Am I being overzealous?

[TheProfessor]

The conventional wisdom does say that I am being overzealous - but I wanted to ask everyone's thoughts anyway!

32 gallon tank FYI.

I've got about a week left on the Dr. Tim's fishless cycling program (according to their insert). IF the ammonia and nitrites go to 0 by next Monday, I was going to order 2 clownfish, a brittle star, and Red Ogo macroalgae. I was also planning to dose with Purple Helix Coralline Algae on Monday (again, if the ammonia levels go down).

Am I adding macroalgae or invertebrates too quickly?

I'd like to add a royal gramma and purple dottyback two weeks later, followed by a watchman goby and pistol shrimp two weeks after that. Bangaii cardinals would be my final set of fish two weeks after that. I'd probably also be adding an invertebrate or two each time I put in a new set of fish.

After that, I'd then start looking at corals - but I wouldn't be adverse to adding some instead of fish if that's a good suggestion.

Thanks for all thoughts and suggestions! I'm not trying to rush things, but also would like to stay balanced when adding livestock.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Troylee]

Leave the stars out they don’t do well in any tank.. the clowns will be fine the shrimp is iffy I’d wait a little bit on those and more fish. And the corraline in a bottle is snake oil.. get a small rock from someone that has it already on it and scrape it. Or a frag plug etc.

 

[exnisstech]

I wouldn't bother dosing coraline. It has shown up in every tank I've had without adding any and at times can be pain. Pretty much like aserinas, bristle worms, pods etc. They all just appear and coraline hasn't been any different IME

 

[TheProfessor]

I wouldn't bother dosing coraline. It has shown up in every tank I've had without adding any and at times can be pain. Pretty much like aserinas, bristle worms, pods etc. They all just appear and coraline hasn't been any different IME

I got a bottle from ARCreef already. My daughter researched it and said this was what I needed in the tank (she's 10 and wanting to help ). It didn't cost much, so if it doesn't work it doesn't work...

 

[exnisstech]

I got a bottle from ARCreef already. My daughter researched it and said this was what I needed in the tank (she's 10 and wanting to help ). It didn't cost much, so if it doesn't work it doesn't work...

In that situation I would probably add it too. I can't imagine it will hurt anything. Just having her interested enough to do research for you is pretty awesome. Work on getting her to clean the glass and I'll be jeolous lol.

 

[Formulator]

Leave the stars out they don’t do well in any tank

Brittle stars do just fine in established tanks over a year old and are a fantastic part of any cleanup crew. However, I would not add one yet. I would add the clowns and maybe the royal gramma, then give it a couple weeks and add the cardinals and dottyback. Shrimp and watchman last. Maybe give it a month or 2 before adding them so you can build up some detritus to scavenge. You can probably add a few snails and hermits with the second set of fish as you will likely start seeing some film algae by then. I highly recommend trochus snails. Hermits are fun to watch. Though your pistol may or may not make meals out of them…

Hold off on the macro algae until your nitrate is up where you want it or higher. I recommend 3-5 ppm if you plan to keep any softies.

 

[jimmers]

It is always too early if you are asking yourself that question. haha! Rule number 1, don't listen to the guy selling you corals or fish!

 

[Cell]

The ArcReef helix stuff has worked for R2R members.

 

[MnFish1]

I think the question can only be answered based on your experience. If you've set up 10 reef tanks over years - you can probably proceed with your plan (except you didn't make any plan for quarantine!!!)

However, if you are inexperienced. after each addition I would wait at least a month before adding anything else. It's too much risk for disease and problems. IMHO. Good luck on your tank.

PS I'm talking about the addition of fish, not the corralline supplement or the algae (I agree with whomever said it - I would not add that or the stars at this point.

 

[Lavey29]

I got a bottle from ARCreef already. My daughter researched it and said this was what I needed in the tank (she's 10 and wanting to help ). It didn't cost much, so if it doesn't work it doesn't work...

You won't see any coralline until 8 maybe 10 months out.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Brittlestars need a stable environment. It's on my personal list to add WAY down the road. As stated above, go very slow. When I get mine up and running I'm not adding any fish until about the 2 month mark. And then maybe one every 3 weeks to let the ecosystem catch up with the added pressure.

 

[MnFish1]

Brittlestars need a stable environment. It's on my personal list to add WAY down the road. As stated above, go very slow. When I get mine up and running I'm not adding any fish until about the 2 month mark. And then maybe one every 3 weeks to let the ecosystem catch up with the added pressure.

I'm going to disagree with this just based on my personal experience - I got a brittle star that was attached to a piece of live rock - I put the rock in a display tank - the star went into a new tank. The starfish ate flake, and every other type of food. and doubled in size over the period of a couple months. I've had them in other tanks and never found them to be touchy.

 

[Lavey29]

I'm going to disagree with this just based on my personal experience - I got a brittle star that was attached to a piece of live rock - I put the rock in a display tank - the star went into a new tank. The starfish ate flake, and every other type of food. and doubled in size over the period of a couple months. I've had them in other tanks and never found them to be touchy.

The little micro ones kind of come and go in my tank. Not sure if they get eaten or what

 

[Matt Bravo]

As someone stated before, you should really consider qt. All it takes is one fish to arrive with an illness to infect the rest. Keep in mind if your tank gets an illness it’s recommended to wait around 72 days (depending on what your dealing with) with no fish in the tank

 

[PharmrJohn]

I'm going to disagree with this just based on my personal experience - I got a brittle star that was attached to a piece of live rock - I put the rock in a display tank - the star went into a new tank. The starfish ate flake, and every other type of food. and doubled in size over the period of a couple months. I've had them in other tanks and never found them to be touchy.

I should have commented on tank size. Mine was a 90. It remained alive cause I didn't keep my tank as clean as it should be. Thank you for calling me on it. It is appreciated.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I'd like to add a royal gramma and purple dottyback two weeks later

Pick one or the other. Both can be jerks and you're already going to have clowns (also jerks). IMO, the tank is too small for all 4. (The goby and cardinals should be OK, but remember that cardinals can get big).

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Brittle stars do just fine in established tanks over a year old and are a fantastic part of any cleanup crew. However, I would not add one yet.

I agree that they tend to do well, and that waiting might be good.

I disagree that they're part of a clean up crew. IME (I've had a bunch, both "serpent" and "brittle", and also the predatory Ophiarachna incrassata, and an Ophioderma squamosissimus that was fortunately well behaved) they benefit from a decent amount of target feeding. I treat them as another target captive (as opposed to snails and crabs, which are in the tank to work).

 

[MnFish1]

I should have commented on tank size. Mine was a 90. It remained alive cause I didn't keep my tank as clean as it should be. Thank you for calling me on it. It is appreciated.

I wasn't trying to call you out ?