to fluctuate. Do you have a doser? That will help significantly with stability of alk/Calc.
I highly suggest waiting until you know what your levels are before you waste money on a piece of SPS. Just my 2 cents.
Without testing these (almost daily) on a new tank, it's going to fluctuate. Do you have a doser? That will help significantly with stability of alk/Calc.
I highly suggest waiting until you know what your levels are before you waste money on a piece of SPS. Just my 2 cents.
WetWhistle
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Since you are new to the hobby and your tank is only 2 month old you should wait 6 months. If you had experience in this hobby you can risk putting corals in but if you are new you have no idea what you need to lookout for as far as the early warning signs go and what to look out for. If you stock your tank at this stage you are more then likely going to cause an algae bloom from the sudden jump in bio load. Keep in mind at this stage your tank might look cycled and test low nutrients but it is for the current bio load of nothing but a few fish. That is completely different then a bio load of a stocked tank. The two are completely different. At 2 months it is barely broken in, the necessary bacteria population are only enough to handle a small bio load. The algae cycles have not even started fully yet and your food web and herbivore population that will eat the algae and keep your tank clean are not even started. They are unable to handle a large increases of load at this time.
You should learn patience if you are going to be in this hobby. Something this new generation off reefer has lost for some reason. They are always in such a rush to stock things or get the next best thing. If you rush you will cause so many problems that you could have avoided if you had been patient in the first place and just waited a few more months. Let the tank cycle properly or you will be fighting an algae outbreak for the months ahead with livestock death that you could have avoided if you waited. Let your tank cycle!! What is the rush you have plenty of time to build your reef properly with as little of livestock loss as possible.
Keep in mind the long cycle stage is designed for your tank to build up the necessary bacteria and food web with a minimum of predators in the tank that pray upon them. They need time to slowly bloom and increase in population as the algae blooms. To quick a increase at this stage in bio load and you will get a plague of algae. Ask yourself this. How many times on this forum have you seen people new to the hobby talk about them stocking the tank quickly and how excited they are for finally having a stocked tank. (Only after a few months) Then a few months later they start a thread on 'help I can't get rid of my algae problem and they don't know what caused it.' um maybe it was the 20 new fish and corals you just added into a newly set up tank...
Your local reef store gave you good advice to wait at least 6 months so I would take it. Or you can ignore an experienced keeper like me and learn the hard way what lack of patience does in this hobby. I am speaking from experience when I recommend going slow.
You should learn patience if you are going to be in this hobby. Something this new generation off reefer has lost for some reason. They are always in such a rush to stock things or get the next best thing. If you rush you will cause so many problems that you could have avoided if you had been patient in the first place and just waited a few more months. Let the tank cycle properly or you will be fighting an algae outbreak for the months ahead with livestock death that you could have avoided if you waited. Let your tank cycle!! What is the rush you have plenty of time to build your reef properly with as little of livestock loss as possible.
Keep in mind the long cycle stage is designed for your tank to build up the necessary bacteria and food web with a minimum of predators in the tank that pray upon them. They need time to slowly bloom and increase in population as the algae blooms. To quick a increase at this stage in bio load and you will get a plague of algae. Ask yourself this. How many times on this forum have you seen people new to the hobby talk about them stocking the tank quickly and how excited they are for finally having a stocked tank. (Only after a few months) Then a few months later they start a thread on 'help I can't get rid of my algae problem and they don't know what caused it.' um maybe it was the 20 new fish and corals you just added into a newly set up tank...
Your local reef store gave you good advice to wait at least 6 months so I would take it. Or you can ignore an experienced keeper like me and learn the hard way what lack of patience does in this hobby. I am speaking from experience when I recommend going slow.
Derek Hill
Community Member
+1 times a million lol
erk
Valuable Member
I have to agree that you should wait and take it slow. I started with a 29 gal, which limited my losses while I learned. Nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank. I thought I understood that and thought I was taking it slow. After lots of dead coral and a couple crashes, I think I finally get it. Probably don't get it fully, but I'm part of the way there. If you want to be in this hobby for the rest of your life and be successful at it, I recommend slowing down. Put the tank in coast mode for the next 6 months. Turn it into a FOWLR for the next 6 months, preparing it for coral. Learn how to keep your alk, calc, and mg levels stable without killing corals, just killing coralline algae. That stuff is at least free. Learning the delicate relationship between alk, calc, and mg was the hardest thing for me. A tip, mg is a lot more important than it seems. Keep it constant at ~1300ish. If you do that, then you can keep alk and calc stable without batting an eye. Took me wayyyyy too long to figure it out, but now I can keep pretty much any coral alive and growing.
Mike in CT
Valuable Member
Kudos to your LFS for giving you good advice! Does not always happen.
robert
Valuable Member
Sorry WetWhistle - I disagree.
The reason I suggested the stock I did is that those can survive for quite a while in very low nutrient water - ultil the feedings of fish and their resultant waste provide sufficient nutrients for them to thrive.
Its actually better not to wait, By delaying the introduction of desirable livestock - meaning corals, nems and clams, into the system all your doing is opening the door to algaes and other organisms that you don't want.
Many of the problems new tanks face are the result of the build-up of unconsumed and unbalanced nutrients. Corals, Nems and clams prevent this. People forget that their corals are, or should be a major component of denitrification and nutrient sequestration. There is nothing to be gained by allowing algae and cyano to occupy these nutrient niches before coral.
Small clams have nutrient requirements which require an established tank - large clams are fine - provided you introduce fish with them. Small nems will grow to take up excess nutrients - same with fleshy LPS - place these in the detritus drop points of the system.
Snails - trocus - should go in as well - I would stay away from all crabs in a new system -
The only testing I would recommend at this point is ammonia, salinity and temperature - and an occasional nitrate test - as your nitrate goes up - add more corals.
A too clean of system is more forgiving to mistakes than a dirty one, and a stocked system will be more resistant to those early nuisance colonizers than an empty one.
I know I'm going against conventional wisdom with this advice...I seriously doubt many here have ever tried the approach I have recommended. But I assure you - it works and it is actually faster and easier to get the results you want following this approach.
The reason I suggested the stock I did is that those can survive for quite a while in very low nutrient water - ultil the feedings of fish and their resultant waste provide sufficient nutrients for them to thrive.
Its actually better not to wait, By delaying the introduction of desirable livestock - meaning corals, nems and clams, into the system all your doing is opening the door to algaes and other organisms that you don't want.
Many of the problems new tanks face are the result of the build-up of unconsumed and unbalanced nutrients. Corals, Nems and clams prevent this. People forget that their corals are, or should be a major component of denitrification and nutrient sequestration. There is nothing to be gained by allowing algae and cyano to occupy these nutrient niches before coral.
Small clams have nutrient requirements which require an established tank - large clams are fine - provided you introduce fish with them. Small nems will grow to take up excess nutrients - same with fleshy LPS - place these in the detritus drop points of the system.
Snails - trocus - should go in as well - I would stay away from all crabs in a new system -
The only testing I would recommend at this point is ammonia, salinity and temperature - and an occasional nitrate test - as your nitrate goes up - add more corals.
A too clean of system is more forgiving to mistakes than a dirty one, and a stocked system will be more resistant to those early nuisance colonizers than an empty one.
I know I'm going against conventional wisdom with this advice...I seriously doubt many here have ever tried the approach I have recommended. But I assure you - it works and it is actually faster and easier to get the results you want following this approach.
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erk
Valuable Member
You are stating very valid points, but as someone who only started the reef hobby ~1.5 yrs ago, starting slow is the right way to go. I made the mistake of starting quick because I thought I had enough experience keeping freshwater planted tanks, African cichlids, Amazonian tanks, etc. To be honest, very little of that experience carried over. Reef tanks are a whole other realm, and if you try to jump in too quick you will suffer losses (larger losses with larger tank). Thus leading so many new hobbyists to quit. As a new reef hobbyist, the OP should take it slow and steady. Not because adding corals and such now, can't be done, but because you will have failures and it will be discouraging. And man, I can go on for awhile about how discouraging it can be, lol.
