Progress Report!

[dropped]

Hi everyone,

I have a 65g tank with a 20g sump/refuge. I added 75lbs of semi/uncured [acronym:6c817f16d9="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:6c817f16d9] 1 week ago and the tests yesterday were Ammonia 0.1, Nitrite 0.1, Nitrate 20. I think the next step will be to wait for the ammonia and nitrite to drop to zero, and do a large water change...If the levels are all zero, start stocking?? is that right?

I've been running my 2x250 [acronym:6c817f16d9="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:6c817f16d9] for 1 hour/day and I don't really see any algae. Since the cycle is almost finished, should i gradually start to increase the lighting levels? maybe 2 hours per week? up till how much a day?

I'm also confused on how I should acclimate corals to the lighting. I've heard of people running the [acronym:6c817f16d9="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:6c817f16d9] for 9 hours a day. Without anything in the tank, how long should i get them running up to? and when I get my first coral, how should I acclimate it to the light? If I get another a week later, do I acclimate the whole tank over again to the light?

thanks

[darb2]

wait for the ammonia and nitrite to drop to zero, and do a large water change...If the levels are all zero, start stocking

yes
I would increase the light to at least 10 hr a day
to acclimate new corals place them in the bottom of the tank, and maybe in the shade (depending on spp) and then slowly move them to the middle and then the top(again depending on spp)

[Brisc0]

Coral light acclimation is all about where to corals came from. If you ordered them online, chances are that you can put them right where you want them as they most likely were held under 400W+ Mhs in the 10K to 20K range. Most website will have a blurb about their holding tanks including what kind of light they came from. If you are buying from your [acronym:27c4a885a2="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:27c4a885a2] which will most likley have more [acronym:27c4a885a2="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:27c4a885a2] lighting than [acronym:27c4a885a2="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:27c4a885a2], I would start the coral mid - lower tank and raise it to its final location over the course of 3 or 4 days depending on its needs. Make sure you don't neglect flow in this time, a high flow coral in a low flow bottom environment can be just as detrimental as an overload of [acronym:27c4a885a2="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:27c4a885a2], it just may be more difficult to see the signs. [acronym:27c4a885a2="Hope this helps (or) Happy to help"]HTH[/acronym:27c4a885a2] and best of luck to you.