679x
Active Member
Ok, so this is an ambitious plan and I understand that it may not work out the way I want it to. Bear with me, and please be considerate even if you think this is a terrible idea... the title might help you understand where I'm going with this though:
On the weekend my LFS is having a decent sale on all livestock: fish, coral/invertebrates, and live rock. I am ready for my first saltwater tank, but I have no equipment or anything yet. In the next few days before the sale I can go to the LFS and pick up necessary equipment and set up a tank very quickly.
My plan involves getting the tank set up ASAP, along with setting up a quarantine tank, and monitoring both very closely for the next few weeks. The catch is that I want to benefit from the sale by getting livestock over the weekend.
I understand that this may not be the best idea, getting fish and coral for a tank that is only a few days old! But I have a few ideas.
A: monitor the tank like crazy and do lots of detective work if anything seems to be wrong
B: do water changes often to keep nutrients down in fish quarantine
And one question.
How do I keep coral alive in a system with no nutrients? (no fish, etc) I want to get mostly LPS.
Could I use Red Sea's Reef Energy A+B? Will that be sufficient for keeping coral alive? Do I also need to feed actual coral food? Since the tank can't be cycled immediately it won't have any nitrates in it. And I understand that a tank needs SOME nitrates for the coral. I'm hoping that feeding the coral will keep it alive.
As I said before I understand that this may not be the best idea but I would like to consider it. If it doesn't seem like it will work out, I will forget about the sale and set up the tank at a slow and steady pace. I have experience with fish tanks, just not saltwater ones, but I think I will be able to manage stuff like ammonia, etc. so I'm not too concerned.
In the title I said this was 'somewhat urgent' because even though it's not an emergency, I really need to know what to do within the next few days. If this gets no replies I guess I won't go with the sale but if possible I want to save some money with it.
Thanks in advance
On the weekend my LFS is having a decent sale on all livestock: fish, coral/invertebrates, and live rock. I am ready for my first saltwater tank, but I have no equipment or anything yet. In the next few days before the sale I can go to the LFS and pick up necessary equipment and set up a tank very quickly.
My plan involves getting the tank set up ASAP, along with setting up a quarantine tank, and monitoring both very closely for the next few weeks. The catch is that I want to benefit from the sale by getting livestock over the weekend.
I understand that this may not be the best idea, getting fish and coral for a tank that is only a few days old! But I have a few ideas.
A: monitor the tank like crazy and do lots of detective work if anything seems to be wrong
B: do water changes often to keep nutrients down in fish quarantine
And one question.
How do I keep coral alive in a system with no nutrients? (no fish, etc) I want to get mostly LPS.
Could I use Red Sea's Reef Energy A+B? Will that be sufficient for keeping coral alive? Do I also need to feed actual coral food? Since the tank can't be cycled immediately it won't have any nitrates in it. And I understand that a tank needs SOME nitrates for the coral. I'm hoping that feeding the coral will keep it alive.
As I said before I understand that this may not be the best idea but I would like to consider it. If it doesn't seem like it will work out, I will forget about the sale and set up the tank at a slow and steady pace. I have experience with fish tanks, just not saltwater ones, but I think I will be able to manage stuff like ammonia, etc. so I'm not too concerned.
In the title I said this was 'somewhat urgent' because even though it's not an emergency, I really need to know what to do within the next few days. If this gets no replies I guess I won't go with the sale but if possible I want to save some money with it.
Thanks in advance
