Corals

[Tang23]

I have a 40g, 10g sump with two Clowns, 1 Diamond Gobie, 3 blue damsels, 2 domino damsels, 2 scooter blennies & 1 Coral Banded shrimp.
I have a UV sterilizer & protein skimmer, established since May of this year. I previously inquired about adding a Bubble tip anenome and may still do so.
I mix up feedings of dry pellets & frozen mysis shrimp, bloodworms &, spirulina brine shrimp. I want to add Corals.
The usual parameters are all good (temperature, pH, salinity, ammonia, nitrite & nitrate). I have a Blade "Coral Grow" LED light, 20W.

I can now test for Alkalinity, Calcium & Magnesium. Where should these be?
What other food needs are required?
What else is there to monitor and ensure success?

Thanks
Ed

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

A 40breeder is 36x18 footprint right? I looked up the 20w Blade, and it’s a 12” led bar, correct? If accurate, you’re going to need a PAR meter to see if that lighting will suffice. And that will also dictate the type of corals you will be able to keep. My gut tells me that tank will be incredibly under lit, but a meter will determine that.

All the numbers I mentioned in your nem post apply.
Alk 8-11
Cal 380-420
Mag 1300-1400
All ranges you’ll want to be in. But stability is far more important that these ranges. Calcium is fairly difficult to test “accurately” in hobby grade kits since it’s depleted at a rate of around 18-20ppm for every 2.8dkh drop of alk. Processes in aquariums consume alk/cal at this rate. Magnesium is around 0-2ppm per day consumed, and really isn’t even worth testing IMO as long as you’re doing water changes it should certainly replenish what’s used, and a test kit that measures increments of 5-10ppm probably won’t even pick up on a drop.

Are you planning on dosing?

Flow is also very important. What are you using for power heads and what is your return pump?

The best thing to do if your tank is ready for corals is to start out with something easy, like zoas, or a head or 2 of euphyllia. Hammer coral for example. You can use their happiness as a barometer to dictate future purchases and stability.

In terms of feeding, I wouldn’t add any additional food at this time. Your tank likely won’t uptake the added nutrient load and you’ll end up with a PO4 or NO3 issue. Just feed fish as normal and aim for PO4 around 0.03-0.1 for the time being and NO3 around 5-15.