Tank cycled, adding coral while maintaining bacteria

JawFrancis · May 5, 2016

Hello I had a question I was hoping to get some insight on. So, my tank is all cycled and all that remains is to do a large water change to reduce nitrates. My issue is, after the water change I wanted to add some coral (lps) but it would be about 3-4 days before I'd be able to add fish. My question is, will my beneficial bacteria die within that time period since I would stop dosing ammonia once the coral are in? Any help would be great.

I cannot add fish later because the store is 1-1/2 hours away and I'd be buying fish on my way back home over the weekend. Thank you very much!

CodyRVA · May 5, 2016

Just feed the tank small amounts of food each day. The food will break down and become the ammonia source you need. As far as coral, tread carefully. I personally would not start out with LPS. Some LPS will be more forgiving than others, but your parameters will likely swing a lot, especially if you're new to the hobby. If anything, i would get some softies like zoas, palys, mushrooms, etc. They're more forgiving to poor chemistry, they provide a lot of color, and are relatively cheaper... usually.

JawFrancis · May 5, 2016

I do not know how I did not think of that... Thanks very much!

I will try and go slow on the LPS once I get my fuge and skimmer up, thanks again

brandon429 · May 5, 2016

if you took a cycled tank, completed, and stopped feeding it for six months the bac would still be there and the rocks and sand wont retroscale back to sterilized. organic stores you created and stored during cycling feed them, along with myriad non filtration bacteria that get into the water and die every day, we do not have to feed to maintain established bac for the intervals you are considering. the contaminations in your tank increase, not decrease over time and all that is feed.

we are dealing with bacteria that transmit around the world, get into a rain puddle on your street while its raining, seed, and begin to divide every 20 hrs in a barren water puddle half mixed with fuel and exhaust residue. your tank is a wonderland for them

when they ship these bacteria in bottles around the globe, and the shelf life is ~45 days or better, unfed, that also gives testimony about them. that's 45 days in a bottle of just water...no organic stores. they are tough!! totally ok to feed them if desired.