View Full Version : When to add corals?
Zimmer
02/24/2013, 10:54 AM
Hi all :spin1: so the routine is to cycle, wait for all param's to be 0, then cycle is over and you slowly start adding stuff... at what point do you know its ok to add coral?
also, anyone wanna do a little coral 101 with me? or is there a link or sticky i missed? i understand there's different kinds, mushroom, polyps, soft, lps, sps - but thats it i really don't know much about them. do you feed them? do they photosynthesize? do they move around in the tank? are there any particularly easy corals, or alternately any really difficult ones that i should avoid?
from what i've been researching it sounds like mushrooms polyps and softies are where i would be interested in starting - any other suggestions? as usual, thanks for the input!!
that guy
02/24/2013, 12:55 PM
First you need to purchase a test kit for calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity. These are the things you need to pay attention to with corals. Red sea makes a very good test kit and sell all three together but if you have the extra money I believe they make Hanna checkers for some elements but I'm not sure. The Hannas are about as accurate as you can get however they are a bit pricey. Calcium should be up around 440-480, magnesium at 1390, and alk at around 12 dkh. Some people prefer slightly different parameters though. 90% of all the corals you will find in stores are photosynthetic. Soft corals are the easiest corals and many of them are indestructible. They don't need as much light or flow as the stony corals and do well in pretty much any environment. However do not add xenia or green star polyps. They look pretty but they spread like crazy and will kill any other corals they touch. The next step up would be lps corals (large polyp stony corals) These things are beautiful however are slightly more advanced an require a more stable tank than soft corals. Some of the most common lps are Frogspawn, Torch, and Hammer corals. These come in many different colors. The downside is at night they send out sweeper tentacles that can reach a good 5 inches and will kill any other corals they touch so lps corals should be somewhat isolated. Lps corals can be fed once or twice a week which seems to increase growth. The last level and the most challenging level is the sps corals (small polyp stony corals) these are about as difficult as it gets as they require super stable condition, extremely powerful light, lots of flow, and lower nutrients than the average tank. I do not have tons of experience with these corals but a good sign as to if you can keep these corals or not is if you see coraline algae growing. This means your tank is stable and you can go out and try one out. These corals are generally the ones you see on the tank of the month as they make gorgeous patterns and brilliant colors. A final thing to talk about is lighting. The three main types are led, metal halide, and fluorescent. Led are good but the nicer models are ridiculously expensive however they can do anything any other light can and often provide better color. Metal halide are tried and true and will provide lots of light however they do give off lots of heat and can wash out the colors in your tank. Fluorescent are great also and I use them on my tank. No complaints so far and have been doing great. Post any other questions you have.
Zimmer
02/25/2013, 12:15 AM
Thank you so much! Thats mostly what i could think of to ask, I suppose need to get one of those test kits now.... So basically if my water's good enough for fish and inverts, then it's probly good enough for "starter" corals?
I see all the time "dont supplement anything unless you can test for it" - does that mean since you test for calc and mag that you should be supplementing those things for corals? or only on an as needed basis if levels aren't proper? and since it sounds like they get most of their needs from lighting, do you actually have to "feed" anything?
I'm sad about the xenia and the polyps, those were 2 I was really excited to start with :sad2: i just love the waving look of those ones... the other type I would like to start out with is mushrooms, do they do anything naughty like lps or xenia :angryfire: grrrrr lol i feel like sps is probably out of my league for awhile, maybe even lps, but i want to take the plunge and get something.... gotta start somewhere....
Windirmere
02/25/2013, 01:23 AM
If you want GSP or xenia just isolate them on a rock island away from the other rocks so they cant spread
acabgd
02/25/2013, 01:55 AM
Mushrooms tend to spread fast as well. Again, just isolate them to a rock so they cannot spread all over and take over your tank. As for supplements - once you have corals they will start consuming stuff out of you water - calcium and carbonates for their skeletons... At the beginning your water changes and salt will cover the losses, but once your corals start growing they will consume more and more. That's why you need test kits so you can measure the consumption or what is left in the tank and supplement what is needed. It's not complicated at all, you will learn over time.
cedwards04
02/25/2013, 07:39 AM
Great info here. i pretty much had the same questions.
Zimmer
02/25/2013, 10:29 AM
Thanks for all the responses! Maybe I will try some xenia on its own little island, i like that idea! Trying hard to make plans and wait for my tank to mature a bit more, but man its so hard!! *patience patience patience* :bounce3:lol
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