NOT PATIENT

[twilliard]

Come on guys you all are just arguing and we know better to not do this.
I think it has been clearly understood by the OP
Patience is key in this hobby

 

[reefwiser]

It is obvious that that some people need to read. I will stop now..

 

[Mike in CT]

You could try whenever, but start with something cheap and easy. Try a birdsnest or stylo.

I think the 2nd post sums it up well,
If your going to be impatient, throw some easier, cheaper Sps frags in and see how they do. I don't have much luck with SPS but I always keep a couple cheap frags just in case things take a turn for the better.

 

[robert]

The waste they produce far exceeds tiny amount of nitrate they may use.

Anemones cannot live on photosynthesis alone. They have to be fed meaty foods, which increases bioload.

Anenomies are interesting creatures - and how you manage them will determine if they are a net sink or source in your tank.
Fed anenomies can be very dirty and will contribute to the ammonia in the system - non-fed anenomies are the opposite and will remove ammonia from the system. They don't uptake nitrate - but short-cut the system using ammonia directly - somewhat like clams which preferentially utilize ammonia first and then fall back to nitrate as ammonia exhausts.

Thats what makes these creatures very useful in brittle green tanks. I have never found it helpful to feed anenomies directly - if you do then they can contribute to the nutrient load on the system. Don't feed them and ~50% of their mass will come from phosphates and ammonia (precursor to nitrate) from the water-column via carbons produced by their symbiotic algaes - the other 50% from excess food and fish wastes - which otherwise would become excess nutrients in the system.

 

[robert]

Oh - and many small anenomies are better than 1 large anenomie as smaller anenomies rely on their photosynthetic symbionts more than larger ones.

 

[robert]

I'm amazed...so many with such strong opinions and so many years of experience have not refuted my claim regarding nems and nutrient sequestration...go figure.

And while I don't usually offer advice thats not asked for - in this case I will - since all the experts are here...that sandbed, of all the things we have discussed but no one has mentioned, is the only thing which requires advanced husbandry skills - I would lose it.

 

[reefwiser]

 

[Vincent Ho]

This is my 5 months old tank.

 

[twilliard]

This is my 5 months old tank.

Welcome to R2R!

 

[robert]

So, as I said...don't feed your nems and they will help remove substantial nutrient load from your system...very good addition - along with a larger clam during the ramp up phase. These are not fragile animals and you will find you have greater success adding them into your system while it is still relatively clean...

http://auburn.edu/cosam/faculty/bio...ublications_files/Porat and Chadwick 2005.pdf

Effects of anemonefish on giant sea anemones: Ammonium uptake, zooxanthella content and tissue regeneration
D. PORAT & N. E. CHADWICK-FURMAN

"We also demonstrate that adult anemonefish excrete substantial amounts of ammonium, and that anemone hosts which have been isolated from anemonefish appear starved for ammonium, in that they absorb ammonium from surrounding seawater at high rates".

 

[cmcoker]

So the OP asked about Sps, why are you still going on about anemones?

 

[joshkirkland83]

So the OP asked about Sps, why are you still going on about anemones?

 

[cmcoker]

Lol

 

[Berlibee]

Hello, from my experience. I've started last Christmas. First time I've tried to add SPS it was after 7 months. It was three small Pocillopora frags, lost two of them 2 weeks later and one a months later. Started to dose the system few month later and watch the parameters closer. Added few SPS now at 11 months old system at this moment they looks happy. You can check them here : https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/pico-20g-from-north-carolina.222584/ - If I would start a new system I would not add any sps corals before 1 year.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

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.

He doesn't know enough yet to do it.

All arguments aside. I think we should agree it's time to star putting corals in the tank. Go for it. But also listen to the other guys and take the time to do it right. You'll from now on get to coral shopping like every week for the next year. Sweet.
Yea you could spen a fortune right now and get all the corals but then you'd be done.
And what fun would that be. Enjoy researching the corals you get and the corals you got and give yourself time to learn and the tank to mature.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I would totally add SPS right now. Easy hardy ones. Some cheap chalice too they're go barometers. Canary in a mine.

 

[larangcon]

Without experience of setting up a tank, I too would recommend to take it slow and to learn as much as you can while your tank is cycling.
To an experience reefer, the cycle process is faster by using methods of beneficial bacteria in a bottle such as a bio-spira and live sand with cured live rocks.
I have done this in the past, algae will come no matter how careful you are especially when using additive such as AcroPower for the SPS. Adding grazers right away will minimize the battle.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

This is simple let the tank cycle, check parameters add a few fish and then let the tank mature. When you start seeing quarter sized coralline algae then you can start adding your corals. Sure you can add corals as soon as the salt has dissolved but most of us don't have the money or the time to go from empty to well stocked over night. If you are new you need to learn your test kits and how to keep things balanced. So I moved lost almost all my corals. Setup my tank all new water, never checked nitrates. It has been six weeks. Ordered 30 frags put them in a week ago so the tank was setup 5 weeks.I lost one acro and one torch both were damaged on delivery truck for 10 hours. So yes it can be done quick, my live rock was already mature and used additives to quick cycle, no algae bloom, no cyno, already have coralline and growth on week old frags so we are all correct.