First Reef - Questions

[bjoiner]

My tank is just about done cycling. Very trace amounts of Nitrite left - probablly another week ought to do it. It's really my first time setting up a reef tank. I've had FOWLRs before but no corals. So here comes the questions:

1. How often do you change out the lights? I am running 96W PC 6700K/10000K Daylight, and 96W Actinic 03. I've heard anywhere from 6 months to a year.

2. My LFS has a 10 for $200 deal on corals. I'm a little nervious about starting with so many in case I end up doing something wrong and killing them all. Are there specific corals / number of corals I should start out with?

3. I hear corals are more sensitive to Nitrate than fish. What is the biggest levels of Nitrates corals can handle before a water change should be done. (When should I consider it an emergency?)

4. I was planning on following the GARF schedule for adding calcium, buffer, and trace elements. Should I be doing this before I get corals - or is this a waste of money? Other than just getting into the habbit is there any purpose to this since nothing in my tank currently (no pun intended) uses calcium?

5. How much of a bioload do corals place on the system. Can you add more corals at a time than you normally do fish?

Sorry for the essay, these are just some questions I haven't found clear answers to.

 

[mr_X]

1. 6 months to a year is about right for the bulbs.
2. i wouldn't buy 10 corals so soon. start out with some real easy stuff first, like xenia, or mushrooms...perhaps some zoos. once you have successfully kept those for a while, then think about the 10 corals deal. btw..what are the 10 corals he is offering for 200?
3. i'm not sure about the largest level of nitrate before things start going foul, but i worry when my nitrates are at 10. i guess what i'm saying is, do water changes on a schedule so you don't get a nitrate problem. i believe it should be easier to keep the nitrates low in a reef, than a fowlr, because the feeding is a bit different. i don't know what kind of fish you had, but remember, you won't be keeping most of the predator types in a reef, so, a ton of meaty foods won't be added regularly.
4.i don't think you need to add anything to your tank until you have corals that need those suppliments. also, unless you keep the stony corals, i think you can get away with just water changes.
i don't add anything to my reef, and everything grows fine. even the sps.
5. good question. i don't know the answer, but i would have to guess that corals place a smaller bio load than fish, because they don't consume the food that fish do, unless of couse you like to target feed your corals, but you won't be doing that every day anyway.
i have purchased groups of corals at once and introduced them and haven't had any issues.
hope that helps. good luck!

 

[bjoiner]

He gets new stuff in all the time (the deal is ongoing). Mostly smaller stuff, mushrooms, zoos, brains. I just double checked on his site and it's only 9 for 200 - still a pretty good deal it sounds like.

What kind of salt do you use? I was measuring my PH and Calcium last year when I first started thinking about this (the place I was living in last year had unreliable circuits that would blow fuses if you sneezed too hard) and neither were high enough compared to what I had been reading they should be.

The guy at the LFS told me my lighting wasn't strong enough for stonies. (I believe the guy. I don't think he was trying to sell me stronger lights.)

I have two damsels in the tank now that I may give back to the LFS once the tank is done cycling. I really would like to get a pair of clowns and a coral beauty (I've read that some may aquire a taste for corals, but I think it's worth the risk) I can always give him back if need be. And maybe one other small fish. Any ideas?

How long after the tank has cycled should I wait for getting a coral? There are a few things I would like to add to the tank arsenal before adding more livestock - like a couple of more power heads and a wavemaker. But I'm pretty happy with the setup.

 

[mr_X]

i use instant ocean salt. i've not had any issues with it as of yet.
as for corals, you should also try frags.org...look up and you'll see the link for it. i've found some decent deals from local reefers there.
how do you prepare your new salt water for waterchanges? do you mix it the night before and let it mix overnight with a powerhead or airstone?


i do agree that you should get rid of the damsels. some of them, especially the yellowtail variation, can get extremely aggressive.

i had a coral beauty and atleast mine, was super aggressive. he tormented every fish in the tank until i removed him. i hope you have better luck. the clowns are a great addition to the reef.
as for another tank mate, most gobies and blennies are pretty entertaining and safe for reeftanks. if you have a lid on your tank, you might look into a yellow headed pearly jawfish. i have one and i think he's pretty cool. what kind of substrate do you have, and how deep is it? the jawfish atleast, does best with deeper substrate.

what kind of lighting do you have?

well, after ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are at zero, i don't think it would hurt to try some beginner coral. i recently set up a tank for my girlfriend, and i think we waited 2 months total before adding some ricordia mushrooms and xenia, and they are doing quite well so far. we have since added a few other beginner corals and all seem to be quite happy.

 

[Brian5000]

My coral beauty behaves well so far (I've had it about a month). Mine is a very curious fish and will swim up nose to nose with anything that catches its attention, but it doesn't attack anything. The only problem I've seen so far is with my clownfish when the angel gets to close to their favorite mushroom. I think for the best luck as a community fish, give the fish lots of room even though it only requires a 30 gallon tank. That way fish can go hide if/when squabbles occur. As for corals, mine ignores them. It loves algea that grow on the rocks and between the polyps. It may damage one occationally, but it seems to be accidental.

My understanding is that flame angels and coral beauties can have very different personalities. You could easily end up with one like Mr. X or one like mine. Pray for the best when you bring one home.
_________________
Honda MT50

 

[bjoiner]

I'll definitely check out frags.org. The problem is that I get home from work pretty late - past any delivery time. So I need to make sure I can get something delivered over the weekend if I go that route.

Well, in the past I would use my RO/DI and fill two trash cans full of water - one with salt, the other clean top off water. They both had a powerhead in them and an air stone going constantly. It was nice because I always had water ready in case of an emergency.

My new apartment doesn't have room for such a setup so I've been considering just buying water from the LFS. Something I need to figure out cost-wise. Definitely easier if I can afford it. (My roommate was thinking about getting a washer - if he decides not to maybe I can use our laundry room for water-making)

I'm running PCs. One is a dual 10000K/6700K Daylight, one is an Actinic 03 (both 96W) I'm noticing the blue is starting to go. (It's been about a year - but they've been in storage for a while.)

I had a clown in my last tank - I love the way they move. That's a must for the new setup. I've been thinking about trying my hand at a anemone but I hear they are risky trying to keep them alive.

The jawfish looks crazy. I've got maybe an inch and a half of live sand.

Some of the guys at my work are into corals. (It was my old boss that got me into this whole mess) I just need some stuff I will be able to trade with them in the future.

I've been doing a lot of reading on "reef janitors". There seems to be a lot of discussion on whether you should add a bunch like they sell in packages (hermits, snails, sea star) or just get a number of snails. I'm starting to experience a pretty bad diatom bloom - brown "algae" everywhere.

Brian,

So glad you said that your CB is well behaved. (Crosses fingers.) It's too bad they don't make something like they do for dogs to keep them from chewing up your couch. No! Bad fish!


Well, time for bed.

Thanks again for all your input guys.

 

[IslandCrow]

Sounds like you've been getting some good advice from Mr. X and Brian5000, but I'll pipe in anyway. First thing, in the future, please don't put fish into a cycling aquarium. Even damsels don't deserve that. Live rock is sufficient to cycle an aquarium, and if you really feel the need to add some ammonia to feed the bacteria, throw in a small cocktail shrimp, and you'll have all the ammonia you'll ever need to cycle.
OK, on to lights. Yes, the LFS owner is shooting straight with you on needing brighter lights for stony corals (for the most part). I'd try out some softies first which will be just fine under PCs. You can even do some LPS. You also asked about the bioload of corals, and the good news there is that they're pretty much self-recycling and don't produce any significant waste. As a matter of fact, it is thought that many corals will consume bacterioplankton (which is mostly fish poop) so they may actually benefit your tank as far as bioload. I don't believe that's a proven fact, though.

Lastly, as far as ordering online, you may want to consider having UPS or FEDEX hold your shipment at their location for you to pick up. That way, it stays in a nice, airconditioned facility until you can go pick it up. Or find a fellow reefer with a wife or husband who would be home for a delivery. Finding fellow reefers or even better, a local reef club can also save you quite a bit of money in shipping through group orders.

 

[shavo]

when you go to replace the bulbs I found a place that sells pretty cheap,. check them out it's just a suggestion for you

http://aquaticfactory.com/index.php?cPath=21

lol i bought 3 years worth of bulbs