First post and First question. When to add LPS

[excell007]

Hi,
First post should be on the introduce yourself but I am thinking I can do both in one post
sorry for the long post.

I hve a 90 gallon FOWLR tank for about 15 years.
I tried to add a couple of corals when the tank was about a year old but they did not survive, now I am thinking I will try again.
When can I add LPS?

old set up:
90 g display
20 g sump
1/5hp arctica chiller
200w heater
power compact light (2 actinic, 2 daylight, 4 moonlight LED)
2 wavemaker
77-78 temp
0 nitrite
0 ammonia
salinity 31
nitrate was high 3 months ago ( been neglecting water changes)
all of these are being controlled by a neptune aquacontroller JR w/ DC8

I have been updating it the last 4 months in preparation for the switch to reef tank.
been doing 30% weekly water change to slowly change the parameters
changes:
light change to Kessil 360x
add protein skimmer to the sump
add chaeto to the sump ( golf ball size 2 months ago, now about softball)
add light to the sump (running when display light is off)
add another return pump that goes directly to the display (thinking of eventually using this line for UV)
change mechanical filter from foam block to 7 inch 100 micron sock
temperature - 78-79
salinity 34.8
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
ammonia 0

I added 2 toadstool 2 months ago, the intention is to use this guys as a guage if the tank is ready.
there's a bit of agae growth, I am thiking from the change in light intensity.
Any advice to make this switch a successfull one is greatly appreciated
Sorry for the bad pictures, too much light coming from the windows

 

[JCTReefer]

Welcome to Reef2reef!!! I added Lps at the 6 month mark. Certainly not a hard set number to go by. That’s when I was getting Coralline growth on the rocks. That was my indicator that the system could support stony corals. Parameters look good. Phosphate levels? If you have undetectable phosphate, id get those numbers up. Anywhere in the .03ppm to .10ppm range. Lps need some phosphate in the water! I’m sure others will chime in!

 

[uhgster1]

Compared to SPS, LPS are pretty hardy, there are exceptions ( like the Goni in your picture). I’ve had LPS in my tanks as soon as cycling was over, some before that. I honestly think that throwing to much coral at the same time or in a very short period of time might be the problem most people run into. Throw a few hardy LPS, chalices, favia, duncans, and move from there. Just take your time.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Agreed with @JCTReefer. You need to know your P04 levels. If they are above .10 add some GFO to get it down to .02-.03. If the tank has been running for 15 years, it's going to have some Phosphate in there, especially if it's been neglected.

 

[excell007]

Thanks for all the replies.
Yup, i started neglecting the tank when my 2 oldest inabitants, a sohal and purple tangs died after 13 years. I don't have phospate tester at the moment but will get one. Right now i only have 2 toadstool and my plan is to add just 2 LPS. BTW the tank have 8 clowns and 4 damsels, 5 peppermint shimps and many snails and hermit crabs.
Another addition is an ATO

 

[rwreef]

Thanks for all the replies.
Yup, i started neglecting the tank when my 2 oldest inabitants, a sohal and purple tangs died after 13 years. I don't have phospate tester at the moment but will get one. Right now i only have 2 toadstool and my plan is to add just 2 LPS. BTW the tank have 8 clowns and 4 damsels, 5 peppermint shimps and many snails and hermit crabs.
Another addition is an ATO

8 clownfish?
Welcome to R2R

 

[JCTReefer]

Thanks for all the replies.
Yup, i started neglecting the tank when my 2 oldest inabitants, a sohal and purple tangs died after 13 years. I don't have phospate tester at the moment but will get one. Right now i only have 2 toadstool and my plan is to add just 2 LPS. BTW the tank have 8 clowns and 4 damsels, 5 peppermint shimps and many snails and hermit crabs.
Another addition is an ATO

I would recommend the Hanna ULR phosphorous
checker!!! This is the one you want! If you do purchase this checker, here’s an easy reference chart to convert ppb phosphorous to ppm phosphate.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/phos...eter-hi736-hanna-checker-hc-marine-water.html

 

[excell007]

8 clownfish?
Welcome to R2R

yup 8 clownfish: 2 black and white/1 cinamon, 1 platinum, 4 ocellaris. except for the platinum and 2 ocellaris which were added early this year all the other fishes are at least 4 years old.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Welcome to R2R! Lots of good advice posted. I’m not at the point of corals yet, but I’m the guy who researches things to the point my SO thinks my interest in reefing is a rabbit hole I go down. But from everything I’ve seen in response to the ULN methodology seems to agree that phosphates are actually pretty important and anecdotally those individuals who have testable levels of phosphate (within reason) are the ones who have good growth from the outset. So yeah, not going to say this is “advice” so much as compelling food for thought.

 

[dbowman5]

welcome to R2R. good luck with the transition. is the algae new? was there less before the change in lighting?
I have blocked my southern exposure window to reduce the sunlight in the room. prior to this my FW tank had a lot of glass algae, now it has none. My SW is next to the west facing window and has some algae. i wonder if that is a contributing factor.

 

[rwreef]

yup 8 clownfish: 2 black and white/1 cinamon, 1 platinum, 4 ocellaris. except for the platinum and 2 ocellaris which were added early this year all the other fishes are at least 4 years old.

You need some anemones for a sweet harem of clownfish!

 

[excell007]

welcome to R2R. good luck with the transition. is the algae new? was there less before the change in lighting?
I have blocked my southern exposure window to reduce the sunlight in the room. prior to this my FW tank had a lot of glass algae, now it has none. My SW is next to the west facing window and has some algae. i wonder if that is a contributing factor.

yes, there are more now after the light change, I am lowering the light intensity slowly to see what it will do. It's still not that bad but I have to scrape the glass more often.

 

[Lizbeli]

I don’t see your results for Alkalinity. That’s probably the #1 parameter to watch once you start adding corals with skeletons, such as lps. Seems like you are on the right path, you will like those Kessils.

 

[JCTReefer]

That’s probably the #1 parameter to watch once you start adding corals with skeletons, such as lps.

+1 for this. Wasn’t even paying attention to that missing. Lol.

 

[excell007]

I don’t see your results for Alkalinity. That’s probably the #1 parameter to watch once you start adding corals with skeletons, such as lps. Seems like you are on the right path, you will like those Kessils.

alkalinity is approx 11 dKH
but this may not be accurate, just using the test strip.
I have hanna alkalinity and phospate checker on order.

also:
test strips for ammonia and nitrite, no color change whatsoever.
test strip and API for nitrate, both are below 10
hanna conductivity tester for salinity

will get better tester to replace test strips soon


thanks

 

[excell007]

Another change I made is switching from Instant Ocean to Red Sea coral pro salt, gradually in the last 2 months.
the bucket says 11.5 dKh at 35PPT, so the 11 dKh from the test strip may not be to far off.

 

[scdigby]

i agree with JCTReefer about the Hanna ULR phosphorous checker. i used the regular Hanna Phosphate Checker (the one in the picture) for four years, and it works pretty well, but i have since switched to the newer ULR Phosphorous Checker. You can get away with using the Phosphate Checker, but i prefer the newer ULR Phosphorous Checker. One of the best purchases i've ever made. Oh and they are the same price in most places so go ahead and get the newer ULR Phosphorous Checker!

 

[excell007]

i agree with JCTReefer about the Hanna ULR phosphorous checker. i used the regular Hanna Phosphate Checker (the one in the picture) for four years, and it works pretty well, but i have since switched to the newer ULR Phosphorous Checker. You can get away with using the Phosphate Checker, but i prefer the newer ULR Phosphorous Checker. One of the best purchases i've ever made. Oh and they are the same price in most places so go ahead and get the newer ULR Phosphorous Checker!

Yup, this is the one I ordered. Thanks

 

[excell007]

One other thing, I am using the Kessil narrow reflector. According to kessil it triples the intensity of the light, could be the reason for the diatoms and some algae. I used this to reduce the amount of spill. Without this, I have to lower the light to about 2 inches from the tank to avoid any light spill. With the narrow reflector I can mount the light about 6 inches from the top of the tank. right now intensity of the light is adjusted to just 40%

 

[excell007]

update: it's been almost 3 weeks since I started this thread and I have not added any LSP yet. All the parameters are still the same as last time, except phospate. I got my Hanna ULR 2 weeks ago and it can't even measure the phosphate without the sample being dilluted. I am slowly trying to bring phosphate down and in the last 2 weeks it came fwon from 3.5 to 2.25. I know that this will be a long battle since all the live rock will leach phosphate when the level on the water column goes down. I tried GFO but it made the skimmer crazy, now I am dosing 3ml of phosphate-e every 8 hours into the skimmer and the skimmer output goes thru a filter sock. LPS will have to wait, until phosphate level is acceptable and stable. The good news is all the fishes seems to be taking the changes well, no casualty/no stress, and the 2 toadstool are still alive. thanks for all the advice and tips.