Ready to add critters - (i think)

K

kyle

[After weeks or research and fretting, I finally ordered and received my new light hood, a 24" Current Orbit 2 x 65 watt SunPaq PC unit. One bulb is a dual daylight (6700k / 10,000k) and the other is a dual Actinic (420 nm + 460 nm). I've setup each bulb on a separate timer. The unit fits perfectly on my tank top and I'm very pleased.

Question #1- How long should I run the bulbs?

I've accumalted 65# of LR for my 40G hex tank and that's all I'm going to install. I need to rearrange the stack this weekend but then I think I'm ready to start adding corals. The tank has been up 2 months and I've had 2 water changes. I'm also going to recheck all the water params this weekend.

2) I want to start adding corals. I start with frags (fragments?) right? How many can I add? I like them all so which ones (other than the SPS which I know I'm not setup to host) I start with isn't critical to me.

3) Are these frags already mounted to some sort of base (rock) or do they attach on their own.

4) Where's the best place to get the frags?

5) What do coral "eat" ?

6) On a slightly different topic, can/should I add some crabs/snails? I hear the term "cleaner crew" but eactly what and how many things should comprise the crew.

TIA!]
 
[Just start slow and research any coral, fish, or invert BEFORE you buy it. When I first got into the hobby this was my biggest problem. I would walk into a LFS and see something that I thought that I could take care of only to find out that I really shouldn’t have bought it. You don’t have to start out with a frag, it’s just a cheap and (to me) satisfying way to add diversity to your tank. You can buy them mounted or unmounted, but either way most corals are not hard to attach – a bottle of super glue gel is another reef must! To start out try something like mushrooms or green star polyps (gsp), they are very hardy, need little light, and will multiply quite rapidly. I’m not sure about where you can get frags up in Dallas, but I did stop by Fish Paradise when I was up there a couple of weeks ago. They have a pretty big selection and I think they started around $20. Or, you can just keep checking in on the for sale board for some frags…actually I think there are some on there now.

“Cleaner Crews” are just what they sound like, they clean up you tank by helping rid it of algae, uneaten food, and detritus. Common cleaners are all of your snails, crabs, urchins, and stars. I would add these slowly or as you see needed – as your tank ages you might need to pick up a couple more snails or crabs, but adding 20 or 30 now might not be a good idea. But again research these before you buy theme as well. There are plenty of stars, urchins, and crabs out there that are not reef safe. Anything that you add is really up to you – personally I try to get as much diversity as possible.]
 
[Kyle,
I would wait longer before attempting corals. Not that you have to, but corals are much less forving than fish and cleaners and can croak pretty quick. I think I added my first corals at about the 4-5 month mark.You want your system to pretty stable first. I know waiting sucks though.
If you do try some coral, stick to the EZ stuff.....just about any of the soft stuff...no LPS or SPS. Maybe try a leather of some sort, some green star polyps, mushrooms..things like that. Also, if for some reason they don't make it your not out a ton of $$$. There's always people here on the board selling/trading frags. Actually I'm pretty close to you and I have frags from time to time...and sometimes there's things you can HAVE. Or if you wanna stop by to takea look your more than welcome. I know that when I was starting out I wanted to see everything I could.
As far as cleaners go, a lot of people are not fans of hermit crabs as they are omnivorous and tend to dine on snails sometimes. If you do get some crabs, stick with either the scarlet reef crabs ot the blue legs. Both stay small, but still can be hit or miss (as is everything). Most people suggest going with several different types of snails. My personal favs are the Trochus snails, but I also have some Astreas, some Margaritas, Stomatellids, and Nassarius. I don't like the Turbos as they get HUGE and knock stuff over and generally don't live very long in warmer water tanks like most of us have in the South.
Hope this helps....seriously, let me know if you need anything since I'm pretty close. I know waiting sucks, but like the above guy said, just make sure you thoroughly research a purchase BEFORE doing it. Oh yeah as far as stores go, check Marc's site for a list of all the area stores. melevsreef.com

Good Luck
Charley]
 
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