Which is a good start first corals?

[jojo]

I'm running water for 3weeks now. Have sand rock and water. Is it time yet to put in living things? Can I put in corals now?which is a good one to start with? also can i put in a shrimp now? All the ph,no2,no3,ammonia, and salt gravity is fine.

[Physh1]

Yes, you could start to add a cleanup crew and a shrimp. There are a ton of corals you could add but before I recommend anything how big is your tank and what kind of lighting do you have?

 

Cameron

[jojo]

my tank is a 10gallons tank. For the lighting it is 84watts pc light. 42x2

[jojo]

no one??? should I add shrimp or corals first? is a cleaner shrimp good? also which corals should i start with...give me some ideas and example ..thankss

[tarantulaman]

I added my cleanup crew at 3 weeks and they are doing fine . At 8weeks of age i have no corals yet . It depends what you like realy cause there is so many corals that are safe for beginners. I like open brains , colt coral and Xenia i was told all 3 are ok for first corals . Check out the coral info database on this site it gives info on some good corals .

[kalon]

As physh said, add your cleanup crew (snails, hermits) now and let them clean up Maybe add one coral to start to see how it goes (you don't want to put a whole bunch in, in case they all die, and then it would be a big waste). I'd suggest mushrooms or zoos coz they're usually pretty hardy. I, personally, would maybe add a couple of more corals (in a couple of weeks) before adding the shrimp, though it's up to you. Everyone has different opinions on it, so I don't think it really matters. They are sometimes kind of sensitive, so should be added once you've established your tank a bit. You've got a lot of light in there, so there are lots of corals you can add eventually. Check out http://www.liveaquaria.com. They've got some decent articles on some of the different corals, fish and inverts, and they give the requirements (light, hardiness, placement, temperament, etc) of each.

 

Congrats on the new set up, and good luck with it!

 

I hope this information helps a bit.

 

~*KaLoN*~

 

[jojo]

Thanks Guys:P

[Undertheradar]

I hold back on the cleanup crew when I set a new one up. There really isnt anything to clean up yet, no? After the initial setup of the reef I wait a week or so if the rock is new. During this time the dead crap tends to fall off, and instead of leaving it in there and adding critters, I syphon it out and give the tank a 50% water change. Due to this, I often dont even put in the bottom sand until after a couple weeks of the live rock settling in.

 

After a month I tend to want a algae crew, and a few of these critters do detrious cleanup as well, but I hold off on the true detrious cleaners until a few months waste has built up. Then I add the smallest brittle stars, tiger cukes, and sand stars that I can find. The other reason to hold off on these for a while is that serpent, sand, and brittle stars are very sensitive to salinity fluxes and not a 'noob' tolerant bunch. Cukes are a little better, but if you do manage to stress them out, some varieties can give out toxins, once again...not very noob friendly. So at least for a while, the extent of a clean up crew should be your algae crew as well...snails and hermits.

 

One critter I would highly suggest would be a peppermint shrimp. Pretty hardy, and it will start to pick through the rock and remove any of the bad bristle worms and rock anemones and such that could later hurt your corals. A 'suicide fish' or two (if very small...like clown and neon goby small) would be a good addition at this time to get tank cycling. Just beware of damsels for this. They are hardy, but a PITA to get out later...and you most likely will want to get them out later, as they are often too nasty for other fish a nano.

 

To compliment these, I tend to use a few hardy, nitrate absorbing corals that really keep the water in A1 shape. Some Green Star Polyps are a great way to brighten up the tank with some green and purple right off the bat, as well as any one of a number of mushrooms. These corals will help kep the water parameters in good shape as well as provide you with an early readout if you are doing everything right. Lets put it this way...if your GSP and shrooms arent doing well (GSP spreads like a weed under the right conditions) you arent ready for anything else yet.

[impur]

I must have started my tank about the same time as you. I added my cleanup crew earlier this week and they are doing great. I also added a tiny GSP frag and Ric frag. They are about quarter size. They seem to be doing great. I wanted to start with small frags so i can enjoy watching them grow and spread. Yesterday i added an emerald crab to take care of some of the valonia algae i have. All in all i think its going excellent, so you should be ready as well.

[yOyOYoo]

oops

[testrak]

Watch out for hermit reef crab (red legged). They poop like mad and it is reported that they DO eat coralline algae. But if you decide to get them, don't get so many, and be sure to do it after some coralline algae has developed on your live rock. I didn't add my clean up crew until after 2 months, and before I dropped the hermit it, my sand was perfectly white (I am using oolitic). After just have 2 small hermits in there, I start seeing poop all over the place! On the rock, and especially on the sand bed.

[Scorched]

Ya I had one hermit that totally ate off some really cool bright pink coraline I had growing. They are really good at eating my green algae though so thats good. There is a LOT of poop on the sand. If there something that will eat and break it down further, or something that will atleast stir it so it doesnt look bad all being on top?