New Light - Aquarium Advice

Xiztence · 11-07-2009, 10:00 AM

I just got my 48" Metal Halide 2x150 t5's 2x54 2 days ago, When can i start putting in hard corals? BTW its a 55 gallon reef,4 months old.

Blueiz · 11-07-2009, 10:06 AM

Congrats, I dont much about adding corals, but I do know what a feat it can be to aquire a new light

Xiztence · 11-07-2009, 10:15 AM

Thanx

**ccCapt** · 11-07-2009, 12:13 PM

1st wait a few days and see if you have a sudden outburst of algae. High lighting can get algae growing that wouldn't take off in lower light. If you do see algae growing, you need to work on getting the nutrient levels down in your tank. At 4 mos old, the tank is still very young and will probably have lots of excess nutrients.

Do you have any corals in there now? Soft corals are OK now, but I would wait a few months for the tank to stabilize more before adding any LPS and I wouldn't add any SPS till the tank it at least 1 yr old and you have a firm grasp on keeping your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels in line.