Adding corals

[Janh]

I would like to know when I can begin to add corals to my tank. I am not in any hurry to do this, but would like to know when the time is right. My tank has only been up and running for a couple of months. I do have a few fan worms and a kenya tree (hitchhikers) that are doing great.

Also, anyone have any suggestions for good corals to start with for beginners? Are corals like fish, you just add one every couple of weeks?

[PMUnprotected]

I like Zoas and and Acans. What type of lighting are using?

Corals are not like fish. Add what you'd like, and as much as your husbandry can handle. Good luck!

[laura.d]

I actually think it's easier to get a bunch of new stuff and move it all in at the same time, just make sure you dip/treat everything to avoid hitchhikers and contamination. Zoas, palys, anything soft will be good for a newbie. Especially Xenia and GSP are pretty much impossible to kill and grow super fast (plus they're cheap!).

[greech]

At the 2 month mark and having some corals doing well I would say you are fine to add some now but without knowing what your parameters are and if they have been stable its tough to say. If your tank is cycled and healthy you can add a few corals at a time without a problem.

Need a little more info on your system (lighting, etc.) to give you some ideas on corals. Zoas, palys, shrooms, xenia etc are nice and generally pretty hardy corals but the problem with them is that most people tend to gravitate to LPS and possibly SPS and some of those easier corals you started with can become borderline invasive limiting placement of LPS/SPS. Not that you can't remove them later but that can sometimes be a bit of a pain.

Some easier LPS are frogspawn, torch, hammers, acans, candy canes, lobed brains, favia. The difference here is that some LPS can get a little pricey so if you want to be cautious you may want to try a few cheaper corals to start with.

[RaeRae]

My 2,cents. Don't be in a hurry. Buy only what you love. Don't just try and fill the tank with ugly pieces.

[thegrun]

I like to start new tanks with easy to care for (forgiving) corals before fish. As soon as your ammonia and nitrites drop to zero and you get your nitratre levels down, you can start with some of the easier to care for corals. Here is a link to beginner corals:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/coralcare/ig/15-Easy-Corals/

[Janh]

Thanks for the suggestions and info. My water parameters are as follows
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - less than 5ppm
ph - 8.1
kh - 6.72
calcium - 420ppm
temp - 79
10% weekly water changes.
Water parameters are stable, never seem to change at all.

Lighting is power compact 130 watts, 36 gallon bowfront. I realize this is not the best lighting and that I will probably only be able to grow softies with it, but that is ok for now.

[greech]

You can have some LPS with that lighting.

Alk seems a bit low. Do you have a lot of coraline growth going? If so would be curious what your alk is after a water change. Should be no reason to dose your tank with no current corals. Maybe verify your test kit with another at your LFS, etc.

[Janh]

I really like the frogspawn, can I grow that with the lighting I have? What should my alk be? It is an older kit for this test, so maybe I will double check with lfs.

[greech]

Frogspawn will just fine.

7 to 11 dkh. Somewhere around 8.5 to 9.5 seems to be a good spot for my tank but don't go by that alone.

Didn't see your specific gravity listed. It may be all you need to do is increase that a tad and/or do a little bigger water change next time. Shoot for 1.025 to 1.026.

[Janh]

my specific gravity is 1.025, so many parameters to list for saltwater, always forget something. I have reef builder, should I just add some of that to increase the alk (slowly)? Even with water changes I never seem to be able to hit the 7 mark. I will have it tested at the lfs to make sure my test is still good.

[greech]

I would recheck the level first with another test kit first. I would not use the reef builder unless you are dosing equal portions. A little baking soda will raise your alk as well. Use the reef calculator to see how much you need and don;t raise it too quick. I really suspect your test kit is off though.

Here is a good article on parameters.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

Randy (author) is a moderator here and is very helpful so if you need specific help make a post in the Reef Chemistry forum.

[Janh]

awesome, thanks for all your help.