I am fairly new with my saltwater tank. I have been trying to keep it slow with additions although I am not sure if I need to wait and add coral slowly or if I can add as much coral as I want anytime. My water has tested excellent for the last 2 months. I have 3 fish in the tank now and several cleaners. I read that you should (which I have) add fish slowly but find nothing on how fast you should or can add coral? Any advice would be great.
Adding Coral
- Thread starter marqlaw
- Start date
kkdoughboy
New member
It's pretty much the same principle as fish. A large coral can produce the same amount of waste if not more than many fish. I would go slowely and choose your pieces wisely. Happy Reefing!
Thanks for the advise, I have been looking at numerous photos for ideas although its difficult to slow it down. Another quick question, with good lights and good water conditions, how much can I expect say a 1 inch tall Kenya Tree or quarter size Rhodactis grow in a year? I realize there are numerous factors involved but I have no idea what I should expect in growth.
kkdoughboy
New member
I've never had any of those pieces but if you have good water quality and your calcium, magnesium, and all the other trace elements are good...I would say they would no more than double in size in a years time. Somewhere Around that. Shopping for corals is the best! Good luck and if you have questions feel free to ask. Later, Chris
MrHarvard
"ship it"
I would start with zoas and things like that until you get familiar with placement and feeding. they are useually pretty hardy and will survive most beginners mistakes. I would do alll the research you can before adding any LPS or SPS. As long as you make sure you have proper water flow, lighting, placement, and you are adding the right supplements you will be fine. When adding things just make sure you never add more than your bioload can handle. When I started I added corals like crazy and had a fully stocked tank at 5 weeks. I was lucky that it all went ok but I wouldnt suggest doing that. The most important thing is just test your water and research as much as you can!!IMO
DetectiveTofu
New member
I do not agree with the part about a large coral producing more waste than a fish. You would need to have a GARGANTUAN piece of coral in order for this to be achieved. Often times corals do not directly add anything appreciable to your bio-load, unless they're dying, or you're straight up overfeeding.
I could not agree more with taking your time though. Start out with some soft corals, and work your way up from there. You don't make any mention about what kind of set-up you have, so it is hard to make recommendations. But mushrooms are pretty well suited to almost any tank, so give those a try first. I once started with one stalk of Kenya tree -I now have literally 10-15 that amount, and it has only been one year. The growth of Rhodactis spp. mushrooms will vary depending on the variation in question, and their environment. For the most part, many of them split pretty quickly. Good luck!
