Stocking new tank

dugthefish · Nov 25, 2018

Beginning to stock my new 125 (lps/sps/maybe a few softies/zoas). Tank is very close to fully cycled, took 1ppm ammonia to trace nitrites in ~30 hours. Should be fully cycled by the time first fish come out of QT.

Plan on adding 1-3 fish every month. How soon should I be thinking about adding other livestock, specifically:

CUC (mostly snails)
Hardy corals
Chaeto in fuge
Pods/micro fauna

Also, LFS mentioned that I should dump a small amount of waste from an established system (his skimmer) into my tank for extra biodiversity. I like the idea in theory; however it sounds like a good way to introduce nasties as well. Any thoughts on this?

Ubergroover · Nov 25, 2018

Wait until zero ammonia then add CUC. Monitor levels for spikes. Dumping waste from another tank in your tank is a new one for me...If your tank is established I would think its just polluting your tank. If the tank has not cycled from being new it may be helpful. However IMO i would be wary of doing it. Be interesting to see what others say on this.

mtraylor · Nov 25, 2018

Never heard of dumping waste from another tank. I would stay away from that.
If you have a sand bed, you can get a cup of sand from an established reef to help yours get going. That is a good idea.