Coral Only Tank

LA_Reef · Aug 15, 2026

Currently, I am working on fishless cycling my ~10 gallon aquarium. I am planning on this tank only have coral/CUC kinda like a mini frag tank. Will this be difficult? Also, will my beneficial bacteria die off if I don’t ghost feed or do something before I get corals or some snails?

Fish Fan · Aug 15, 2026

You can run a tank with just corals and critters, no problem

In my opinion, you don't need to pre-cycle a tank for corals and motile inverts, you could place them right in. These animals don't produce as much ammonia as adding fish would, and the corals specifically can benefit from a little ammonia in the water. But, there's nothing wrong with cycling your tank first

The beneficial bacteria can persist for quite some time even if they don't "eat" every day. I think you'll be fine, but there's nothing wrong with adding a pinch of fish food here and there to ensure the bacteria remain active. Again, you won't really need as many bacteria as you would when keeping fish, so I think you'll be fine

Good luck!

LA_Reef · Aug 15, 2026

Thank you!

exnisstech · Aug 15, 2026

I have a 20g with a single possum wrasse and cuc along with some coral and a couple of clams. I have trouble with N and P bottoming out and have to dose to keep them above zero.

Terry Le · Aug 16, 2026

I have a 22 gallons with just GSP and a few snails

Baldyreef · Aug 16, 2026

ChipmunkReef said:
Currently, I am working on fishless cycling my ~10 gallon aquarium. I am planning on this tank only have coral/CUC kinda like a mini frag tank. Will this be difficult? Also, will my beneficial bacteria die off if I don’t ghost feed or do something before I get corals or some snails?

i recently broke down my year and a half old 5g pico reef project and it was fun and was easier than i thought, you should be just fine, good luck with the build! a quick tip a glass lid helps a ton with salinity with pico reefs