Which coral when?

[JCnflies]

By this point you guys probably know more about my tank than I do (almost 2 weeks, appears fully cycled as ammonia and nitrites are both 0 and nitrates are 10 or less - lowest reading on the chip), but I was hoping to start laying out a schedule in my mind..... At what point can I look to add corals and which ones would you select first?

One of the big reasons I ask is that my sand is blowing around the tank and settling on my LR. If I can put some hammer coral or other kind of coral on the bottom where the current is lifting the sand, I think that might make me, the coral nd the LR very happy Thx.

Btw, I have the Borneman book, but I don't really remember reading a section on what order to add corals in and how old your tank should be before adding such and such (other than acroporas taking a year.)

 

[DgenR8]

As bacteria colonize the sand grains, there will be less and less flying sand. Your tank is very new, and you are already pushing your luck more than just a little bit.
Take a breath, allow your tank to mature some, and get stable. I know that looking at an empty tank is disappointing, but your overall experience in this hobby will be much better if you take your time.
If you really feel thet you MUST get something else in that tank ASAP, go for some Xenia or Capnella. Both grow rather quickly, are tolerant of less than ideal water conditions, and can even be used for nutrient export. I can give you some Capnella if you want to come by and get it, but you'll have to promise me that you'll give your tank a chance to stabilize before you add anything else.

 

[cb747]

Like Larry said have patience. However i have more Capnella than i know what to do with so your welcome to have some and if it dies ill have more for you

 

[eboonaman]

I couldn't agree more to what larry stated :thumbsup:
If you are a LIRa member ( if so, sorry I don't recall meeting ya) I can give you a frag of Capnella (kenya tree) at the collection trip or next meeting..
chuck

 

[JCnflies]

Hi Guys,

Yes, I'm amember and I appreciate the wisdom. I'm probably mnore interested than anything else. Thanks for the invite on the corals, but I was thinking (from what very little I kjnow) that around 3 months might be about right for a coral

The good news is I have solved much of hte blowing sand. I had gotten two very flat pieces of LR from Les. I laid them over the spot where the water hit and presto!

I don't think I'm overly anal, but I plan for everything big time. I'm already scouting around as to where and when I can get a Kole Tang, but do not have any plans to put one in my main tank for at least 7 or 8 weeks (though I could get one for the QT in amonth or so.) I just realized school starts in two weeks and I just finished my first 3 weeks worth of lesson plans!

It's kind of like that with the corals. A really nice guy from the club, Wayne, invited me over to his place and was explaining so much to me I probably get most of it confused (but he did teach me that more than one angel can be in a tank!) I learned that, for the most part, softer corals tend to go deeper in the tank and the acropora types up higher. So I figured if you add softies first, I'd start looking at getting one in the right time frame

I definitely don't want to put anything else in unless I am confident of the tank's stability - and right now, my confidence is far from set......... though the water parameters look very good (Calcium averages 400 and alkalinity 3.5 to go with the other readings) the temp is better but not right (it ranges from 78 or 79 to 83 or 84 each day), and I have yet to do a water change (pretty soon) so I am far from right on at keeping the water stable over a longer period of time. Heck, I'm shocked by how much water can evaporate!

Thx for all the input. I hope my exuberance is not too annoying Your help has been quite a blessing.

Finally, I met a bunch of the guys at the meeting about seahorses, which is when I joined. A real nice guy from Blue Point spoke with me about gadgets and I also spoke to a guy who runs the LI Fish Club website and Bill at Bill's Reef. I got to Atlantis, but too late to hook up with anyone. Thx again.

 

[DgenR8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8032584#post8032584 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cb747
Like Larry said have patience. However i have more Capnella than i know what to do with so your welcome to have some and if it dies ill have more for you

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8032591#post8032591 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eboonaman
I couldn't agree more to what larry stated :thumbsup:
If you are a LIRa member ( if so, sorry I don't recall meeting ya) I can give you a frag of Capnella (kenya tree) at the collection trip or next meeting..
chuck

Look at you two trying to muscle your way into my Capnella dump!

JC, I suggested Capnella and Xenia because they are extremely hardy, and most people that have them, have too much of them (as evidenced by Chris and Chuck trying to give you their Capnella after noticing that I had a good idea). IF it dies, there's plenty more where that came from, and you would know without a doubt that you had gotten way ahead of yourself.

 

[JCnflies]

Should I be concerned with the potential die - off messing up my tank, thx

 

[Neurotech]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, JC, but I am available for capnella and xenia dumping here.Chris, you are kind of far for me - where are you DGen? I am in Shoreham.

 

[pecan2phat]

Hi,
I'm Wayne

Come on Larry,
Explain to Bob how you can actually cycle a tank with some softies!

 

[DgenR8]

I'm in Baldwin, kind of a long way from Shoreham.

 

[JCnflies]

Hi Wayne,

Thx for all of your help So far, I've been learning and things are getting better everyday.

I just got some NLS, but my fish don't realize it's food (I only put about 3 pellets in.) Tonight I will try to put some in when they are looking for the frozen. Already both fish come out looking for food as soon as I turn off the main pump

Bob

 

[pecan2phat]

Bob,
It's actually Warren

You'll be there before you know it and Larry's a bully :lol2:

 

[JCnflies]

Oops! That's why I give all the kids in my classes nicknames! Sorry...........

How are all the li'l fishes?

 

[pecan2phat]

The 90g fowlr crashed about 15 days ago. Lost about $1k in fish

Came down to something viral since everyone died within 24 hrs one by one.

Other than that setback, the two reef tanks are doing well.

 

[JCnflies]

Yikes! I am sorry to hear that. I remember yo had been battling something even when I came over....... Are you going to start over and keep it a FOWLR or another reef?

The next two fish I am adding will be two small o cellaris (in a while). They are small enough that I don't think they will be much of an impact on the bioload. A month or so later I'm looking at a trio of flasher wrasses. Then the next month after that (abuot 3 months from now) a Kole Tang. After that, maybe I'll be ready for a few corals Actually, I got two mushrooms for free with an order of snails. One is doing awesome but the other one just drifted around the sand bad until it gave up. My skimmer is filing up with water too quickly, so I have to figure that out, too. Thank God it's another week till school starts........... one tank, so little time

 

[pecan2phat]

Bob,
Tank is running fallow for the time being.
Adjust the riser to have the ASM skim drier.

 

[JCnflies]

THanks