Help with coral placement in tank

[Mrs Fish]

I ordered a selection of frags from ReeferMadness to get my tank going ... very impressed. Even called to say they couldn't ship to my door because of heat .. but I chose to pickup at the fed-ex depot in Malden.

Most of them I know need to be right under the MHs .. there are several different acropora frags, not sure about the encrusting gorgonia - but put it in bright light. Put shroms near bottom around ledges, but not totally dark.

There is a bright green rock encrusted with very very small hard polyps - don't know where to put it .. assume it needs medium light, so put it towards the middle.

Other photographs are attached, some not so great (working on photo skills!) Keep looking through books, internet .. but not sure where I should place these.

Kept the tank dark for the majority of the day and put actinics on around 3pm. Put MHs on about 1 hour ago .. and so of the acropora seem to have open pores .. one even has the tiniest things sticking out. I assume this is good.

Added 2tsp of DT's reef blend and the candy cane has gone crazy!!

Also put in a power sweep pump at 270gph .. this brings the gph to about 1600 or there abouts.
Any ideas?

 

[fanaglethebagle]

Frag 3 looks like an acanlord, they can sting nearby corals pretty badly

 

[Mrs Fish]

It's stony and encrusted, dark purple with blue-ish purple edges around each polyp. The polyps look like old roses - sort of flat. Is this what that type would look like? I have it about 2 inches off the bottom on a ledge of rock right under the MHs. There's one acropora within 2 inches .. should I move the acropora??

 

[Duds]

here is what i think they are and where they should be placed
1. procillopora high in tank
2. maybe a montipora undata? high in tank
3. acan echinata middle in tank
4. montipora danae high in tank
5. blastos middle to low int tank
Duds

 

[Mrs Fish]

Thanks for naming them .. looks like I only have to move #5.

 

[smcnally]

You just filled your tank with water 12 days ago...IMO, your flushing your money down the toilet. Your corals will most likely die because your tank is not ready for them. Every frag you got is considered a "harder to keep" coral which demands pristine tank conditions. Just slow down a bit, or you really will not enjoy this hobby at all. You will crash your tank and spend a LOT of money doing so.

 

[smcnally]

BTW, #2 looks like Pachyserius rugosa to me.

Here's the one in my tank

 

[Cheetos]

You just filled your tank with water 12 days ago...IMO, your flushing your money down the toilet. Your corals will most likely die because your tank is not ready for them. Every frag you got is considered a "harder to keep" coral which demands pristine tank conditions. Just slow down a bit, or you really will not enjoy this hobby at all. You will crash your tank and spend a LOT of money doing so.

I thought I was the only one thinking that!

 

[Mrs Fish]

You are probably right. The LR went in 2 weeks ago. I have tested every day, sometimes twice and there was and still is not any kind of cycle. At what point do you decide that your empty tank is worth stocking? The LR was extremely well conditioned, some pieces are almost completely purple. The caulerpa is growing like crazy in the fuge .. and even some on the LR.

I know it's taking a gamble, I guess I just couldn't stand to look at an empty tank any more!! I can't be the only one, or am I??

 

[smcnally]

You tank may have had a very short cycle, some do...Mine did (about a week)...But, it doesn't matter how quickly your tank has cycled. Your tank needs to age/mature before you start adding sensitive corals, anemones, etc...It's just life. I'm telling you from experience. I couldn't keep acroporas or montiporas alive and I blew a LOT of money trying to. Once my tank was about 8 months old, everything I put in there did great. It's just life...You can deal with it, or you can blow money and pollute your tank by not taking your time. All I can say is that IMO you are going way too fast and are just asking for a disaster.

 

[Mrs Fish]

point taken .. will watch closely and learn lessons if they occur.

 

[S Hunter]

What Steve said is so very true, we all wanted to jump right in and fill our tanks. Slow and steady sure does win the race in this hobby…

 

[Andy O]

Did you get a skimmer b/c any SPS that you have will require "clean" water wheras your LPS can ge away with dirty water and some probably thrive with more nutrients in the water. You also want to be careful that high flow corals are in high flow areas and low flow one in low flow areas.

The other thing that you are going to have to do is watch your calcium and keep it around 400 to 450. Seeing that you don't have a calc reactor to regulate it I would suggest testing regularly and supplementing as necessary. I would also reccomend testing your Alk as well.

 

[Mrs Fish]

No, don't have skimmer yet .. but have fixed all the other problems.

Have figured out a solution .. and am working on it. In the meantime, have stripped all bio filteration and am using LR in sump & fuge, and chemi-pure and carbon in the mech filter. No bioballs - LR instead, no bio media ... all gone. Am rinsing the large particle catcher compartment in the filter every week - only a small portion of the tank water goes in filter. UV sterilizer takes 50% of water from filter output. Have increased flow in tank to 1770 (re-calculated tonight). I believe I have the frags in the right place - with the SPS in the high flow areas. I have flow directed at all levels of the tank. I must stress, these are REALLY small frags. Not even mounted on stone, hard to see some of them. Using DI water too. Temp is fairly stable now at 80-82.

Checked specs this evening .. still perfect. Will get calc and ALK test tomorrow.

Thanks for your advice. It's real hard not to dive in with this .. especially having waited 3 years to do it again. These tiny frags are just a small way of me having a go. If a few survive, I'll be happy.

 

[smcnally]

Will get calc and ALK test tomorrow.

Those (and Magnesium) are the most important tests as far as SPS and LPS corals are concerned. I don't know if anyone has posted this link for you, but it has all the parameters you should be shooting for.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

 

[Mrs Fish]

So ... been thinking over night (long sleepless night!). I guess I did jump the gun a little. I'll watch it carefully and not add more coral. Is there anything stopping me from adding a few fish? I presume adding 3 or 4 fish as part of what I intended to put in will be OK. Obviously, not all at one!

 

[wrassefan]

the statement nothing good happens quickly in reefing has always been a great rule of thumb....go slowly....stock slowly

 

[JayM]

What Steve said is so very true, we all wanted to jump right in and fill our tanks. Slow and steady sure does win the race in this hobby?

Unless the race is to empty your pockets

Good luck with the new corals. If by some stroke of luck they live in a tank as new as yours, you will have certainly used up your reef 'luck quotient'.

Really can't stress enough your need to get a quality skimmer in place if you hope to have success with the corals.

 

[seahorse1]

My tank has been up since December and I just started adding corals and fish . I know it stinks to look at an empty tank but in this hobby,,,,patience is a must.

 

[Duds]

you dont have to have a skimmer to keep corals but the skimmer makes the corals thrive, i use a filter right now working on the upgrade to a skimmer and i keep all types of coral and i have a filter, the skimmer will make the corals a lot happier
Duds