When to start adding corals

[Reefdiculous22]

So I’m probably gonna get chastised for this but I added corals a week after my cycle. My tank is only 3 mo old and I’m currently in the uglies. I wouldn’t recommend getting corals earlier but I also wouldn’t knock you for it . If you clean the plugs and have a good clean up crew and do your due diligence on maintenance I really don’t see why you couldn’t get a couple cheap frags to wet your pallet.

I would recommmend feeding though.

 

[ClownSchool]

So I’m probably gonna get chastised for this but I added corals a week after my cycle. My tank is only 3 mo old and I’m currently in the uglies. I wouldn’t recommend getting corals earlier but I also wouldn’t knock you for it . If you clean the plugs and have a good clean up crew and do your due diligence on maintenance I really don’t see why you couldn’t get a couple cheap frags to wet your pallet.

I would recommmend feeding though.

I’ve read articles suggesting this as a way to expand biodiversity.

 

[Reefdiculous22]

My tank has been running for around a month now. Cycle was completed with bottled bacteria, and the tank (a 32.5gal fluval flex AIO) houses a couple clownfish, a bicolor blenny, and a few snails.
Parameters:
Ammonia = 0 (safe on the seachem badge, which I got when I became tired of the API test lying to me)
Nitrites = 0
nitrates = 0-5 (API strikes again, but I can at least tell they're low)
Phos = 0.05-0.1
SG = 1.025
Temp = 78-79 F
Haven't tested calcium, Mg, or alkalinity yet, but I can pick up more tests if/when necessary. I've read conflicting info on which is necessary for soft corals.

Lighting is just the one that came with the tank. It's an LED and I can adjust the timing as well as the intensity of different colors of light. I'd rather stick to the one bulb if I can; I suspect adding a second will make the tank's temperature difficult to manage and I'm not sure I'm handy enough to install anything to fix that.

The tank was started with live sand and dry rock, with the exception of one decent sized live rock chunk that I bought. Water comes from my LFS; since I live in an apartment, I'm not sure that making my own RODI and salt water is really practical, and transporting 5-10 gallons of water every week or two is annoying but doable.

I've read that it's best to wait until after the algae bloom(s) hit, but I haven't really had any blooms (maybe they're still on their way). The live rock is coated with some reddish algae (looks like it's coralline) along with a little green algae that has been fairly slow growing over the last few weeks, and the dry rocks have some red and green algae growing on them. I keep the lights on a timer (was just keeping them off, but the fish seem to behave more normally when I gave them a day/night cycle).

Can anyone offer any idea as to when I might start adding a hardy softie or two?

Brs has a YouTube talk about adding pods and phyto as well . They did a study with multiple tanks and adding these in the early stage helped tremendously with the ugly phase. I wish I would have seen it before I started my tank. This should help if you wanted to try adding corals. Hope this was helpful. Gl . Cheers

 

[Scottrshoe]

Brs has a YouTube talk about adding pods and phyto as well . They did a study with multiple tanks and adding these in the early stage helped tremendously with the ugly phase. I wish I would have seen it before I started my tank. This should help if you wanted to try adding corals. Hope this was helpful. Gl . Cheers

I am new to the hobby as well, so not giving advice, however, this makes sense to me. By adding copapods, any algae blooms are being attacked at the microscopic level and might be completely (or at least partially) handled before they become an eyesore. I dosed Pods at the same time that I started adding fish, and although I do see the occasional diatom spot on the sand or rock, not widespread outbreaks as of yet. That being said, my tank is only just over a month old, so I will have to wait and see if this continues to hold true.

 

[trainbob]

The reason I suggested to wait for coraline algae to start growing is because it gives the tank time to mature and diversify also gives the hobbiest experience to ke a reef tank. If your tank is only 2 months old you don’t know how winter will impact your tank

 

[Lavey29]

The article also says mag plays a part as well, and can even affect the accuracy of a calcium test. You even admitted nitrate levels can impact that ratio. No two tanks are the same; pH can even affect the consumption ratio.

Each tank is different so guess yours is unique. Good luck with your approach. You said you have to dose nitrates so obviously you don't have excess nitrates to affect the alk consumption so that is irrelevant in your situation. Yes if you have PH problems consumption may decrease but ratio stays the same. More then likely the salt mix compensates for the difference you suspect but also sometimes what we dose in for alk and cal is not balanced either.

 

[Lavey29]

So I’m probably gonna get chastised for this but I added corals a week after my cycle. My tank is only 3 mo old and I’m currently in the uglies. I wouldn’t recommend getting corals earlier but I also wouldn’t knock you for it . If you clean the plugs and have a good clean up crew and do your due diligence on maintenance I really don’t see why you couldn’t get a couple cheap frags to wet your pallet.

I would recommmend feeding though.

Still really like your rock scape. You touched on an important part of reefing which is diligent husbandry especially during ugly stages but the primary reason corals fail in new tanks is unstable parameters. Very experienced reefers can manage this though and are able to add corals earlier especially if they use real ocean rock. The majority of us however will struggle early on. My tank went through significant transformations as it matured. It was night and day at one year versus 6 months and now at 1 year 7 months it is more stable then ever with very predictable characteristics. That being said, if someone chooses to try some cheap easy frags early on then nothing ventured nothing earned. Hopefully they are successful.

 

[Idech]

That’s weird. Coralline growth in my tank drove down alkalinity the most, but my salt mix is high in mag @ 1440, so maybe I just didn’t realize that my water changes have been correcting it.

I do very few water changes. So your theory works.

 

[Reefdiculous22]

This was my tank on august 6th. Lol

check out that Duncan though.

 

[Reefdiculous22]

The reason I suggested to wait for coraline algae to start growing is because it gives the tank time to mature and diversify also gives the hobbiest experience to ke a reef tank. If your tank is only 2 months old you don’t know how winter will impact your tank

That’s actually a good point. I haven’t even thought about it. With the heat being on and stuff. I should start trying to find out now what that does to the atmosphere in the home and see if it is going to cause any problems.

 

[Idech]

You probably need to get a second opinion test. Mag doesn't drop like alk.

Thanks, you gave me the kick to do what I knew I needed to do. I have been using a faulty test kit since I set up my tank. Magnesium is off the charts and alk is lower than I tested, which is good. Only calcium was being tested right.

I do very few water changes. So your theory works.

Never mind what I said. Faulty test.

 

[Lavey29]

Thanks, you gave me the kick to do what I knew I needed to do. I have been using a faulty test kit since I set up my tank. Magnesium is off the charts and alk is lower than I tested, which is good. Only calcium was being tested right.


Never mind what I said. Faulty test.

I'm glad you figured it out and hopefully can get parameters back in check in a reasonable amount of time. High mag can cause some issues for inverts but you can bring it down with water changes. I have had mine up to 1600 without issues.