Waiting A Year To Add Coral?

[BamboozleBean]

A guy at my LFS told me to wait at least a year before adding any coral to my tank. He’s got 21 years of experience, but I’m not sure if that’s right, what do you guys think?

 

[Jon Fishman]

I would add coral once your tank is stable, and you’re getting hood bacteria growth. No way that should take a year.

I am big on buying live-rock, and just running them in tubs and weeding out unwanted hitchhikers rather than dry rock. You can buy rocks covered in coraline and jump start your system....

 

[BamboozleBean]

I would add coral once your tank is stable, and you’re getting hood bacteria growth. No way that should take a year.

I am big on buying live-rock, and just running them in tubs and weeding out unwanted hitchhikers rather than dry rock. You can buy rocks covered in coraline and jump start your system....

Yeah I just got some today, didn’t put them in a tub though. I got a little pest snail on there.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

A guy at my LFS told me to wait at least a year before adding any coral to my tank. He’s got 21 years of experience, but I’m not sure if that’s right, what do you guys think?

That is a bit conservative. Softies are great beginner corals, just be mindful where you place them. I would add a softy before fish and not worry about it.

 

[BamboozleBean]

That is a bit conservative. Softies are great beginner corals, just be mindful where you place them. I would add a softy before fish and not worry about it.

Really? Don’t corals need some nutrients from the fish waste?

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Once you complete your cycle there will be nitrates and phosphates. Most corals generate energy via photosynthesis. They might not thrive in the beginning but they should survive. GSP and Kenya tree are great ones to start with.

 

[BamboozleBean]

Once you complete your cycle there will be nitrates and phosphates. Most corals generate energy via photosynthesis. They might not thrive in the beginning but they should survive. GSP and Kenya tree are great ones to start with.

Sounds good, thanks for the info.

 

[Bob Weigant]

I’ve had corals in my tank after 30 days. I’ve never waited a year

 

[ScottR]

A guy at my LFS told me to wait at least a year before adding any coral to my tank. He’s got 21 years of experience, but I’m not sure if that’s right, what do you guys think?

You don’t need to wait 1 year. But you can gladly tell him, I won’t be needing to buy anything from you for 1 year.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Well, the short answer is no, he’s wrong.

The longer answer is that he could be right..ish: lets say that you started your tank with all dead rock, dry sand etc I would say that it could take up to a year before you could keep more demanding acros etc due to the fact that your tank won’t have the needed stability needed for a decent amount of time.
some very experienced reefers can get away with doing this and adding acros after a month, but they are the exemption, not the rule.
If a random dude decides to throw a spathulata in to a new tank like this it will strip in no time at all.

 

[BamboozleBean]

Well, the short answer is no, he’s wrong.

The longer answer is that he could be right..ish: lets say that you started your tank with all dead rock, dry sand etc I would say that it could take up to a year before you could keep more demanding acros etc due to the fact that your tank won’t have the needed stability needed for a decent amount of time.
some very experienced reefers can get away with doing this and adding acros after a month, but they are the exemption, not the rule.
If a random dude decides to throw a spathulata in to a new tank like this it will strip in no time at all.

I have a more frag tank setup, with dosing of stability and a few pounds of live rock. It’s been going for about 3 days, and I already got some pest hitchhikers.

 

[BeejReef]

If you've started with dry rock and sand, IMHO, waiting an extended period of time isn't of much value.
You need the biological diversity and micro ecosystems that only live rock or frag plugs can readily provide.
If he's talking high-end acros... maybe, but without some softies and lps, the tank won't really progress towards being able to sustain them regardless. IMHO, giving the tank 3-4 months after the cycle before beginner corals would count as "plenty conservative."

 

[Salty Lemon]

When I first started, I really didn't know the difference between coral families and their needs. After my tank cycled, I bought stuff and I watched my new Acros/SPS corals turn a brilliant shade of white and die. My softies became huge and multiplied in a short amount of time. It depends on what you are looking for. I've had my current tank set up for almost a year. There is a giant bare spot in it -- waiting for SPS. I just want to make sure so I wait...

 

[Bpb]

A year is conservative, but not a terrible idea. though you'd likely get bored with the tank and not be driven to research without any challenges. The "wait a year" advice is more for people to learn how to maintain a tank with stable parameters. An experienced reef keeper can put corals in a tank within a couple weeks of a complete dry start.

 

[FMF0331]

i've waited 2 years before i added anything to my tank.

Actually i only waited 3 weeks ... but it seemed like 2 years

 

[eschaton]

There are benefits to waiting that long to be honest. For example, you don't need to worry about weeding out obligate coral-eating hitchhikers, because they will have all starved to death by the time you introduce coral.

On the other hand, it's likely that if you wait that long without introducing coral, and you have your lights on, some sort of hitchhiker (probably macroalgae) will colonize the rock surfaces to a great extent, which will potentially impact coral placement and growth.

I agree with others that it's best to wait for a few months, then introduce some coral - but not SPS. Be careful with softies though, as many of them do release chemicals which will hinder growth of SPS. I'd personally stick to mushrooms, zoas, GSP, xenia, etc and avoid things like leathers.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

Very subjective topic. But there are a couple of points to note.

You can add corals as soon as you want, the main differentiator in whether it’s the right decision or not is experience.

Someone that has been in the hobby for a while, or a returning reefer might make the decision to add corals sooner than a less experienced reefer. My own personal experience after returning to reef keeping has been I am noticing similarities between my water parameters today and those of 15 years ago. Without doing any tests! Experience will guide you just by looking at what’s going on in your tank as to if it’s the right time.

Newer reefers don’t have that experience to fall back on, and that’s not me trying to put down new folks in the hobby, it’s just my personal experience!!

 

[jeffchapok]

No need to wait that long, but I recommend you start off with a variety of cheap softies and maybe some easy LPS and see what thrives in your tank before you consider spending any serious money on coral.

Around here, I can get some mushrooms, GSP, toadstool leathers , Xenia and even a couple of polyps of zoas for $5-$10. That's what I've started with. One LFS has a "trash bin" of zoas that he scrapes off his racks that are $5/frag. See if you can find something like that.

 

[eschaton]

Also, if you're really itching to add things to your tank and can't wait, you could order various "booster packs" to your tank fauna, like what Indo-Pacific Sea Farms carries.

I honestly find watching the antics of the clean up crew - along with healthy populations of various micro-fauna - helps provide some entertainment until you add the more charismatic elements of your biota.

 

[symon_say]

No, you don't need to.

Soft corals and a lot of LPS can be added early stage of the tank.

Sps are another history, a lot of then don't like new tanks, and die in there.

People like to rush things, but reefing have teach me that nothing good happens fast.

1 year is to much, but I'll wait a few months until you know your tank needs and the ugly incial stages have pass.

Right now I'm building a new tank and I'll wait 3-4 months before adding any corals.