I set my 75 gallon tank up two months ago, and had an almost immediate cycle, so, I bought some blue & red legged hermits, and some snails. Then, I bought a cleaner shrimp. The live rock I bought had a zoa on it, and it thrived, and has doubled itself, and has a third polyp growing, so, I bought some loose zoas my LFS had for a couple bucks. They had a small green tree(unknown species) that the store person said she'd throw in for $5. I took it, since my water paramters were good, and the zoa had done so well. Now, I have a purple firefish in quarantine. I'm wondering if I'm moving too fast. Should I add any more corals for a while? How long do you usually wait to add corals to a newly setup tank? I've heard some people add corals as soon as it cycles, some wait a while, add fish, wait a longer while, then add coral. What are your suggestions? Currently, the small mushroom I bought dissappeared, but everything else is doing well. I'm a total newb., so, advice from some of you old salties out there would be great.:worthy: I know in this hobby you can sometimes cut corners, but most don't recommend it. Any, and all advice is appreciated. Incidentally, I'm going for easy softy corals/zoas/mushrooms. Thanks!
When should I add corals to new setup?
- Thread starter felixpaws
- Start date
If you think you're going too fast then you probably are. A cycled tank is not a mature tank and chances are you are going to get some fluctuations (mini-cycles) in water parameters/quality even after the initial cycle. Every time you add something (fish, coral, shrimp, snails) you are impacting the bioload of your system and it is a good idea to give the system some time to respond. Same goes for feeding.
That said, shrooms and zoas are some of the hardier corals out there so chances are they will be fine. I would say to slow down a little. I know it is hard to resist the urge to stock but use the time in between stocking to research and figure out what you want next. It's a good feeling to know what you are getting into before you walk into your LFS and buy something. Also, keep in mind that many of the "beginner corals" can be pest down the line or simply grow too fast (not sure what size your tank is). Shrooms are agressive and will win the fight against just about any coral. Also, shrooms can detach themsleves if they are unhappy with their surroundings (usually too much flow) and reattach somewhere else. It is also a survival mechanism so maybe your water quality isn't as high as you think?
That said, shrooms and zoas are some of the hardier corals out there so chances are they will be fine. I would say to slow down a little. I know it is hard to resist the urge to stock but use the time in between stocking to research and figure out what you want next. It's a good feeling to know what you are getting into before you walk into your LFS and buy something. Also, keep in mind that many of the "beginner corals" can be pest down the line or simply grow too fast (not sure what size your tank is). Shrooms are agressive and will win the fight against just about any coral. Also, shrooms can detach themsleves if they are unhappy with their surroundings (usually too much flow) and reattach somewhere else. It is also a survival mechanism so maybe your water quality isn't as high as you think?
Thanks. I'll try to resist the urge to add anything, other than fish, for a while. The shroom disappeared, and I haven't been able to locate it. Chances are good that it wasn't happy, and moved, but I did find pieces of something near it. I threw them away. Now, I regret it, since someone wrote that they might have become new shrooms, later on down the line. I have a firefish in quarantine, and that'll be two weeks, then, I'll wait a while, perhaps at that point add another fish(after two weeks in quarantine). So, that should be slow enough not to cause a crash, right?
When I first started, I was told by several people that waiting 2 weeks between fish additions was a good (general) rule to follow. In many cases, I went longer than 2 weeks simply because the fish selection locally wasn't all that exciting and I'd have to wait for something I wanted to come in.
As for coral additions, adding a few small frags of inexpensive corals you like at this point (or even a couple weeks after the initial cycle is complete) isn't such a bad thing if they are what most would consider beginner soft corals and you've been able to see that your tank has stabilized. If you have a reef club locally, you may find a few members willing to give you a couple polyps of some of the more common zoas, palys, mushrooms, etc. to help get you started.
In any case, it's hard to go wrong with adding livestock to a tank slowly. Rushing things can certainly set you back a good bit of time and money, as well as causing unwanted frustration.
As for coral additions, adding a few small frags of inexpensive corals you like at this point (or even a couple weeks after the initial cycle is complete) isn't such a bad thing if they are what most would consider beginner soft corals and you've been able to see that your tank has stabilized. If you have a reef club locally, you may find a few members willing to give you a couple polyps of some of the more common zoas, palys, mushrooms, etc. to help get you started.
In any case, it's hard to go wrong with adding livestock to a tank slowly. Rushing things can certainly set you back a good bit of time and money, as well as causing unwanted frustration.
OgreMkV
Father of Earth's Next Emperor
Personally, I added a bunch of corals before I even contemplated fish.
I added one or two frags every two or three weeks for several months... dealing with minor issues along the way. Then we talked about fish.
I added one or two frags every two or three weeks for several months... dealing with minor issues along the way. Then we talked about fish.
fsn77, from what I've read, two weeks does seem reasonable to me, too. Unfortunately, there are no local fish clubs, so, free frags are out of the question.(Although, my LFS is cutting me awsesome deals on frags, so, that's a bonus.) As far as my params. goes, I'm having issues with cyano., due some brought in on some live rock I bought. I haven't been able to buy a Phospate test kit, yet, but my other params. are great. I just bought a tiny fragment of a kenya tree(I think?), and some more polyps, cheap. When I write polyps, I mean, like, four. I can't afford to buy livestock too quickly, anyway. OgreMkV, I almost want to go this route, but I can't seem to own a fish tank, and not want to put fish in it. Thanks, for the advice, though. It's nice to know some people have self-control. It's been at least two weeks, since I added the cleaner shrimp, and it'll be a little less than two weeks, until I add the purple firefish I have in quarantine. I'd like to get some cool mushrooms, but haven't found any, locally. My choices are two LFS', and Petco, so, I have to wait, until they reorder, unless someone has some they'd like to get rid of? Too many mushroms? There's a problem I'd like to have!
You put one mushroom and your tank and you wiull have too many before you know it.
Cyano should not last long under good conditions so its hard for me to understand bringing it into your system from another source. Are you sure its cyano on your rocks? Any on your sandbed? Also, how is the flow in the tank? Cyano can particularly pop up in low flow areas.
Cyano should not last long under good conditions so its hard for me to understand bringing it into your system from another source. Are you sure its cyano on your rocks? Any on your sandbed? Also, how is the flow in the tank? Cyano can particularly pop up in low flow areas.
Hmmm? It must be my water conditions, then, because it's on my rockwork, and sandbed. Like I wrote, I have limited testing abilities, so, don't know my phosphate levels. I'm going to go test for everything I can, in a minute. That includes nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, alkalinity, and Ph. I have been feeding a little excessively. I've been trying to make sure the snails, hermit crabs, and shrimp have enough to eat. I have been cutting down, but do feed twice a day. Maybe once a day would be better? The shrimp seems to be starving, every time I feed. I quit putting algae sheets in, since only the copepods eat it, and it takes so long for it to disappear. Will my livestock survive, if I only feed every so often? Also, I don't use RO/DI water. My dad won't allow it, too much waste water produced, and nowhere to use it in the winter. I do use quite a bit of chemical filtration, and I took out the filter cartridges, and filter floss out of my emporer, and canister filters. I'm running those just for the chemical media, and extra flow. Any suggestions on cyano. abatement?
Sorry, I forgot.
My flow is pretty good, I think. I have a canister filter, with spray bar, 2 550 penguin powerheads, two 900(I think. They are the lower flow ones.)Maxi-jets, and an Emporer 400. I don't direct them at the bottom, because I have two small tree frags on the substrate. I have one powerhead pointed at the front glass, to the left, one straight across the front, to the right, one at the back to the right, and one straight across, to the left. The spray bar sprays towards the surface, to increase oxygen transfer, and the Emporer is on the left side of the back, pointed towards the front of the tank. I, also, have the two protien skimmers on the right side, back, that exit downwards. I get lots of microbubbles, but I don't mind too much. I figure, that's more oxygen in the water. The cyano. is spreading, but I wave my hand across the surface of the rock, and a lot comes off, and I stir up the sand, and that buries it or stirs it into the water column. :nilly:. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
My flow is pretty good, I think. I have a canister filter, with spray bar, 2 550 penguin powerheads, two 900(I think. They are the lower flow ones.)Maxi-jets, and an Emporer 400. I don't direct them at the bottom, because I have two small tree frags on the substrate. I have one powerhead pointed at the front glass, to the left, one straight across the front, to the right, one at the back to the right, and one straight across, to the left. The spray bar sprays towards the surface, to increase oxygen transfer, and the Emporer is on the left side of the back, pointed towards the front of the tank. I, also, have the two protien skimmers on the right side, back, that exit downwards. I get lots of microbubbles, but I don't mind too much. I figure, that's more oxygen in the water. The cyano. is spreading, but I wave my hand across the surface of the rock, and a lot comes off, and I stir up the sand, and that buries it or stirs it into the water column. :nilly:. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.