After TAnk cycle...

[StopSign]

I have many question......

This is my first reef tank

 

i have a 15 gallon, 2 x 24w pc , 18# od LR, 10# of LS ,

2 powerhead, OH filter.

 

My tank cycle finally finished.. and i did 10% water change.

what i have to do next? coral? cleaning crew?

what is coraline algea?

do i need of put in calcium, iodine, etc?

i have some green hair algea and brown hair algea on my LR, and diatom algea growing on glass, Is this good or bad?

I have bubble in my LS, and Bubble from my LR . Good or bad?

 

I tested my water just now.... PH 8.8 , nitrite 0 , Ammonia 0 , nitrate 10.

 

How do i lowered my PH?

 

And when top off.... do i have to drip fresh water or just pour in slowly fresh water?

 

and if my tank is ready for coral, what coral should i buy first? and where do i put it? mid, bottom, or top?

 

Thanxxxx........

[changhsu]

If all your parameters are stable (ANN, PH, sg, temp), you would usually:

 

1) start with the least expensive livestock, either cleanup crew or coral is fine.

 

2) add livestock slowly so that the tank can regain its equilibrium.

 

Coraline algae is the colorful patches of "paint" on your LR, usually purple.

 

Dosing is optional, but it also depends on your livestock requirements, e.g. coraline algae may need calcium supplements.

 

Algae and diatom will come and go as the tank tries to reach equilibrium. It is usually not a big deal if it goes away on its own, but if the conditions are right, they can take over your tank.

 

Bubbles underneath the sand is usually a good indication of the LS bacteria doing its work. Bubbles on the LR is usually algae, right guys?

 

Not sure how you can lower PH, I think you can add some buffer to bring it down. I think you want to lower yours before you add any livestock.

 

Slow and small changes are always better, but I usually just pour it in slowly because I don't have the patience to drip it. However, floating and dripping is highly desirable when acclimating livestock because you are dealing with very small volumes of water in a LFS plastic bag.

 

For starters, get low light corals to see if they can thrive first. Your current lighting can support most low light corals. Do a search.

 

Coral placement depends on lighting, water flow, and aesthetic factors. WRT the light factor, usually the closer to the light the better because the intensity dies off by the inverse square law, iirc my physics.

[SeaMountain]

Only add the clean up crew if there is something to.... clean up!

 

Otherwise you'll find yourself needing to feed'em.

 

And do grab up some easy corals to begin with. Success is always better than watching expensive, hard to keep stuff die a slow death! Mushrooms, ricordeas, zoos are what I began with. Then I got a torch coral which is going gangbusters so I'm trading it off to my LFS.

 

Above all else... HAVE FUN!