when is a tank ready for acropora's?

[DeWittTheReefer]

I have to disagree with most that have posted. I started my first SW tank in November. Used live rock, but dry aragonite. I rushed the cycle process using pure ammonia. Once it cycled, every day Id add a little more ammonia to try to bolster the biological counts. All in all, it took about 3 weeks before I started adding livestock or corals. About two months in, I added an elegance coral, and a couple weeks later added an amazing SPS frag pack from a loval private sellar. Hes now a very good friend, haha. It was loaded with stellar sticks: WD, Wolverine, PC rainbow, Tyree pink, The Vihn, Northern Sasquatch, Tierra Del Fuego, Pink Cadillac, Sunset Milli, etc. My tank had been extremely stable, so I felt comfortable and it worked out. Now, after 4 months, everything is not only still alive, but also thriving. For the record, I don't use reactors, a controller, a dosing system, or any other fancy gear. I have cheap blackbox lights and pretty much cheap everything else. I do target feed, test, and do water changes on the regular though.

I'll also add that I do not recommend this approach for everyone. I wasn't experienced, but my good friend has a marine bio degree and owns his own SW-only LFS. So I was given incredible insight.

 

[joeyamador]

I have miricale mud in my fuge along with a very large population of pods because my tank is fallow at the moment and I also add about 5 ML of oceanmagik from algebarn every 2 days. there is specs of purple algee all over my rocks and my PH is usually around 8.3. only thing really off with my tank right now is the ALK, its like 8.9

I run my alk at 9.5...the key is stability once the tank matures when acros are concerned.. after the 4 month mark I'll start adding other sps like birds nest or montiporas.. "test corals"... I have had success with acropora in new frag tanks I set up but you have to watch water quality closer in new tanks and ensure you are using the best possible materials available... such as r.o. water,salt,clean live rock,new sand (not a fan of old or used live sand), I personally run a bare bottom now.. love sand but ticking time bomb.. in my opinion(which is what every one will be giving you) I'd wait till your tank matures,purchase an icp test and see how your water is doing then make the decision to add acropora.. I see a lot of people adding them and hoping for the best.. sometimes it works but it can get really expensive if it doesn't.. it took me a long time to learn that patience really does pay off in this hobby. The last frag tank I set up was almost a year ago (an experiment) and it is still empty but growing coraline algae like crazy.. it is 120 gallon frag tank with 3 fish,100 gallon sump,and consumes .6-.8 dkh a day just from the coraline.. I blacked out tank for 4.5 months before I even started the lighting cycle and have to admit this tank has looked better than any other tank I have set up in the past due to being patient.. it sucks because I want to load it up with frags but have a goal to see what happens when I wait this long.. i have it set up on an auto water change with my apex and dos and am currently changing 15% water a week and completely skipped the ugly phase that all my other tanks went through.. i did ramp lights up gradually and that did help as well. Anyways I'd personally wait to add the acros and allow your tank to mature longer.. try some easier sps and see how you do when it comes to having to start your dosing regimen once water changes can't keep up with your major elements such as alk,cal and mag.
Hope this helps.

 

[Robs Reef]

Throw them in and find out. I threw in 50 high end acros in my tank as soon as it was cycled, about the 4 month mark, I even threw in a 17" squamosa clam in, along with a 5" Maxima at the 2 month mark. Note that I did put my Calcium reactor online at this point and dialed in, and increased my setting as I added my acros. Everything is thriving and growing at a fast rate.

 

[Thaxxx]

Lol!
This thread is a example of one reason I love this hobby.

Everyone thinks they know everything. In reality, none of us know squat.
100 opinions, 100 differant ways to do it. This hobby is like the golf swing. One size doesn't fit all. Got to love it.

 

[Coral Newbie]

I would agree, but everyone has one thing in common no matter when they drop in frags and that is stability. I think we can all agree that you can put what you want in your tank, whether that is 4 months or 2 yrs as long as your not messing with ****...lighting, nitrate, phos, ect you will have success. If you look at the BRS video that is really what they say the key to success is. Every tank is different. Find what works for you and don't change it!!!

Lol!
This thread is a example of one reason I love this hobby.

Everyone thinks they know everything. In reality, none of us know squat.
100 opinions, 100 differant ways to do it. This hobby is like the golf swing. One size doesn't fit all. Got to love it.

 

[OldSalty]

I have miricale mud in my fuge along with a very large population of pods because my tank is fallow at the moment and I also add about 5 ML of oceanmagik from algebarn every 2 days. there is specs of purple algee all over my rocks and my PH is usually around 8.3. only thing really off with my tank right now is the ALK, its like 8.9

Your ALK is NOT off. That's a good number. Actually, the higher the ALK is the more stable your PH will be. My ALK is around 12 to 13 DKH. My PH NEVER falls below 8.0 at night

 

[Blinkdo]

Its all about having bacteria built up in your system and stable parameters. Once you have everything dialed in, acros should be fine in the tank.

Try a hardy acro and see if it stays alive. That would be the ultimate test.