Ammonia toxic to corals?

cwschoon

Premium Member
Simple questions: Can you cycle a tank with corals? Is ammonia toxic to corals? I maintain not but am curious if any have differing opinions.
 
In minuscule amounts---very---some corals will tolerate it. I had bubble, xenia, sponge and a wealth of inverts survive a shallow cycle and go on to grow in a working tank. I cycle simply with fishfood. Drop into saltwater/ro/di about 1 flake per 20 gallons, daily, until you see ammonia and keep at it for five days after you don't see it. It's a fairly gentle method and I was using rock from a broken-up tank, which had all sorts of life in it. No dieoff to speak of.
 
To answer the thread title, ammonia, along with organic forms of urea and amino acids are corals preferred forms of nitrogen over nitrates.
 
I really don't. And the reason is that a new tank is unstable---right along with the owner's skills, which may not be all they WILL be --- yet. You can get coral before you get fish --- you can run a coral and invert tank quite successfully. But they're too pricey (some) or too invasive (the really easy tough ones) ---and you may want to think selectively about your reef and figure out your lighting (a critical issue) before you go too far with purchases.
 
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