Can i put in corals before cycling is over?

[Angler7]

Can i put in corals before cycling is over? Buddy wants to give me some frags this weekend. Tanks has had water and sand for 10 days and I will be adding rock today. Sand was 125 lbs. from an established tank. Rock is 130# dry rock from reefcleaners and ~25lbs live rock from an established tank. Thanks,

[Virtuoso]

If you are just adding your first live rock today then that means your tank has not even started cycling. Hardier coral could survive, I think, but it is not something I would chance. Take my advice with a grain of salt though, I am not even where you are at yet.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I wouldn't risk it.

[PMUnprotected]

Coral is life! Why rush it and take the chance of it being unhappy and suffering.

I'm sure your buddy can hold off for another month before hooking you up.

People enjoy corals in their tanks bc the beauty and life they bring. No one enjoys one that's closed up or curled over.

[halcyonism]

In my opinion it is not worth the risk. It could be a potential waste of money in an already expensive hobby.

[Angler7]

The frags will be free, I don't have to get them but if its going to be harmful i won't do it.

[Sk8r]

Just set up a quarantine tank for them, bare-bottom, with a plain airdriven floss and carbon filter. Put your lights over the qt. It'll be fine. Just change the floss/carbon every few days. And don't throw out any bristleworms that pop up. You can use eggcrate lighting grid to hold the frags off the bottom---don't use live rock: it's hard on it. Draw a line on the tank to mark the perfect-salinity fill-line, and you're good. Don't add a fish to this tank: if it should have to be treated (say the fish brings in ich) it would kill your frags. Fishless. Inverts are ok.

[lisafoster]

No. corals need stable water conditions a cycling tank is not stable. Do what sk8r said get some water from your friend's tank and mix it with new water and set up a qt. Just make sure you have ythe correct lighting. If these are sps frags I wold not even think about trying it.

[Sk8r]

sps would be dicey for a more experienced reefer; lps doable (I've had bubble survive a cycle), and softies a pretty sure thing, as long as your water keeps the params in my sig. Do a 10% water change weekly in the qt and your calcium/mg/buffer should stay good.

[sasharotty]

Do you like flushing 20's down the toilet? J/k but def wouldnt do it.

[Angel*Fish]

Like others said not in the display tank. The reason is you don't know what's going on in there without the passage of time. And what could go on is bad for the coral.

[jeff@zina.com]

Can i put in corals before cycling is over?
No. Nothing until your water parameters are stable and correct.

Jeff

[pistolpete]

If I were you I would hold off but if you have to get them the QT gives you the best oppurtunity for sucess. I tend to play it on the safe side and do whats best for the livestock because thats the purpose of my tank, your patience will be rewarded

[wbdevers]

To play devil's advocate here, but they did say they are using live sand and LR from an established tank. Won't this prevent a cycle except for a very minimal one?

[Peter T]

To play devil's advocate here, but they did say they are using live sand and LR from an established tank. Won't this prevent a cycle except for a very minimal one?

It really depends. Using live 125lbs of LS from an old sand bed can really wreak havoc on an aquarium, especially if it is disturbed from a DSB. As for the LR, depends on how cured it is. If the LR has quite a bit of life on it, the die-off can cause a spike depending on how much dies and how much waste the LR can process.

[wbdevers]

Yeah, see that's what I was thinking about as well, but like I said I was just playing advocate. One thing they didn't say was whether it was from a SSB or DSB. I was also thinking of the bacterial bloom and subsequent die-off until the system reaches equilibrium as the dry rock is seeded.

[Peter T]

I see where you are coming from :). But I personally would not risk it. Most of everything in this hobby is long term. So anytime I feel like rushing something, I just ask myself "Is it really worth it to put something in x days/weeks/months early and risk losing it when I can wait and be safe so I can enjoy it for years to come?"

[wbdevers]

I agree completely. Sk8r has the best suggestion--just put it in QT and when the cycle, if any, is complete, bam, they will have corals to add right away. Win/Win situation.

[greenbean36191]

As long as the ammonia part of the cycle has passed, the corals should be fine. The excess nitrite and nitrate will likely cause them to brown out, but it won't kill them. In fact, having corals in the tank early on in the cycle can help the tank stabilize more quickly and reduce the common diatom and cyano outbreaks.

The two main concerns will be your ability to keep ph, alk, and salinity fairly stable, and potential algae growth from the combination of high nutrients and the lighting that you need to provide the corals.

[Angel*Fish]

My take from the OP is we are waiting to see if there will be ammonia.

[paraphish]

Slow down and take your time. Give the tank plenty of time to cycle before you add any livestock. Adding things too quickly will lead to A) your stuff dying, B) problems with water quality down the road. Its hard to be patient, but it really is worth it.

[Angler7]

Thanks for all the replies. I will wait. just put my rock in last night and plan on starting a build/built thread pretty soon.

[Sk8r]

Get a quarantine tank and use it to hold these specimens until your tank is past the ammonia thing. As long as you keep changing the carbon and filter in the qt tank [no sand or rock] every few days and keep the salinity steady and the corals lit properly, they will be fine. Then you can use the qt tank for your first fish for 4 weeks to be sure your new tank doesn't then get infested with the ich parasite.