Crushed Coral / Fish compatibility ?

[austinsdad]

If you put enuf seeded(cured/established) rock in there and don't get any ammonia spikes, your critters will live thu it.

VERY important while you're adding rock and livestock now.... watch the ammonia and keep aged SW ready in case large changes are needed to keep your critters alive.

Also, fowlr means fish only with live rock. Sounds like you're not going to do that if you want coral.

What kinda lighting you got?

Gave any thought to the QT tank??????

 

[wun68]

OK, I'll keep a large tank of SW ready for large changes. I've recently noticed a small spike of nitrate/ammonia and I'm doing small water changes daily to keep that under control. The coral won't be introduced until I'm certain that the tank is ready.

I have a 72" florescent and UV light with an output of 95 watts each bulb. There are a total of 4 rows (2fl, 2uv) of lighting across and some moonlight feature that lights up 5 small LED looking lights.

I have a small 10g laying around for the QT tank and will set that up for the Damsels and get a big tub for holding my water and LR to do the sandbed change. I'm also going to paint the back of my tank like ziggy953 to hide all the piping (thanks for the write-up).

 

[austinsdad]

Seen this article at this site on QT tanks? You'll probably end up with larger fish like tangs and pairs of fish that might make a 20g qt easier to deal with. Remember, more water volume can be more forgiving and flexible.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/5/1/Quarantine-for-saltwater-fish/Page1.html

 

[wun68]

I've read this article and did not take it serious the very first time around. Re-reading it after a week of setup I'm starting to really understand the benefits and will use my 10g or buy a 20g container.

Is my lighting sufficient to have coral or should I be looking into a MH type light?

 

[austinsdad]

You likely do not have a UV light in the overhead light fixture. And if you do have only 96w on there, i"d consider upgrading for coral. You can do really low light stuff like mushrooms and stuff, but you'll get bored with that real early.

Look into T-5's.

What kinda coral you looking to do? May not need those extra hot MHs at all.

 

[wun68]

I don't rally know what coral types at the moment, but I'd like to get a nice sized one for my clown fish to host. My goal is to get this tank as colorful as possible.

I'm going to replace the CC this weekend with the aragonite sand. I'm planning to transfer all the water, rock and fish to a huge 200g tub and just sit it right next to tank. After I rinse, rinse and rinse the sand, I'll attempt to pump the water back in with my Eheim 2028. Hopefully the gravity allows the pump to bring the water back into the tank, otherwise I'll be stuck with my coffee cup =)

 

[wun68]

You likely do not have a UV light in the overhead light fixture. And if you do have only 96w on there, i"d consider upgrading for coral. You can do really low light stuff like mushrooms and stuff, but you'll get bored with that real early.

Look into T-5's.

What kinda coral you looking to do? May not need those extra hot MHs at all.

Here's the actual light that I have and the description says it's good for coral. If this light isn't good enough, I may just buy a small T5 light to hang behind this 72" one.

Coralife 72 Inch Aqualight W/ 4-96W Sq. Pin Base And 5-3/4W Lunar Blue-Moon-Glow LED Lamps

 

[wun68]

Posted an update of what my tanks looks like now here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f71/new-150g-setup-113542.html#post963080