adding sand

[lazeelegs]

i have a 12g eclipse with about 15 lbs of live rock and about 3 inches of live sand. the tank has been up and running since 9/18, i have been told by lps i am ready for some corals and clean up crews,,,but i want to add some more sand,,,

 

do i do it now or wait till i get the corals???

 

lite is 50/50 5000 that fits eclipse hood,,,not as much as some but for now it is in the budget,,,,

[Reefer_Buddha]

yes do it now unless you like hurting corals by dumping sand on them. Always add the live rock and sand before anything else. I wouldnt add corals until everything is settled.

[caja]

Three inches of sand in a 12 gal is plenty IMO. Have you done any water testing to see if you've completed the cycle? You may be ready for the clean up crew but I woudn't recommend adding any corals just yet. The lighting you have is the stock bulb in the Eclipse hood, so you are limited to keeping lower light corals unless you upgrade the lighting.

[lazeelegs]

ok,,,,if not coral then what??

 

also lights are not eclipse standard ordered a 5000 50/50 from hello lites that fits eclipse hoods it does help alot,,,i plan on upgrading the lites as $$$$ become available for it,,

 

i am really enjoying watching everything in the tank,,,,its a great hobby i am learning patience too,,

[Crakeur]

lazee, I would stick with the sand depth. More sand means less water volume, which means less room for error.

 

For now, the only corals you should buy are lower light corals. When you upgrade, they will need to be acclimated to the new lights so some easier corals are best to start with. Shrooms are good. Leathers are good too. Some zoos might work as well.

 

Or you can go for the gusto and get yourself some real low light corals (chili, sun) and do the hand feeding thing but I would advise against it.