when to start with corals

[Michael]

i have been changing water, testing water, and monitoring water for 32 days now, my parameters are sg 1.024, nitrate 2.5, nitrite 0, ammonia 0, phosphate less than 0.03 my tank is 80 uk gallons i have a trikle filter with protein skimmer under tank in sump, also a canister filter with just rock in it plus 3 power heads, all in all i am moving around 7,000.00 gallons per hour. i have 80 pounds of lv, my question to you guys out there is when do you think i should even consider corals or anemones, as i am new to the marine game and i do not want my tank to crash, plus i want to do things right from the beginning, any sincere advice will be appreciated.

 

[Sk8r]

There's still a nitrate presence and the fact you have readable phosphate is worrisome---do you have algae? Try to remediate.

You could keep softies now with no trouble if you're stable; lps stony would be ok, if you start with the hardier euphyllias [frog, hammer] or bubble. Candycane. Don't mix softies with stony unless you want a 'mixed' tank: they have agreement problems with each other. Corals are filters and they eat light: be sure you start them low in the tank so as not to 'burn' them, and raise them up gradually.
Work on remediating those remaining 'bad' readings. Corals don't like nitrate, will die of ammonia, and don't like phosphate.

 

[reefnetworth]

your water supply could be the reason for the nitrate (NO3) and the phosphate (PO4).
as a general rule, before adding any anemone or corals you should have a stable tank. it usually takes 3-6 months, and in some cases longer.
if you have bio-bals in the trickle filter, remove them now, they are NO3 factories.
goto: Reef Chemistry forum and read Randy Holmes-Farley, Reef Chemistry Articles. if there are things that confuse you or you dont quite understand, dont hesitate to ask. there are some very intelligent people who can answer your questions in a way you may understand more comprehensive.
reef chemistry is difficult to understand at first, but when you learn how it all works together to have stabilization in your tank, it becomes second nature eventually.
patience, reading, understanding and questioning is the best success in any reef tank. best of luck! have a great weekend!

 

[Michael]

i said my phosphate was a max of 0.03 because even though it was not this high there was a slight tinge of colour sorry guys color, so i did not think it was quite 0 but very close to 0, also is nitrate of 2.5 really that bad, i know 0 is best, the question of algae is only purple visable on lv, it sounds to me like you guys think nitrate should be 0 for corals, i dont doubt you right, so can you give me some advise on totally illiminating nitrate, by the way my ph is 8.2 and i do us ro-di water, once again thanks for your valued and important views, its nice to see opinions from you guys on the other side of the pond

 

[Zoophile]

Your nitrate isn't that high. A reading less than 10 is okay, though you do want to strive to keep it as low as possible. As stated above, those filters will give you continuous nitrate problems. Soft or LPS corals would do fine in your tank. Like sk8r said, it's best not to mix most of them.

 

[Michael]

thanks zoophile i agree about the nitrate, i might introduce some softies next weekend, i will use your advice about the mixing, going back to the nitrate problems, if someone out there really does have zero nitrate i would love to hear from you how you do it, because i would be more than happy to use your experience and tactics, by the way god bless our troops, have a good weekend you all

 

[Sk8r]

I have 0 nitrate with half a dozen fish and a reef. I have no filters at all, not even protective sponge-covers, do have a fuge 1/3 the volume of my tank, deep sandbed, 1 1/2 lbs rock per gallon. Most importantly, I use ro/di, and watch my TDS.

Softies tolerate nitrate best, 5 and under; lps stony will stand a little, such as you have. Sps are fussier. No coral really likes phosphate, and it is the source of some 'failure to thrive,' so it is worth an aggressive campaign to get rid of it.