Nicole's 29g Reef Build

[NicoleIsStoked]

My tank is cycled and ready to go! I'm going to start moving some fish in tonight. Probably starting with my clowns.
On Friday I picked up a royal gramma and 2 blood shrimp that are currently chilling in my big tank. I named the gramma Kanye because he's a gay fish. Haha

Can anyone suggest a good first coral?

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

I've transferred my clowns and my snails and everything is looking good!
As mentioned, I want to replace the AC110 with just more live rock and powerheads. I think I'm going to go with 2 hydor koralia nanos. Should I go for the 240s, 425s, or one of each?

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

Bump! Looking for advice please!

 

[Mebbid]

I have 2 of the 240s in my 20g reef and it's just not enough. I'd go with the bigger model for sure.

 

[Ericwm]

I have a 550 and a 350 hydro as well as a 250 knock off in my 29 gallon and the flow seems about right for my lps and softies.

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

Hmm that's helpful. Thanks. So if I get 2 550's you don't think it will be too much? Or should I get a 550 and a 425. On amazon they're only a couple bucks different so price isn't really a concern.
And I have the day off work tomorrow so I'm planning to go pick up my first coral. Can anyone suggest a good one as a first? And how is best to acclimate it?

 

[Mebbid]

Hmm that's helpful. Thanks. So if I get 2 550's you don't think it will be too much? Or should I get a 550 and a 425. On amazon they're only a couple bucks different so price isn't really a concern.
And I have the day off work tomorrow so I'm planning to go pick up my first coral. Can anyone suggest a good one as a first? And how is best to acclimate it?

I'd go with a 550 and a 425.

Good beginner corals include Leathers, Green Star Polyp, Pulsing Xenia, Kenya Tree, Zoanthid, and Palythoa.

I would drip acclimate them over the course of 2 hours or so.

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

After dripping them what do I do? I've heard something about dipping them. Is that necessary? And how to I place them in the tank? Can I touch them with my hands or do I use togs or a net? And do I just drop them in or anchor them somehow? Should I turn off the lights for a while after acclimation? How long?
Sorry for seemingly stupid questions but I'm all new to this.

On another note, a friend gave me a Kenya tree frag several weeks ago which I temp matched and then literally dropped into my big FOWLR tank. The lights are crappy normal fluorescents and I'm sure the nitrates are higher than they should be. And there's hardly any flow. And I found in hiding under a piece of live rock and its doubled in size!
I'm going to move it into the 29 tonight!

 

[Mebbid]

After dripping them what do I do? I've heard something about dipping them. Is that necessary? And how to I place them in the tank? Can I touch them with my hands or do I use togs or a net? And do I just drop them in or anchor them somehow? Should I turn off the lights for a while after acclimation? How long?
Sorry for seemingly stupid questions but I'm all new to this.

On another note, a friend gave me a Kenya tree frag several weeks ago which I temp matched and then literally dropped into my big FOWLR tank. The lights are crappy normal fluorescents and I'm sure the nitrates are higher than they should be. And there's hardly any flow. And I found in hiding under a piece of live rock and its doubled in size!
I'm going to move it into the 29 tonight!

a sudden large change in salinity can harm the corals. That's why its by far best to drip acclimate them. You can do something like removing and replacing small amounts of water with a turkey baster.

A dip is highly recommended. I would say it's absolutely necessary for hard corals but you can get away without dipping the softies.

You can touch the corals with your hands just be sure to wash them after (especially if you buy zoanthids or palythoas)

The corals should be attached to either frag disk or piece of live rock. You can just anchor them wherever.

I would start them off at the bottom of your tank and slowly move them higher and higher in the tank until they are at the spot you want them to be. Also, turning the lights off during acclimation is a good idea.

I would give them an hour or 2 of dark after they are acclimated and placed in the tank to let them adjust.

A lot of people don't like kenya trees because they grow soo fast but I love mine. Mine has about tripled in size since I bought it.

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

What should I anchor them with? And how do I take them off a frag plug and put them on my rocks?

 

[Mebbid]

What should I anchor them with? And how do I take them off a frag plug and put them on my rocks?

If they are soft corals you can use an exacto blade to cut them off of the plug. They can then be glued onto a rock with cyanoacrylate gel super glue. I would leave them on the frag plugs until they get settled.

Take a look at fragging videos and it will give you a good idea of the process.

 

[54seaweed]

with softies its easier to just cut off the nub on bottom of plug making it flat than just glue the plug to the rock , the plug will blend in over time this also gives you something to handle rather then the coral itself

the picture is to show how the plug starts to blend in over time

 

[Mebbid]

with softies its easier to just cut off the nub on bottom of plug making it flat than just glue the plug to the rock , the plug will blend in over time this also gives you something to handle rather then the coral itself

the picture is to show how the plug starts to blend in over time

A lot of my frag plugs are getting covered in coralline algae and I still think they look awful. There's something about the straight lines that stick out like a sore thumb and annoy me.

 

[54seaweed]

I just turned off lights I can get a better pict in morning I dont see any plugs anymore

edit just found a more resent pict

 

[kurtyboh]

they may look bad for a while but the coral should grow to cover it up eventually as well...

 

[54seaweed]

like shown in pict 2