am i ready for coral and anemones?

[nycfatcow]

I have set up my tank for a bout 3 months now. I have a 75g tank. so far i got a medium lionfish, snowflake eel, coral beauty, and maroon clown. I also got soem small red and blue leg hermits with some small turbo snails. I wanted to try getting some anemones or coral. Do you think im ready? i have a nice lighting system thats about 300 watts. Are my fish reef safe? wahts somethign i can start off with thats cheap to test things out? also does any one know anything about Nassarius Obsoleta..they are supposed to be some snails that burrow??? thanks for you time

[IndyReefMan]

Lionfish, eels and angelfish are generally not considered reef safe. But, I believe that is usually referring to motile inverts (crabs, shrimp, etc). They would probably get eaten quickly. I doubt that they would harm most corals, but I don't know for certain because I have never stocked any of the fish that you mentioned. What kind of lighting do you have? If it is VHO or PC, and not NO, you should be fine with some softies or mushrooms, even some LPS would fair well. Some members will say that three months is too early for corals but I did it at about that same time and did fine. Make sure that ammonia and nitrite are zero and that nitrate is not high and try adding some mushroom corals to start. Don't get carried away to quickly with the corals. See how the shrooms do and take it from there.

[afilter]

Please check your other thread:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewto...553&highlight=

As mentioned the lion and eel would probably need to go. The Maroon could be an issue introducing new fish.

Lighting is OK for low-med light corals and some anenome. What kind of lighting is it?

Need more info on water conditions. Corals and anenome usually not recomended for setups less than 6-12 months old.

Please describe your set-up i.e filtration, protien skimmer etc.

[nycfatcow]

first of all thanks for responding guys.
i have a 260 watt coralife saltwater light system for a 75 g tank. It is 130 watts of the white light and 130 watts of the blue acrylic light. i have 2 aquaclear 500 with bio ball inside. i have a sea clone 100 skimmer. also i build a undergravel jet system that has 6 jets 200 gph each. i have no ammonia, no nitrate and my ph is 8.4 . my eel is pretty passive though he doesnt do much he hides in the rocks all day only comes out when i he wants to eat. the lion doesnt do much either he just hides behind the rocks and comes out for food when he is hungry. thanks a lot

[nycfatcow]

does anyone know waht Nassarius Obsoleta are?

[seaham358]

Those snails are good snials to have in a tank. IMO you are ready for corals but an anemone is out till your tank is more mature 9-12 months and only if you are able to keep tank stable.
The eel will be fine with corals, he may knock them over so be careful of placement. Not sure about the lion? I dont think they eat them so I don't see why some shrooms or zoos to start would hurt anything.
DO NOT let the LFS talk you into an anemone, they are delicate creatures and need a mature tank. Take things slow and do some reading. Now that your thinking corals you will need to get test kits for calcium and alkalinity and you may even need to start using addiditve to keep levles up for certian corals.

[melosu58]

Sometimes the dwarf angels have been known to nip at corals. I had a keyhole that was OK for a couple of years then all of a sudden it destroyed a couple of corals. Keep an eye on him

[BillyZ]

I'll repeat the no "anenomes yet" point. Wait at least 9-12 months, and even then only if you can confidently say that your water quality and parameters haven't fluctuated in months. New tanks go through a number of chemical and biological changes beyond the initial cycle. Anenome's are too delicate of an animal to withstand those fluctuations.


With fish only in a system you can concentrate on 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and live with so-so nitrates. However, with corals you need to reduce nitrates as low as possible for them to thrive. You also need to watch calcium and Alkalinity levels and keep your bulbs fresh.

IMO, with a tank that is 3 months old, and reading the other thread linked to above, I would say wait a little longer before you go into corals. Get a little more confident in what you want out of your tank before you start throwing things in it.

Patience is the key to success in reef keeping.

[malkore]

Agreed, no anemone for at least 6 more months, preferably 9months.
You could add some easy corals now, if you get nitrates in check. Might be time to add a sump/fuge with some macro algae like chaeto.

[afilter]

IMO, the lion and probably the eel should go, not because they will bother the corals or down the road an anenome, but becuase you will never be able to keep the nitrates in check with the feeding regimine they require. additionall, they will limit other smaller fish and inverts that are beneficial in a reef system

[nycfatcow]

hmm thanks a lot guys for the input. i will take everybodys advice in consideration. Can anybody name soem good types or coral and how much they go for so i dont get jipped?

[nycfatcow]

hmm thanks a lot guys i will take all advice into consideration. Any one have any specific type of coral or shoom they can reccommend for begginers? also can you tell me how much they go for so i dont get jipped? what if im on a budget can you guys introduce me some cheap ones?

[afilter]

I am just starting out with corals and you can expect to pay $15-100 for frags up to larger corals. So far mine have ranged from $20-30 each. They are in my sig.

Mushrooms and many leathers are also rated fairly hardy. You really need to take a look at what you want and then develop a plan as like fish not all corals are conducive to being together.

Keep in mind that even though it may seem like you have a lot of lighting with your 260w pc you are really at the low end of the light requirements. If you cannot upgrade right away look at corals that require low to moderate light and then place them in the top 1/2 to 1/4 of the tank.

Here is a good resource for reviewing coral requirements:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=597

One thing that has not been mentioned is water source. What is yours? RO is rcommended. If using TAP you need to be careful.

With corals there is more to test for than amonia, nitrites and nitrates. Recomend you get a CA and ALK test kit and check that. Also take a look at phospahates especially if you are using TAP water.

You can definatley look at getting some easy corals, but personally I would wait until your system is a bit more mature and you know all the water specs are in line. Also, you need to have a plan for fish. As mentioned before IMO the lion and eel are not a good idea.

HTH,

[seaham358]

Good point on the light afilter...
Like every one is saying having the eel and lion in a reef tank is going to be more work. They are large waste producers so keeping nitrates in check is going to take a better then average skimmer and regular water changes.
Eels can be kept in a reef, My buddy in the reef club has a large Hawaiian Eel and he is spectacular and he lives with a purple tang and other fish. The tank is a reef tank and he has some very nice corals. But he is always battling high Nitrates, so just keep in mind you will be doing more work on the tank with coral then w/out.

[nycfatcow]

hmm thankz a lot guys i think you guys have convinced me to really hold off on all the corals and stuff until my tank is more mature...imma wait another 3 months then research again

[StripesTheEel]

i'd say get rid of the lion, your eel can definately thrive in reef conditions. the only issue i'd see is water changes. I have two eels a nd even with a skimmer running i need to do x2 water changes of 20% every week. if your willing to do that, keep the eel!