How long to wait

[dcforester1]

After a tank is cycled and fish are in it, and dont die. How long to you have to wait before adding corals. I have always had a F/W tank, and finally stepped up to salt. Im sick of looking at water and sand.
Thanks Derek

 

[two-rocks]

what are your parameters?

 

[pillowfish]

I would wait until all of your parameters are stable and in check exactly where you want them. If you are adding fish then your system should be able to support corals as well. Just do your research first on each thing you plan to add to ensure you have all the correct requirements to care for the coral properly(lights, flow, compatibility, etc..). You don't want any swings in your parameters as they can be detrimental to your corals, so a good stable mature tank is what you want in a nutshell. Nothing happens fast in this hobby. Take it slow and do your research prior to buying. Good Luck

 

[jojo1n2]

all depends on what you want. If its sps, probably 6 months to a year. If your looking to go an easier route like zoos, then maybe 3-4 months. As stated above take it slow

 

[Shenlung]

Depends on a whole lot of parameters really...I started early and didn't have trouble, but I was using sand and live rock from tanks that had been up for 3.5-4 years, so I had a leg up. I think the average cycle is around 8 weeks(someone verify that?) so if you've had it cycling for 2+ months, you MIGHT be ok.

tests for nitrates, nitrites, phosphates and ammonia should all come out reading 0.

More experienced reefers might be able to say more on the matter, but I think that's right... This sport(salt-water reefing) is not conducive to the impatient, I've learned that lesson time and time again, wait as long as you think is neccesary, then wait another 2 weeks just to be safe


Edit: ...and of course, my "first post" is now 5th because everyone replies to these threads PDQ lol

 

[dcforester1]

Thanks for the info, Im not the most patient person, but I am trying. Its just about done cycling, its been about 5-6 weeks, but I just want to add a fish, and 4 kids screming to get one doesnt help. Looking forward to going to the meeting, as it will be my first one.

Whats PDQ stand for, you guys use alot of Acroynms

 

[pillowfish]

Thanks for the info, Im not the most patient person, but I am trying. Its just about done cycling, its been about 5-6 weeks, but I just want to add a fish, and 4 kids screming to get one doesnt help. Looking forward to going to the meeting, as it will be my first one.

Whats PDQ stand for, you guys use alot of Acroynms

PDQ= pretty damn quick
HTH= hope that helps
IMO= in my opinion
ETC= ect....

Great to be going to your first meeting..tons of great people there!

 

[maxfischer]

What do you have for lighting? I can bring you some SPS at the meeting for FREE, if it dies your tank is not ready.

There is no " SET TIME " its diffrent for every tank.

Lets talk lighting and i will bring you a sps frag for free to see how it does.

 

[theone]

Rule #1 Patience


Rule #2 Patience

Rule #3 Refer to rules 1 & 2

 

[JohnK]

It's tough, the longer you wait the better. After the initial cycling, the tank still has a lot of maturing to do. Then again, who wants to stare at a pile of rocks for months on end

IMO the safest advice on inital stocking selections is to pick out a pair of your favorite kind of clowns, and Look for some cool looking but not super expensive zoanthids.

Clowns and zoa's are both compatible with just about anything (except maroon clowns, they can be a bit fiesty), they are hardy, and are great first fish and corals. (and they give you something cool to look at while you struggle to be patient ).

While you do your best to take your time, try to plan out and research your goals for the tank, and what you want to keep. The more patient you are now, the happier you will be in a year, and two, and three....

jk

 

[maxxattk]

After the initial cycling, the tank still has a lot of maturing to do.

Too true.

After my tank cycled, I thought "GREAT! TIME FOR FISH!" Dropped a sixline and a goby in there, and some GSP and zoas.

Then came the hair algae...

In retrospect, if I had known that was going to happen, I would have just waited to put fish in. Would have been easier to pull the rock, scrub/scrape etc.

I'd say wait for your amonia/nitrate/nitrite to drop, then start a moderate light cycle and watch for the algae break out. Some ppl seem to get hair, some ppl get other kinds (brown sand, red slime etc). Once that has come and gone, I'm betting you'll be in a good position to start planning your community.

That is my less experienced* 2 cents.


*1 year FW .. 6months SW.

 

[Shenlung]

FWIW here's a thread with a bunch of acronym definitions that helped me tons....
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showpost.php?p=699104&postcount=3

Edit: interestingly enough, FWIW(for what it's worth) isn't on the list lol

 

[JayM]

For first corals, soft corals are pretty bulletproof, and pretty tolerant of mediocre water quality and mediocre light. If you'd like some xenia, anthelia, etc, LMK, I can bring some to the meeting. Your kids will like them because they wave around in the flow, and the xenia opens and closes rhythmically if it's 'happy'

 

[Blueflu1]

I agree with the patience. I had FW tanks for years before my salt tank. My wife and I both loved FW tanks but it was no challenge. We started a FOWLR (Fish only with live rock) about 4 years ago. Went great but we wanted corals. we bought a much bigger tank about 9 months ago and went for a reef/fish tank. Luckily we had a marine tank before so we had all the patience in the world. I cycled my tank for 6 weeks before we even added a clean up crew (cuc). we waited 8 weeks before we transfered our fish over to our bigger tank.

Long story short, we had no problems with our tank and are now keeping Acros, zoas, caps and others.

Patience!!!!!!! It's hard when you have an empty tank. And when you add fish. Do it slowly. Never add more then one or two at a time. If you add to many at a time, you can overload your system.

 

[afboundguy]

Thanks for the info, Im not the most patient person, but I am trying. Its just about done cycling, its been about 5-6 weeks, but I just want to add a fish, and 4 kids screming to get one doesnt help. Looking forward to going to the meeting, as it will be my first one.

The longer you wait the better it will be in the long run... And when you get fish just get 1 or 2 at a time wait a week to make sure everything is still in range (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) because everytime you add a fish there is a balancing act with the bacteria and if you add too much bioload at once you'll get a re-cycle and that's not good...

Rule #1 Patience


Rule #2 Patience

Rule #3 Refer to rules 1 & 2

That's too funny but so true...

 

[dcforester1]

my Ammonia is at 0, Nitrites were at 5 now at .5, Nitrates are at 20, Ph was at 8.2 now its at 7.8. I bought some clown fish a couple weeks ago because someone told me to use them to cycle the tank, but I got them home and felt bad for them. The are now staying at a foster home(my brothers). We are waiting to bring them home.

 

[JohnK]

Hey, just to throw you another curve ball that I don't think has been mentioned......

It's a really good idea to set up a quarintine tank and use it on any new livestock as it comes in. This may sound silly now since you don't have anything yet, but as you do get your system going, a good QT routine can save you some massive headaches later. (A QT setup can be pretty cheap).

 

[dcforester1]

I have a 20gal that im going to set up to use, thank for the tip.
Derek

 

[JohnK]

Awsome. Your ten steps ahead of the game, most of us learned the hard way why QT is good

 

[swreef103]

.024-.026 seawater,live sand,live rocks,and proper lighting is a good start..water chemistry is important in the 1st 3-6 months...i'd start with 1lb/rock per gallon..start skimming after a month or 2 depending on how stable u get ur ph at least 8.1-8.4. once calcium,magnesium and alk is correct u can try inexpensive corals like polyps to start with especially ur first tank.check nitrates too,no more than 10-15ppm.0ppm nitrite,and ammonia.take it from me don't rush it...i'd recommend lots of reading to get familiar with the way the nitrogen cycle works in a saltwater aquarium...much more delicate than a freshwater.i learned the hard way my 1st time.i did the same thing.sold my 15" silver arawana to start a reef which backfired quickly....i got pea soup..microscopic phytoplankton that caused an algae bloom in the tank...pain in the a--!oh and be aware of phosphates and high nitrate and nitrite levels at this time.they can be the most deadly to corals and new set-ups in general....combination of any of these levels in general are a potential hazard for saltwater tanks....i had a shop so take it from me i know...any questions i can be ur guide..