new(ish) tank, coral question

S

sublime-1

Membership Expired
Hey,

The wife and I plan on going to the frag swap not only to see the stuff out there, but also to meet members, etc.

We have a 90 DAS that was established for 2 years before we bought it. It was FOWLR.

We kept half the water and the rock and sand. I added a bigger skimmer (Reef Devil w/ rio 3100) a sump (a Trigger Sys 24G) and am currently shopping for a better fixture (currently 2 x 65w combo PC).

I have been monitoring temp, ph, and all water params except calc, and everything has been steady. The Nitrates peaked at approx. 35, but since then everything has been stable with Amm, Nitri, at "0", PH at 8.0 / 8.1 and Nitrate at 10-15 range but steady.

So, I am feeling more confident that I have avoided a "re-cycle" due to the move. It's going into the end of the 3rd week since the move.

My question is really what would be a good, forgiving, hearty Frag to try out in this tank ?


Thanks,

BD
 
I have 20G of empty RO bottles in my trunk right now, picking up water for a water change tonight.

I am going to do a 10- 15% water change tonight, and do another one mid week.

Probably 10G each time.

I am going to do the first one with hyper-saline water as my tank SG is just barely at 1.022. Thinking of dumping about 5G of 1.026 and 5 G of RO.

After the weekend I will test water and see if Nitrates are 0. If not, another water change mid week should correct it. The rock was cured and established as was the sand. I put 45g of brand new water in it, and about 45 G of the original water. (wishing I hadn't now.)

BD


BD
 
Brad,
what macro are you running in the fuge? it will probably just take some time for the macro to start lowering the nitrates. do you have DSB or mud in the fuge?

Charlie
 
No sand or mud in the fuge.

I had planned on populating it from the main tank once I knew the cycle was averted.

I am still going to wait probably a month or so before deciding on the Fuge.

Problem is this. I bought a trigger systems 24" (20G) Fuge from Dallas North because the guy gave it to me for $60 and it was barely used. I mean, the acrylic alone is worth that. I figured it was a great fit under the tank, and a decent volume for my 90.

So i got it home, and found now that after plumbing in my oflow, setting in my reef devil, and hooking up my return that I have a few issues.

1.) it was intended as a low-flow Refugium and I am over taxing it for that purpose.
2.) used as a Sump/only, the flow rate is so high that I can't suppress the bubbles sufficiently.
3.) nothing else will fit in the center compartment where the "fuge" should be because the damn Reef Devil is so big.

So it looks like I am going to end up building or buying a custom sump / refugium. So I am going to measure this weekend and see what will fit under there. I will probably just sell or trade the Trigger.

The only option beyond that is to keep the Trigger Systems Refugium and hard plumb the skimmer externally. Not a good idea because this damn thing has already overflowed 3 times (the skimmer)

BD
 
It depends on what you like and what you plan on keeping long-term. Mushrooms are certainly hardy, but they are also prolific and many people have said they wish they hadn't introduced them down the road. Many people also like them though so its a taste thing.

Your nitrates are not THAT bad... and macros will certainly help. Only if you plan on keeping populations of hard (difficult) corals like acro's and the other SPS hard corals should you focus on getting the nitrates down around 0-5ppm. Keep in mind that as you add more fish and your feeding requirements go up, your current nitrate levels will likely rise as well without some mechanism to remove them.

LPS and softies are more tolerant of higher nutrient levels as are Zoos. Some suggestions based on my experience when I first started and higher nitrates than you are hammers, frog spawn, leathers. Even some species of SPS like Brains and Favias etc are good hearty starter corals and readily available at most swaps because just about everyone keeps them. I had great success with hammers, frog spawns, 'boulder corals' and torches with nitrates in the 80-90 range for long period of time.

Your levels seem to be pretty good considering its a newer tank. Your pH is a little low but within tolerances. The biggest thing to keep in mind about parameters is ranges and stability. If you have large fluxes in them that is not optimal, but if you have consistent levels (even slightly higher than ideal) your animals will adjust.
 
Generally soft corals do well since they don't suck up all your calcium, even large polyp stonies (lps) can do well even with PC lights in my experience. My first "coral" was an anemone but then I got some mushroom polyps and anthelia. I think maybe it would be a good investment for some pulsing xenia, absolutely gorgeous and definitely a good indicator of tank health if anything goes wrong. Zoas are fairly forgiving too, I had some growing underneath a small rock that were completely under the sand for about 2 weeks and they're still alive.
 
great feedback guys and gals.

I am building a shopping list for this weekends swap. I like the Zoas and pulsing Xen is one of my personal Favorites.

Finger leather and open brain is also on my list for the future (probably later in the summer, toward fall.)

For now, I'd just like to get in tune with my tank, and will be investing in better lighting or MORE PC lighting, some sort of controller and most likely, a bigger sump.
 
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