what, when, and how

[michael grady]

So...starting up my 120 reef. cycle is cmplete and I've added a little bit of live stock (couple tangs, a flame angel, and a few small pieces of sps coral).

What should I feed them ( I have some frozen food pellets), how often, and how much. What about feeding the corals???

Thanks guys!


Michael

 

[frantz]

My fish live off the critters in the tank and I feed them different flake and pellet foods daily. On weekends I feed them a little more as I'm playing with their tanks. SPS I feed weekly. Best (cheap) method I've found is the turkey baster and a half of a coke bottle. I put it around the coral and squirt the food in the top. That way I don't have to shut any pumps off. I'm not sure what I'll do once my coral outgrows the 2L bottle though.

 

[crobattt]

what kinda tangs did ya get?

 

[smallblock]

Also with your tangs get some nori sheets and a clip. Put the clip on the front glass and put the nori in the clip and watch those tangs tear it up. They love it and its good for them.

 

[hnguyen]

Smallblock;723275 wrote: Also with your tangs get some nori sheets and a clip. Put the clip on the front glass and put the nori in the clip and watch those tangs tear it up. They love it and its good for them.

+1 on what Blake said, but be careful with them as to not overfeed them. Those things can dirty up your water faster then you can say " OH :censored: "

 

[michael grady]

so far....a yellow tang, a flame angel, a coral beauty, and a sailfin tang.

for corals...a couple brown polyps and a couple green stars.

Can I get some advice on feeding the corals?

Thanks guys....wish I could have been at the meeting this PM, but my sons started scuba lessons!

 

[cr500_af]

I don't know from your post exactly how long your tank has been up and cycled, but it sounds like you are stocking REALLY fast. A rule of thumb (even though I don't like those) is one fish per month after the conclusion of the cycle. Your biofilter is established after the cycle, but the bacteria population has to grow over time to match the bioload. Too much bioload too fast and the natural filtration can't keep up with waste management.

Dwarf angelfish are very often a problem with some corals (nipping) and with more than one of their type in a tank (fighting to the death)... and by their type, I mean two dwarf angels, not two of the same species. Not guaranteed, but pretty common.

Not trying to sound preachy, but going off of the impression I get reading this, it sounds like you aren't researching thoroughly with the stocklist.

Like I said, I don't mean to come off wrong, and these choices are by no means guaranteed trouble, but be careful. I would like to see you succeed without big problems.

 

[michael grady]

Thanks for the concern! I've been up an running for about 5-6 weeks. I did a turbo start with turbo 900, and my amonia dn nitate levels a 0 and 1 ppm. They measureed that way today as well...two days after adding the fish. With the tank/sump/and refugium, I have about 180 gallons of water and 100 lbs of rock. Also running a nitrate reactor with matrix in it.

Can I add more coral safely or should I wait on that as well?

Thanks!

Michael

 

[hnguyen]

Waiting is never a bad thing to do when adding livestock to a new tank. I agree with cr500, you've added too much too fast. It's good to slow down a little. Give it another week or two before you add anything else.

 

[frantz]

You could always window shop... get an idea of what you want that's in your budget and then do some research. Make sure its something you'll want for a good long time, or else its something you'll be able to trade. One thing I did was buy too many "beginner coral" at the start. They are still pretty but I don't have as much room for the nicer stuff I now have a system which could support it.

 

[michael grady]

Is it acceptable practice to judge the bioload by following amonia/nitrate levels? Also, assuming one was moving too fast...how long would it take to see a spike in these levels? A day or two or more like a weeK or so?

Thanks !!

 

[frantz]

the nitrogen cycle is about a month total. Check this site out it has some ideas of when you could expect what spikes. Keep in mind a tank is always cycling.

 

[cr500_af]

michael grady;724273 wrote: Is it acceptable practice to judge the bioload by following amonia/nitrate levels? Also, assuming one was moving too fast...how long would it take to see a spike in these levels? A day or two or more like a weeK or so?

Thanks !!

Not really... those mean the cycle is done, but that doesn't mean you have enough beneficial bacteria to support a large bioload. As your bioload increases, so does the bacteria population (because they have "food"). If you add too much, they can't process it all and those bad things will show back up... by the time you see that you have a problem, you have a real problem (such as where to put your fish so that they don't die).

As for corals, IME SPS corals need more than a cycled tank... they need an established tank. I waited 3 months before adding any, and while they didn't die, that's all I can say about them. After about 9 months, they started to thrive.

 

[michael grady]

hmmm...thanks for the help and advice guys....I'll slow my jets.

 

[rdnelson]

As to bioload, I would also add that things grow. What is a small bioload at the moment will get larger as the inhabitants grow. Assuming there is enough surface area for bacteria to grow, the BB should grow with it but if you have limited LR you may get into trouble. Or, at least that seems logical to me. But, I am a noobe so there may be evidence out there that contradicts what I just said.

 

[kirkwood]

bioload does seem large to start so best thing you can do right now to manage is to not overfeed... tangs and dwarf angel should be able to go a couple days in between feedings.. keeping them a bit hungry will encourage them to forage through your tank for leftovers thereby decreased the chance for a spike... Also, maybe LPS is a better place to start than SPS as a beginner... lots of cool stuff out there on both sides and there is much more margin for error on the LPS than the SPS as you harness your new hobby... i'd also be mindful of where you've got your brown polyps (try to limit them to one rock that is easily removable from the aquarium)... i say that because once you start getting the cool colorful stuff, you are going to want those brown polyps out...