Am I ready for Coral?

[Saltine]

As the title says am I ready for coral? I purchased a used setup 2 weeks ago, it had a live sand bed. I moved the tank along with its water, purchased some LR and put it in. I never saw a spike in Ammonia or nitrites but had high nitrates about 80ppm. I got them down to about 30ppm and added my first fish. Ammonia and nitrites still 0 and with more water changes im down to around <10ppm nitrates.

Currently have about 10 hermits, 8 snails that hang out on the sides, 4 burrowing snails and a yellow tang.

I was originally going all softies, mainly zoas, but I think I have been bitten by the SPS bug. Still going mainly Zoas but think I want to mix it up. With enough spacing can I put in pretty much any coral? What are some common things to know when making a mixed reef? I believe thats what I'm going for.

Here is a picture below. Lighting is Marine LED's, with 2 Koralia powerheads 525gph i believe with wavemaker. Doing water changes with Red Sea aquarium salt.





Thanks,
Salt

 

[Saltine]

 

[shifty51008]

I dont see a pic.

What are your cal, alk, p04n and mag levels.

What size tank, what leds do you haven and what size power heads? Whats your sg?

 

[Saltine]

I haven't checked those, guess i need to get a new test kit! I can check at my LFS though in the mean time. What should they be around?

36 Gallon

Light

http://www.marinedepot.com/Current_...xtures-Current_USA-CU04100-FILTFILDTN-vi.html

2 Koralia 565gph

sg?

 

[Cosmojo]

You should be fine to add coral, but I would get that tang out of the tank quick, fast, and in a hurry.

 

[Saltine]

ya i know I hear the tang police are already tracking me down.

 

[dbl]

I'm not the tang police, but I will make a comment on the light. It will probably work on zoas and softies, but I would caution SPS. They are very nice lights but not quite strong enough. It's why I ended up getting rid of them. If you already have them, you might as well try them with a small SPS frag, placed as high as possible in the display, and see how they do.

The better question is whether your wallet is ready for corals? Good luck and enjoy.

 

[jminick2]

no, you need to know calcium alk and mg and phos will come into play as well for SPS. Your salinity needs to a 1.025-1.026. Your lights wont be good enough IMO for acros with a high demand for light. You will also need a method to Dose trace elements needed by the sps. For a simple set up id recommend Kalkwasser in an automatic top off bucket, but there are other ways to do this.

 

[shifty51008]

You should be fine to start corals, i dont know much about leds so ill leave that to others. I would start with softies and zoas first till your tank gets more stable and your other parameters are in check

 

[Saltine]

I'm not the tang police, but I will make a comment on the light. It will probably work on zoas and softies, but I would caution SPS. They are very nice lights but not quite strong enough. It's why I ended up getting rid of them. If you already have them, you might as well try them with a small SPS frag, placed as high as possible in the display, and see how they do.

The better question is whether your wallet is ready for corals? Good luck and enjoy.

haha, that's the real question. Hoping to start off with some small frags from some local members of the forum. I have a rock that goes all the way to the waterline and it has varying places I can mount things on it. I am thinking starting with softies down low and seeing if an SPS will grow at the top.

Thanks,
Salt

 

[Saltine]

no, you need to know calcium alk and mg and phos will come into play as well for SPS. Your salinity needs to a 1.025-1.026. Your lights wont be good enough IMO for acros with a high demand for light. You will also need a method to Dose trace elements needed by the sps. For a simple set up id recommend Kalkwasser in an automatic top off bucket, but there are other ways to do this.

Thank you!!, salinity is 1.026.

 

[Saltine]

You should be fine to start corals, i dont know much about leds so ill leave that to others. I would start with softies and zoas first till your tank gets more stable and your other parameters are in check

Do all anemone's classify as softies? Wanted to possibly start there as my wife is anxious to get a clown.

Thanks,
Salt

 

[Spacekitty]

Anemones require a lot of light, about as much as SPS. I would upgrade your lighting first personally. They also require high water quality and stable parameters, so I would also make sure all of them are stable, so you will need to test for all that other stuff.

 

[Cosmojo]

Not a tang police bro, I would have said the same thing if you had a trigger, big wrasse, or something else that doesn't belong in a small tang.

 

[jminick2]

I also see that both those power heads are pointed towards the rocks...Do you have any surface agitation ? This could end up being a problem on down the road you need a good gas exchange in your tank, which can be achieved by surface agitation.

 

[Saltine]

I also see that both those power heads are pointed towards the rocks...Do you have any surface agitation ? This could end up being a problem on down the road you need a good gas exchange in your tank, which can be achieved by surface agitation.

They are pointing at each other. Currently have a hob filter with activated carbon and a skimmer. Should be plenty of gas exchange.

Salt

 

[Saltine]

Anemones require a lot of light, about as much as SPS. I would upgrade your lighting first personally. They also require high water quality and stable parameters, so I would also make sure all of them are stable, so you will need to test for all that other stuff.

I figured if the sps was closer to the light wouldn't that make a difference?

Thanks
Salt

 

[Spacekitty]

I figured if the sps was closer to the light wouldn't that make a difference?

Thanks
Salt

If you put an SPS on a higher lit area, just be careful the nem doesn't decide it also likes that spot because of the light. Its possible it could meander over there and sit on the other coral. They do wander until they find a place where they like the light and flow.

But yeah, as far as getting a nem, consider what you would want for an SPS, and thats about what you are going to want for an anemone.

 

[Saltine]

Gotcha thank you! Hard to notice but the rock actually comes out in a curve was thinking of putting the nem on that seeing where it ends up then add an sps or two then softies at the bottom.

Salt

 

[shifty51008]

I would strongly suggest waiting 8-10 months before attempting an anemone, they prefer stable water which a young tank doesnt have