Suggestions on Coral Phasing Post Tank Cycle

[Danshoe42]

Hello All,

My rock is cured with no ammonia or nitrite for a while now. I am going to move them into the tank next week and fill it up.

Aside from SPS, which I don't plan on for at least a year, what is the recommended types of corals to start with and what phases of types and timing should I adhere to?

 

[Sk8r]

Since you're going stony, you will need to arrange at least kalk supplementation or 2-part, and I'd advise starting with an easy variety of sps, a small frag of montipora. If you can make that happy, you can get varied types, and then inch your way toward the fussy ones.

 

[Danshoe42]

Since you're going stony, you will need to arrange at least kalk supplementation or 2-part, and I'd advise starting with an easy variety of sps, a small frag of montipora. If you can make that happy, you can get varied types, and then inch your way toward the fussy ones.

My LSF said to do zoas, palys, mushrooms only to start. No hammers, frogspans. I like rock nems however was told that was a no no too. Not sure if they know what they are talking about or not. Thoughts?

 

[dkeller_nc]

They probably do. What they're advising that you keep are "soft corals" that don't generally require close monitoring of water chemistry - specifically, the calcium and alkalinity of the water.

If this is your first tank period, then I'd highly recommend that you follow their advise. And patronize the store frequently - that's a good one. Many LFS aren't so good.

If this isn't your first aquarium, but is your first reef tank, then you can be a little more aggressive about what you attempt to tackle first. However, don't do that unless you've read a good deal about calcium and alkalinity in the reef tank, how to maintain their concentrations, and have the necessary test kits and a device called an "automatic top off unit" (abbreviated ATO on Reef Central). You will also either need to get a good RODI unit to make your own purified water, or purchase it from your LFS.

This is a good general article on reef tank water chemistry.

This is a good article explaining the relationship between calcium and alkalinity.