Starter Corals and tank Parameters

[topmav1]

Hi,

Tank is up and running for about 8 wks now. Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=8, PH-8.4, Phosphate-.5-1(high!). I haven't tested Ca or Alk yet. When is it safe to add mushrooms, Zoas, frogspawn, torch coral, etc...Do i need to worry about calcium and Alk levels being perfect when adding those and if so what should Alk be?


90 gal. 48" T5 fixture total wattage 216.

 

[TheDumbSter]

you should allow your tank to cycle for 6 months to a yr! Phosphate is really high.. are u using r/o water?

 

[topmav1]

Yup using Ro water. Not sure why phosphates are high but could be b/c of the rock. I bought the tank from someone who had it up and running for 2 1/2 years...but there was abt a day delay until i could get them in water.

 

[Imbarrie]

How much water have you changed since adding the rock?
Are you running a skimmer?

Not sure how much that light will help on a 90

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[topmav1]

Just changed about 15 gal last night. Put some Rowaphos in the sump too so we'll see.

 

[jrobbins]

are you experiencing a large algae bloom? if not i would bet that your phos tests arent really accurate.

as for the cycle, you certainly dont need to wait 6 months to a year. just start slow, and if thing look like they are doing well, SLOWLY add more stuff. just research what you are buying before you buy it, and keep testing your water to make sure nothing is getting out of whack.

 

[topmav1]

Yes I agree 6 months is a little crazy but I am def taking my time. Not in a rush...been there before! Yes i had a pretty significant Green hair algae bloom recently. Have it somewhat controlled but not getting rid of it completely cause my Kole tang seems to be liking it.
So back to my original question...is there anything else that needs to be at a certain level before adding shrooms, zoas, etc like Alk and Ca?

 

[cmor1701d]

Your light should be ok for what you listed, but I also think you should wait a while. Best advice I ever got was "Nothing GOOD ever happens FAST in a salt water aquarium". You tank has barely cycled. Do a large (30%) water change now. Test everything in a week. Get test kits (Salifert??) for CA, Alk, Mg though regular PWCs should take care of everthing based on your stocking list.

Just remember to only add one or two items at a time, wait a couple of weeks to see how they react before adding anything else. Go slow and you should be fine.

 

[duke62]

wow whats with the bad suggestions on here lately..let ur tank cycle while doing thjat tesy your parameters.your tank should be done with cycling within 4 TO 6 WEEKS.when ur parameters are within the proper levels start adding clean up crew.i fed my tank lightly for another 2 weeks and i started adding fish and corals slowly.like 1 fish a week and a couple pieces of coral.i have had my same fish now for over 2 years and most of my coral as well.testing for cal and alk is a good start.check it like once every week or two.tell us more about your tank like what filtration and lights you have and what size the tank is.also what do u plan on keeping in your tank.what do u have on the tanks bottom and how much live rock do u have.the more info u share the more people can help u.

 

[topmav1]

Hey Duke,

I have a 90 gal bow. About a 3" sandbed. Berlin setup...Some filter media and a skimmer. 10 gal sump...wish I had more room for a refugium too. Added about 10-15 turbos and a brittle star 2 weeks ago. Params were ok so added a Kole tang a week ago which looks like he's doing well...except for some weird behavior lately where he looks like he's posessed...STRANGE VERTICAL MOVEMENT AT TIMES BUT THEN GOES BACK TO NORMAL. Picking off the rock and walls all day. Also have so Cheato in the corner of the tank which he seems to nibble on. Salinity is about 1.22 which I'm slowly raising with my top off water.
Plan on having mostly soft corals and adding a few Clownfish. I'll be away for a week so not adding anything new until i get back. This is actually the slowest I've ever gone!

Attached some pics of tank and rock. There's great growth on the rock! Very colorful so thats a plus.

Tha

 

[topmav1]

Sorry...meant to attach this too:

Also have abt 130lbs of LR. 40lbs of marine white sand and 40lbs of "live" Aragonite sand.

 

[duke62]

i would look into getting as big of a sump i could to fit under ur 90 gallon.i know left to right there is not alot of room but i think front to back you have room to fit probably a 20 long or even more this way you can get a carbon reactor and phosban reactor in there with a fuge.nad it wont be so tight when it comes to getting youur hand in there for maintenence.

 

[topmav1]

Would love that but actually considering setting up the sump/fuge outside the stand to the right of the tank just not sure how great it would look. Rubbermaid setup...

 

[basiab]

Sounds good so far. I don't think calcium is an issue with softies. Definitly not needed for mushrooms. As long as you add new stuff slowly there should be no problem. You will find that things grow better the less your hands are in the tank. Moving corals around does add to their stress even if the new position is better for them. So try minimize moving them around.

 

[fishman1069]

It looks good but I would do as duke62 said and put a bigger sump. You should definatly be able to fit a 20 lng under there. I have a 20 lng under my 75 gal.

 

[topmav1]

Do you know the dimensions of your 20 gal off hand? Problem is that its a bowfront so it has to be really narrow and long or maybe higher.

 

[fishman1069]

20 lng is 301/4 x 12 1/2 x 12 1/2 outside dimensions Heres a pic of how its setup, b4 it was running

 

[topmav1]

OK thanks. Now I have to go buy it and modify it with baffles. Where did you buy the 20 long from?

 

[topmav1]

Also, take a look at my pic. I know its tight but the Skimmer is an Octopus and it only fits length wise left to right and its about 12 1/2" long so even with a longer sump I'm not sure I'll have room for a fuge. Maybe you can send me a pic of your sump set up. Where it says oceanic reef ready is where the bubble trap is and i have some sponges in there too then to the left is my return.

You can see to the right in the last pic named Sump 4 i made a small PVC stand and put egg crate on top of that with some filter media for the drain to hit before it hits the skimmer pump...

 

[fishman1069]

Wow thats a big ass skimmer. I messed up when I built my sump and made the fuge section too big sooo I cant fit a skimmer, which sux.Yoy could just make the fuge section a little smaller and put that monster skimmer in the return chamber. I'm using a pos Seaclone hob right now.I built the sump B4 I really started researching anything. I got the directions on Ebay lol. Scince then Ive joined several forums and learned tons of stuff and still learning. I bought the tank at Aquahut in Coram on LI, I think for 30 bucks. HTH