Introducing Animals to the Reef (PART-1 OF 6)
One of the decisions hobbyists are faced with when setting up their aquarium, after having added the LR (live rock) and LS (live sand), is what to place in the tank next: the fish or the corals. Do you add one or the other or does it not make any difference?
We know that we want to introduce the LS and the LR, and also the sand stirrers. After this has all been done the tank needs to cycle before we actually start adding anything else at all.
What is our next move? Do we get fish and put them in the tank, or do we buy corals first and add those?
There are just about as many opinions as people to whom the question is asked, is probably a good way of putting what the result of such a question would be. In this hobby this happens very commonly. Ask a question and you get 10 different answers. So what do you do then?
I guess you need to follow someone's recommendation, that is unless you have prior experience and have dealt with a similar situation before. If you have not, my suggestion is to read up on the subject as much as you can, or ask others for their input. Then think the answers you have received through and apply the method that makes the most sense to you.
This principle holds true not just for this particular question, or dilemma, but in general in the hobby and maybe in other life situations as well. Where it comes to the hobby I do not think that anyone has all the answers to all the questions that you may have. Some may think they do, but unfortunately such is not the case. The subject is way too complex for one person or one group of people to have all the correct answers for all problems you may be facing or all difficulties you may have to deal with.
What happens though is that certain people who have been in this hobby for a long time have acquired certain areas of expertise and can be relied on to give sound advice for those particular topics or areas of concern you may have. Take their advice, making sure that you do agree with what they advocate.
What is going to be suggested here with regard to how to go about adding animals to the tank is one method. Others may tell you differently and that is fine.
What Is being suggested is what has worked over the years. Techniques become habits and, as time goes on, we refine these habits until we end up with what appears to work best under the circumstances. Each time we can improve on something, we do and learn how to do a particular task more efficiently.
Remember we have instant tea and instant coffee but we do not yet have instant aquariums, however much we would like to have them. We still need to go through a process, a sort of building block approach that leads to a stable and aged aquarium that runs without problems.
(CONT. PART 2 )
One of the decisions hobbyists are faced with when setting up their aquarium, after having added the LR (live rock) and LS (live sand), is what to place in the tank next: the fish or the corals. Do you add one or the other or does it not make any difference?
We know that we want to introduce the LS and the LR, and also the sand stirrers. After this has all been done the tank needs to cycle before we actually start adding anything else at all.
What is our next move? Do we get fish and put them in the tank, or do we buy corals first and add those?
There are just about as many opinions as people to whom the question is asked, is probably a good way of putting what the result of such a question would be. In this hobby this happens very commonly. Ask a question and you get 10 different answers. So what do you do then?
I guess you need to follow someone's recommendation, that is unless you have prior experience and have dealt with a similar situation before. If you have not, my suggestion is to read up on the subject as much as you can, or ask others for their input. Then think the answers you have received through and apply the method that makes the most sense to you.
This principle holds true not just for this particular question, or dilemma, but in general in the hobby and maybe in other life situations as well. Where it comes to the hobby I do not think that anyone has all the answers to all the questions that you may have. Some may think they do, but unfortunately such is not the case. The subject is way too complex for one person or one group of people to have all the correct answers for all problems you may be facing or all difficulties you may have to deal with.
What happens though is that certain people who have been in this hobby for a long time have acquired certain areas of expertise and can be relied on to give sound advice for those particular topics or areas of concern you may have. Take their advice, making sure that you do agree with what they advocate.
What is going to be suggested here with regard to how to go about adding animals to the tank is one method. Others may tell you differently and that is fine.
What Is being suggested is what has worked over the years. Techniques become habits and, as time goes on, we refine these habits until we end up with what appears to work best under the circumstances. Each time we can improve on something, we do and learn how to do a particular task more efficiently.
Remember we have instant tea and instant coffee but we do not yet have instant aquariums, however much we would like to have them. We still need to go through a process, a sort of building block approach that leads to a stable and aged aquarium that runs without problems.
(CONT. PART 2 )