Intrigued by the Invert first Tank concept.

[RaisingTinyHobbits]

So I came across this thread:

Thread 'Why I’m Going “Invert-First” in My Reef Tank (And Why You Might Want To)' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/w...-reef-tank-and-why-you-might-want-to.1107046/

I absolutely love this concept, a find myself almost more excited about the Crabs and shrimp than the fish and corals sometimes. My question though is how would I practically go about this?

I currently have a 25 gallon IM Lagoon that is fully cycled and I've added copepods that I'm feeding with phytoplankton. The first patches of brown spots showed up on the sand this morning. I was originally planning to wait until there was some algae growth to sustain a CUC and the other planned inverts (Fire Red Cleaner Shrimp, a couple Peppermint shrimp, Porcelain Anemone Crab, and maybe a micro brittle star). With this Invert First concept could I add them all at once? How would I go about feeding and sustaining them without as much Algae growth or detritus? I have a few weeks before my fish will be done with QT. Would that be enough time for the Inverts to establish themselves?

 

[JumboShrimp]

I read that thread-- seems to make a lot of sense. I bet your IM 25 tank is going to be awesome!

 

[Urban_Epiphyte]

As long as the tank is cycled and stable it should be fine to add some inverts. All of those are omnivores/opportunists rather than herbivores so you shouldn't have to worry about having enough algae.

Still, it's a good idea to go slow especially with a newly setup tank, so I would still recommend adding just a couple things at a time. Ghost feeding the tank and maybe adding pods would help beef up the microbiome in advance of adding any livestock, too.