Tips on coral picking.......

[mennazeher04]

Hey there I have a 120 gallon reef tank and I have been running my tank now for about 4 months so far and everything has been good in my tank as far as water pars, and doing proper water changes every week. I was wondering if my tank is ready to start putting in corals. I have PC lighting so I know im limited to what i can have but i have 2 - 10k's 96 watts each and 2 - actinic 96 watts each. Tank is 24" deep. These are the corals that I have picked out due to my liking:

1. Candy cane coral

2. Torch coral

3. Hammer coral

4. Blue/Green Ricordea mushroom

5. Starburst polyp


Just let me know if you all think I would be ok or not and tips will help thanks.................:mrgreen:

 

[yote]

I think you'd be alright with those.
Keep the LPS up a bit higher for the light,the shrooms down deeper.
And acclimate em the same as you would inverts like shrimp and starfish.

 

[mennazeher04]

I think you'd be alright with those.
Keep the LPS up a bit higher for the light,the shrooms down deeper.
And acclimate em the same as you would inverts like shrimp and starfish.

Ok this is really gonna sound like a real newbie question.......lol.....but i want to make sure i do it right so what is the correct way to acclimate the corals? :D

 

[dcantucson]

Drip, Drip, Drip method!
http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/acclimation.php

 

[mennazeher04]

Also what other kind of test kits do I need to have knowing that i have Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, calcium, DKH, phosphate, iodine, copper, alkalinity, PH. Those are all the test kits that i have and i was just wondering is there anything else that i might need to keep those corals? Also what test kit do i need to test trace elements so i can add those as needed.

 

[JAG107]

You really shouldn't need the ammonia, nitrITE, copper, or iodine test, unless you have something REALLY bad happening (like everything dying out of the blue). Your key kits for corals are pH, alk, calcium, and magnesium. Salifert makes a good mag kit. Phosphate is kinda unnecessary, unless you're obsessive. Supposedly, the Hanna meter is the best way to measure phos. Basically, if you have algae growth, you have phosphate and need to get rid of it through water changes and using GFO media, or something else along those lines. Google it!
Looks like your lights should be fine for hammers, torches, and most other LPS, along with your mushrooms and rics. Good luck!

 

[messiah023]

A nice addition to your tank would be some Cyclop-eeze.
My corals love it....so to the fish & inverts.

I have about 15 nassarius snails that remain hidden under the sand for the most part.
When I dump the cyclop-eeze in the tank, the entire sandbed erupts and everything goes crazy. It's like aquatic catnip.

I use the freezerbar version. It's pretty good stuff.

 

[mennazeher04]

thanks messiah I will have to pick up some of that stuff and see if my fish will like it too.

 

[RyanG]

Be careful with the cyclops a little goes a long ways! Too much can degrade your water conditions.

 

[messiah023]

True RyanG.

You don't want to overdose your tank....a little bit goes a long way.

 

[yote]

+1 all the above.
IMO,Magnesium is just as important as calcium and alkalinity.

 

[mennazeher04]

Dumb question..............which chemical has the magnesium in it or is it in a bottle that is labeled "magnesium"? I know that might be the dumbest question but im still learning........lol

 

[yote]

I use Brightwell Aquatics Magnesion to supplement magnesium.And yeah,it says it right on the bottle:D

 

[BigH55]

B-ionic makes a two part system that does a great job balancing those three and it is easy to use.

 

[mennazeher04]

I use Brightwell Aquatics Magnesion to supplement magnesium.And yeah,it says it right on the bottle:D

:mrgreen: Told ya it was a dumb question........LOL:^: