Is my tank ready for LPS corals

[modom1207]

32.5 gallon
Ph- 8.0-8.2
Nitrate- 3-5 ppm
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite - 0
Calcium - 460
KH- 9dkh
Phosphate - .25 ppm
Salinity - between 32-33 or 1.024-1.025

I started cycling it close to 3 weeks ago.

 

[Jasongtr]

I'm sure an experienced reefer could pull it off, but 3 weeks into the hobby... good luck I'd say

 

[Lavey29]

I agree with the above. Unless you are very experienced reefer you will not be successful with LPS at 3 weeks and throwing money away. Start with a few soft corals. Slowly add a fish every 3 weeks or so. Around 3 or 4 months start trying some basic LPS. Par check your tank so you know where to place corals.

 

[exnisstech]

Good advice above.

I've found many lps more challenging than sticks at least in my tanks. I'd wait at least 6-9 months, the longer the better. I just struggle adding coral to younger tanks especially if I don't start with real live rock.

 

[BristleWormHater]

It all depends on the state of your tank. I started with live rock and live sand, added a boat load of nitritfying bacteria anyways. I felt confident enough a month in to blow a few hundred on 8 corals I really liked. I got a goniapora, blastomussa, and a dipsastraea, but I still went with mostly softies though. I got 5 mushrooms (3 rhodactis and 2 yumas). I've been lucky so far, they are all very happy except the rhodactis that my emerald crab killed.

 

[modom1207]

It all depends on the state of your tank. I started with live rock and live sand, added a boat load of nitritfying bacteria anyways. I felt confident enough a month in to blow a few hundred on 8 corals I really liked. I got a goniapora, blastomussa, and a dipsastraea, but I still went with mostly softies though. I got 5 mushrooms (3 rhodactis and 2 yumas). I've been lucky so far, they are all very happy except the rhodactis that my emerald crab killed.

I have live sand and 16 lbs of live rock in there. I just added bacteria yesterday, but I had a media cartridge in there from a previous tank with lots of good bacteria already. I have one Duncan in there right now and he seems happy. I put him in about a week ago. He’s been open and his color has become more neon since I put him in the tank. Are my parameters good enough to go ahead and throw in some mushroom coral? I believe my PAR is between 90-220 at various places in the tank based off what the tank and light manufacturer said, but I don’t want to rent the measuring tool right now haha

 

[PotatoPig]

Off a fresh start you’ll almost certainly have pretty big parameter swings as the system matures and microfauna, algae, bacteria, etc work out an equilibrium.

Another aspect is things like copepods and amphipods are parts of LPS food sources and these also take a little while to colonize and find some sort of equilibrium.

You’re probably better starting with hardier soft corals while you wait for things to settle down.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I have live sand and 16 lbs of live rock in there. I just added bacteria yesterday, but I had a media cartridge in there from a previous tank with lots of good bacteria already. I have one Duncan in there right now and he seems happy. I put him in about a week ago. He’s been open and his color has become more neon since I put him in the tank. Are my parameters good enough to go ahead and throw in some mushroom coral? I believe my PAR is between 90-220 at various places in the tank based off what the tank and light manufacturer said, but I don’t want to rent the measuring tool right now haha

It's more about the stability than any specific numbers. A brand new, smaller tank is likely going to be unstable for a while.
**mushrooms aren't LPS (they actually aren't formally coral either, but that's a different discussion). They are considered soft corals in the hobby and discosomas are usually easy (although they do prefer higher nutrients than you currently have, IME).

*You say you added "live rock" - where did you got it and was it actually wet?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I have one Duncan in there right now and he seems happy.

This is good, but understand that it can take weeks for LPS to start to decline after being injured or being placed in a non-ideal environment. If there is flesh on the "stems", watch to make sure it doesn't recede.

There's no hard and fast rule, and it may be fine; but it's more likely that LPS added now will be stressed and not do well long term.

 

[ErikVR]

I’d wait until the tank is past the ugly stages. Just my experience! It’s really demoralising to lose expensive torches etc.

 

[BeanAnimal]

If your end goal is LPS/SPS then I would be very careful about soft coral selection. Easy or not, many can be very hard to remove and prolific once they take hold. Mushrooms, leather, star polyps, Xenia, xoanthids and palythoa, etc. are something you can (likely will) be stuck with forever. Most will not play nicely with SPS in a small tank.

 

[Solo McReefer]

32.5 gallon
Ph- 8.0-8.2
Nitrate- 3-5 ppm
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite - 0
Calcium - 460
KH- 9dkh
Phosphate - .25 ppm
Salinity - between 32-33 or 1.024-1.025

I started cycling it close to 3 weeks ago.

Post a pic?

Eyes are very good at assessing such things

 

[BristleWormHater]

Something important to remember is that just like sps, lps vary in difficulty. If you decide to try some lps do not get euphyllia, especially torches, these are probably the hardest lps corals to keep happy in a new tank. Get some hardy lps, like maybe another duncoln, a blastomussa, or a favia. Also if you are like me and you find soft corals a little boring, try a PHOTOSYNTHETIC gorgonian, very easy and really pretty.

 

[modom1207]

It's more about the stability than any specific numbers. A brand new, smaller tank is likely going to be unstable for a while.
**mushrooms aren't LPS (they actually aren't formally coral either, but that's a different discussion). They are considered soft corals in the hobby and discosomas are usually easy (although they do prefer higher nutrients than you currently have, IME).

*You say you added "live rock" - where did you got it and was it actually wet?

The local fish store, and yes, it was wet.

 

[modom1207]

Off a fresh start you’ll almost certainly have pretty big parameter swings as the system matures and microfauna, algae, bacteria, etc work out an equilibrium.

Another aspect is things like copepods and amphipods are parts of LPS food sources and these also take a little while to colonize and find some sort of equilibrium.

You’re probably better starting with hardier soft corals while you wait for things to settle down.

Should I add go ahead and add some copepods or will this cause my parameters to swing?

 

[BeanAnimal]

I had green pocillopora when I started. I found it growing I. Different places not long after and was like “wow awesome” and then a few months later was like “help it’s everywhere”. Even some SPS can be rather invasive.

The same with some LPS.. encrusting blue ridge for example. I am still plagued with it 15 years later…

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The local fish store, and yes, it was wet.

Do you know how long it was actually in their tanks? I only ask because when we speak of "live rock" it usually implies rock that has been in the ocean or in an established system for quite some time. Nitrifying bacteria is the easy part... it's all the other bacteria, algae, archaea, etc that makes live rock "live" and beneficial.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Should I add go ahead and add some copepods or will this cause my parameters to swing?

You don’t need to. Buying bacteria and pods is just pouring money away.

 

[modom1207]

You don’t need to. Buying bacteria and pods is just pouring money away.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[PotatoPig]

Should I add go ahead and add some copepods or will this cause my parameters to swing?

If the rock came to you wet out of a big tank at the LFS and there’s signs of life on it you almost certainly have copepods in there already. I’d wait a little before actually adding them.

They’ll also come in on snails, crabs, corals and so on. Realistically, over time you couldn’t keep them out of your system even if you tried.