Going to try corals

[Exarkun1178]

Now that my tank is stable and settled, going to try to do corals.

First on my list of prep. Thoughts on how I can test for copper? I have a test kit but the vile is tinted blue from previous tests. Guess I can just get new test tubes

What else should I do to prep.

Btw, the two corals I received at sept meetings did not make it.


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[njtiger24 aquariums]

I would start with some 'easier' corals. stay away from sps right now until you handle softies/lps for awhile. What corals are you looking to start with? If you treated your tank with copper and would def get a good copper test kit to see if there any

 

[Tyler]

If you treated your tank with copper, it would have been absorbed into the rocks and will constantly be leeched back out into the water. If that’s the case I believe you have to replace all your rock.
As far as corals I agree you should start with softies first. Lots of cool looking zoas, mushrooms, leathers, etc that will do well in some more unstable systems with lower lighting. Sorry to hear your other corals didn’t make it though.


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[Mikeamadio]

If you just moved your tank you should wait a couple weeks and make sure all stays in check. I've moved my tank several times and you will get a mini cycle. Wait 2 or 2 weeks, monitor levels, if all stays well have at it. Did you ever add more lighting to the tank or is it still the two kessils? If there still the only lights I would suggest stuff like leathers and euphyllia family corals. They get big and wave with the flow it will help fill out the areas where your lights are. Mushrooms would also be a good recommendation. You may also be able to put some brains on the sand bed. What were the two corals you received and where were they placed in the tank?

 

[Andy G]

Try running carbon before. And get Coral Rx to dip them before introducing.

My first coral was a Green Hammer, and I still have it. It's hardly, he suffered for a bit when I placed him on high flow, but he's now happy, shining and growing.

IMO, Euphyllias are good to start and look great!

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[Mark_C]

If you just moved your tank you should wait a couple weeks

+ on that if you're going to move into corals and want them to survive.

You're going to need at least 3 more Kessils for the tank. A 12 foot (?) tank with 2 of them is not nearly enough unless corals are placed only within vicinity of the lights.

Softies (Palys, zoas, etc) need light as they're photosynthetic, and some need more PAR (light energy unit) than others in the same species. Too much and they bleach and die, too little and they melt away. Start them in low light and move them weekly to find where the sweet spot is. They also prefer slightly 'dirty' water (phosphates and such).

LPS (Large polyp stony (hammers, frogspawn, etc)) need clean water with nutrients and are also very aggressive to other corals, again, with specific lighting requirements, with good placement found through trial and error.

SPS (Small polyp stony) need pristine water with Mg, Ca, Alk, etc balance to survive (and will die quickly otherwise). They require high light, high flow, and spot feeding.

Overall you'll need to introduce a lot more control, and invest a lot more time, to your tank, including a reef computer system and dosers, plus weekly testing with quality kits (Red Sea, Salifert)), and adjustments. The semi-monthly water changes will not be enough to maintain corals, especially as they grow.

Lemme know if you need a hand.

 

[Exarkun1178]

Mark. That’s a lot to take in.

More Kessil’s are on the shopping list.

So in addition to adding a dozen new fish this weekend I also added an Anemone. Cheap one from petco. Its not the prettiest but it is a good 6” across and healthy looking.

So, what should I be watching for re if it remains healthy.

Looks like I’ll start with a few soft frags to get going, under the lights.

I’m hoping the 2 corals I got in sept died because I had no lights on for awhile.


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[Trio91]

What's your livestock? You may be limited to what you can keep

 

[Exarkun1178]

What's your livestock? You may be limited to what you can keep

To the best of my recollection:

Powder blue tang
Soho tang
Sailfin tang
Gold spotted rabbitfish
Late stage juv emp angel
Coral beauty
Porcupine puffer
Sand sifting goby
Engineer goby
Six line wrasse
2 yellow damsels
yellow tail damsels
2 domino damsels
blue damsels
yellow bottom damsel
butterfly fish
XXL hermit
Some sort of colorful wrasse
2 clownfish
Bar damsel
Assorted snails and small hermits
2 large Florida conchs

I may have missed some






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[Tyler]

Healthy anemone signs depends on the species. But in general, they shouldn’t have a gaping mouth or be white. Their tentacles should be extended and after a few days of acclimation they should readily accept most meaty foods. Make sure your powerheads are covered so they can’t accidentally get sucked in while they walk around looking for a spot they like. Here is a photo of my bubble tip anemone.

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[Tyler]

To the best of my recollection:

Powder blue tang
Soho tang
Sailfin tang
Gold spotted rabbitfish
Late stage juv emp angel
Coral beauty
Porcupine puffer
Sand sifting goby
Engineer goby
Six line wrasse
2 yellow damsels
yellow tail damsels
2 domino damsels
blue damsels
yellow bottom damsel
butterfly fish
XXL hermit
Some sort of colorful wrasse
2 clownfish
Bar damsel
Assorted snails and small hermits
2 large Florida conchs

I may have missed some






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Angels and puffers may go after your corals unless you’re lucky.


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[Exarkun1178]

The one I got from petco is white. They all were....

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[Tyler]

The one I got from petco is white. They all were....

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Looks like a bleached carpet anemone. After it settles in try and feed it things like mysis shrimp soaked in vitamin supplements. Bleaching is when a coral or anemone expels the algae living inside it. Without that, it will slowly starve to death unless you feed it. Over the next few months it should get its color back. I recommend you find an actual fish store instead of going to Petco, they don’t have the best stuff around. Good luck with the nem, hope he recovers for you!


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[Trio91]

1+ to what at @Tyler mentioned....

You may get away with going full softies (leathers)....the sps n lps may get nipped at

 

[Trio91]

Could be a sebae nem...those are pretty common at petco

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

Could be a sebae nem...those are pretty common at petco

Looks like a sebae nem to me. Like Marcus said they are common at Petcos (I seen many there) and they are white. Personally never had one but have looked at getting one but just never did yet lol.

Your live stock could be what controls how your corals will do. Now I have gone with a flame angel and a coral beauty (two different tanks) and so far *knock on wood* neither touch any of my corals but they are known for nipping at corals. My suggestion is don't add a lot of corals at once. Maybe get one or two frags/cheap corals. See how they do and go from there. Make sure your fish are not nipping them and make sure your tank can handle them before adding more and going to hard corals. Do research before getting corals. Check out flow, lighting, food, tank placement, etc....

Are you testing you tank for cal, mag and alk yet? If not I suggest start testing for them and work on getting them in balance (they play a big role in the health of corals) mainly if you look to have SPSs