How long?
- Thread starter Raphael
- Start date
stykthyn
New member
xooanthids are damn near bullit proof, provided enough light and zooplankton they will take off by themselves, corallimorphs(mushrooms) are the same way. they can actually become a nuisance if they spread too fast.
I have never had much luck with leathers, but I am sure that is due to some of the other corals in my tank. Leathers enjoy good flow. they dont need much in the way of light, but they do filter food heavily from the water.
I have never had much luck with leathers, but I am sure that is due to some of the other corals in my tank. Leathers enjoy good flow. they dont need much in the way of light, but they do filter food heavily from the water.
Craig Lambert
Premium Member
It is more a function of attaining high quality water with minimal swings in pH and Alk than time. If your tank is stable 3-4 months after your cycle ends and your water quality is excellent, (A,N,N all undetectable since the cycle ended) then there is nothing to gain by waiting another 6-8 months before adding an anenome imo.
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TOURKID
New member
i got an anemone at 5 months or so. what a mistake that was. I just dident have the skill yet. things were still changing, I wasent good enough at getting my salinity right, I dident have my rocks right... alot of resons. my anemone suffered because of it. and i had to spend alot of money FAST to just get things right (more tests, skimmer, better lighting (thats expensive) r/o water)
I just dident know what i was doing. not that i do now... but i have a grasp on it and can at least keep my perimeters stable
get a refractometer a ph test and an alk test the day you get your first coral etc
I think polyps are a great first coral. nearly indestructable lol my first zoos all turned brown. but thats finally changing
I just dident know what i was doing. not that i do now... but i have a grasp on it and can at least keep my perimeters stable
get a refractometer a ph test and an alk test the day you get your first coral etc
I think polyps are a great first coral. nearly indestructable lol my first zoos all turned brown. but thats finally changing
Craig Lambert
Premium Member
I got an anenome 4 months after my tank was done cycling, but this was also my second tank. I had a number of years of experience, and this time around I kept my ALK at 10 dKH and magnesium at 1350. This combination seems to have stableized all of my water parameters. I have a tight pH range, and maintain calcium at 435.
My cycle only lasted a week because the rocks had cured for 11 weeks before going into the tank. I also use an AquaC EV-180 on a 75G tank and have a fuge w/cheato.
I would not have been ready with my first tank at 4 months, and would have experienced a scenario similar to yours.
I did alot of research searching old threads to find out why one needs to wait a year before adding an anenome. I came to the conclussion that it is one of those myths that, when repeated often enough is accepted as fact. I think it's more of a chance to let the aquarist mature, rather than the tank.
dantodd
New member
Eric Borneman has a great article on marinedepot about WHY you want your tank to mature before adding sensitive (probably any) livestock.
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx
Craig Lambert
Premium Member
It's a great article, but it is based upon the supposition that you placed your newly purchased live rock in the tank at the time it was innitially setup. My comments referred to my rock cycling in a second tank for 3 months prior to setup. The result was hardly a cycle at all. Ammonia stayed at undetectable levels, Nitrite was barely detectable, and Nitrates never climbed above 3.5. (They fell to zero on the 10th day). Even so, I did not add anything other than snails and a detrivoire kit to the tank until 8 weeks after nitrates read zero. I think this gave me essentially a 3 month head start. The detrivoire kits are a big help to a sandbed as well. Eric has recommended them in past articles, and Ron Schimik suggests buying two of them from separate sources for increased bio-diversity.
The signal I used for adding corals was when coralline shows up on the glass. I read that somewhere years ago, and I think it's a good one. As far as adding the anemone at the one year mark, I would still disagree. (If done so with care). ie excellent water quality, and a light bioload.
The bacterial life in the sandbed is obviously very important, but it is far more important to people who tend to add alot of fish. They are the real source waste and deteriorating water quality. Especially herbivors like tangs. They are large, eat lots of food, and expell 94% of what they take in. Anemones don't produce that kind of waste. I feed mine 1 silverside every 5 days.
My livestock consists of 2 true percs, 1 Royal Gramma, and a Flame Angel. A very light bioload for a 75G. Excellent water quality and the right lighting are the keys in my opinion, and both can be achieved in under a year.
The signal I used for adding corals was when coralline shows up on the glass. I read that somewhere years ago, and I think it's a good one. As far as adding the anemone at the one year mark, I would still disagree. (If done so with care). ie excellent water quality, and a light bioload.
The bacterial life in the sandbed is obviously very important, but it is far more important to people who tend to add alot of fish. They are the real source waste and deteriorating water quality. Especially herbivors like tangs. They are large, eat lots of food, and expell 94% of what they take in. Anemones don't produce that kind of waste. I feed mine 1 silverside every 5 days.
My livestock consists of 2 true percs, 1 Royal Gramma, and a Flame Angel. A very light bioload for a 75G. Excellent water quality and the right lighting are the keys in my opinion, and both can be achieved in under a year.
