Will adding 20 frags to my tank mess it up?

[HippieSmell]

I want to get the reefermadness frag pack, but I'm worried that 20 frags added at once might destabilize my tank. Any opinions?

[lotide]

I think just about anyone would be afraid to answer this thread, including me, LOL. What size tank is it? You definetely will need to start feeding them more. Which as you know will cause higher nutrients levels. The calcium levels will also be depleted much quicker. Then you need to factor in growth. I would only add 20 frags to a 150 or bigger with a 5-6-7 inch space between each one. If your tank is any smaller then that, well lets just say you have to allow for growth and stinging and all that stuff over the next couple of years. Also if you get a good deal of leathers, I hope you have a HUGE protein skimmer to get rid of their toxins.

On any terms, this is still one of those - I am not to be held responsible for any information that I give - posts.

[Chrisrush]

How old is your tank? SPS or LPS? It's not near as bad as adding 20 fish at once.

Chris

[HippieSmell]

It's a 120 gallon, with a 50 gallon sump/fuge. The frag pack will be SPS, LPS, and ricordia. I add kalk to my topoff water and I have an MRC-2 skimmer. Thanks for the advice.

[HippieSmell]

My tank is about a month old, but was moved over from an established 58 gal.

[Chrisrush]

You should be alright. Expect to lose 1-2 frags. What kinda of flow do you have? Might want to look into a ca reactor for the sps/lps.

What about your other params?

Chris

[HippieSmell]

I have around 2600 gph. It's a panworld 50 px-x to an OM squirt, a panworld 100 px-x as the return (it goes through a surge device, but it's currently not working), and a maxi-stream mod on a sea-swirl. It seems like there is a good amount of flow, but some people don't think you should have SPS unless you have 30-50x turnover.

All params are fine IMO, trates/phosphates are zero, calc is ~400 ppm, alk is ~10 dkh, pH is 8.1-8.3.

[xdusty6920]

you should be fine but be prepaired with your test kits and test regularly. your ca and other trace elements will noticably be depleted at a much faster rate.

[Sk8r]

You should be ok...you're going to play coral chess bigtime, trying to get everybody in comfy arrangement. And the calcium demand may get interesting. My 52 gallon tank took off all at once, and the calcium requirement jumped from 1/4 tsp twice a week to a 2 tsp a day habit, so be warned, and I got about that many specimens within 3 months of each other. Hope you have lots of ledges.

[HippieSmell]

Will a calcium reactor be needed after this, or will dripping kalk be enough?

[CoralFiend]

Do you already have SPS in the tank? If so, how are they doing?

Persoanlly, I would be hesitant to order that many at one time. Not because it would be overloading your system, but maybe the tank is not yet ready to support SPS. I might be wrong, but I am usually a little hesitant to add a lot of anything at once. If it were me, I would expect a higher mortality rate than 1-2. JMHO

[HippieSmell]

I don't have any SPS right now. It's very lightly stocked with an RBTA that recently split, an orange non-photosynthetic gorgonian, a purple ribbon gorg (?), a crocea clam, a candy cane, some zoas, and 4 small fish. The only thing that has died in the last year (this was from my old tank) was a lawnmower blenny that carpet surfed and a wall hammer that never looked good and disintegrated after 9 months.

I am hesitant to add a bunch of SPS before ever having any, but things seem stable and I've had good luck with everything else. RBTA's and crocea clams aren't much harder than SPS are they?

[CoralFiend]

Well, it is hard to tell someone if something will live in their tank without knowing at least a little bit about what kind of equipment they have. What kind of lights do you have? What about water movement inside of the tank? Both important with SPS.

If you do get the package, I would suggest you starting the frags out on the bottom of the tank for a while and slowly move them upwards to gradually higher locations as they become accustomed to the light (I am assuming you have metal halids, but not sure). This will help to avoid bleaching.

Also, if that anemone of yours likes to move around, I believe it could cause harm to some of your corals. I have never kept an anemone in any of my reefs for that reason. I don't know much about them though, since I don't keep them.

[xtrstangx]

IMO, try a few frags of SPS from locals to see if they do OK. If they are OK for 2 weeks and show a bit of growth, then I'd order the frag pack.

[HippieSmell]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7459976#post7459976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HippieSmell
I have around 2600 gph. It's a panworld 50 px-x to an OM squirt, a panworld 100 px-x as the return (it goes through a surge device, but it's currently not working), and a maxi-stream mod on a sea-swirl. It seems like there is a good amount of flow, but some people don't think you should have SPS unless you have 30-50x turnover.

All params are fine IMO, trates/phosphates are zero, calc is ~400 ppm, alk is ~10 dkh, pH is 8.1-8.3.

My lighting is a 250W DE (Phoenix bulb) PFO mini pendant with a magnetic ballast on a light mover.

The anemones don't move, but that is subject to change. They seem happy where they are though.

[CoralFiend]

Sounds like your set up for SPS all right. I would still recommend starting them out low though - and keep an eye on those anemones! :) Good luck!

[dreaminmel]

FWIW, I ordered 15 from them at once back in January I think. They threw in a couple extras and I've only had two die off on me (red bug issue that came from a local reefer, not them). I have a 72 gallon. Had no issues with water quality at all.

Whatever you do, make sure you follow their instructions about when to attach frags and what to use otherwise if you do lose a couple they may not be willing to offer you replacements on a future order. I've seen people be hasty in the attachments while also using two part putty and they've lost more than a couple...

[HippieSmell]

Hey dreaminmel, how did you like the package? Did they pick the coral, or did you?

[Konadog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7460640#post7460640 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtrstangx
IMO, try a few frags of SPS from locals to see if they do OK. If they are OK for 2 weeks and show a bit of growth, then I'd order the frag pack. This is good advice!
Since your tank is fairly new, even if you moved everything from an established tank. You may want to wait another month, then add a few test frags. I'm sure you don't want to spend your $$ only to lose 50% or more because things weren't as stable as you may have thought. FWIW, I have waited over 3 months to start adding SPS frags to my new 225 and I'm still nervous.

[fishdoc11]

The biggest issue is, as stated, if your tank is ready or not. IMO starting with a couple of hardier sps like monties or tank raised acros would be a good idea to test the waters. If those do ok for a month or two then getting the pack probably wouldn't be an issue. As far as destabilizing the tank 20 frags are not going to do that. Gradually your Ca usage will go up but the change will be slight at first. Eventually you will want to start a good 2 part regimine or add a Ca reactor.
hth, Chris

[Aquabucket]

Definately throw in a test frag or two first. You can think of it this way 20 frags equals one or two large show corals as far as calcium demand goes.

[dreaminmel]

HippieSmell,

I actually picked them out. I did one of the 5 frag packs and one of the 10 frag packs. I think one was $150 and one was $160. All frags were excellent!

I do agree with the others on trying out a tester first though. I tried a montipora hispida and a cap frag for a couple of months before I was brave enough to order the frags. It's a real downer when something gets rushed and you're out a bunch of $ but it's a real upper when you make sure you're ready and you end up with lots of nice corals thriving in your tank. :D