Getting ready for first corals

[NaturallyKait]

Now that our evo has been up and running for a few months and I feel like I’ve got a decent handle on basic maintenance we’re hoping to start corals soon. I’m wondering if there’s anything I’m missing before we start adding them. 

 

I’m planning to start with easy softies. Do I need to buy extra testing kits (kh, calcium, etc) for just soft corals? Is there anything else I should buy before starting? 

 

I have a Kessil a80 for a light, which I know is not a powerhouse of a light, but I’m not planning any high light corals (and if I change my mind I’ll either add another a80 or change lights). What’s a good photoperiod to set it for? Right now I don’t have the controller, it’s just on a power bar timer that turns it on and off automatically so I can’t ramp up or down yet. How long is good to run the lights for? Right now it’s on from 10am to 8pm but we’ve been considering changing that anyway to have it on just a little later into the evening. The tank is in our living room and we’ve noticed recently that after the lights go out the fish get a little agitated because they want to go to sleep but we’re still awake so we have the room lights on. I don’t really want to have them turn on too late in the day though, because the tank primarily belongs to my 4 year old and I like to have lights on for him to enjoy during his day. Suggestions? Looking forward to filling up this little tank 😊

 

[seabass]

45 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

Do I need to buy extra testing kits (kh, calcium, etc) for just soft corals?

Nope, regular water changes will supply the necessary elements and replenish consumed trace elements.

 

45 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

What’s a good photoperiod to set it for?

There's no one correct answer.  It depends a bit on your lighting and nutrient levels.  I use 7 hours; however, 8 to 12 is probably the most common.  I'll recommend sticking with 10 hours for now.  The actual time of day doesn't matter too much unless the tank receives natural sunlight outside of your light cycle (which can extend the photoperiod).

[NaturallyKait]

3 minutes ago, seabass said:

Nope, regular water changes will supply the necessary elements and replenish consumed trace elements.

 

There's no one correct answer.  It depends a bit on your lighting and nutrient levels.  I use 7 hours; however, 8 to 12 is probably the most common.  I'll recommend sticking with 10 hours for now.

Ok perfect, I do weekly water changes so that’s what I thought about the tests for softies. Am I right in thinking that if/when we branch out into LPS we may need them then? 

 

I’ll probably stick to the 10 hours for now. We started at 12 and while that gave the little guy more time with lights up to enjoy everything but quickly bumped back to 10 once we got our first algae to try to keep it under control. Between that and our CUC we don’t really have algae problems thankfully (small amounts here and there to keep them fed, but nothing overrunning the tank) so I don’t want to risk an explosion of algae. 

[seabass]

11 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

Am I right in thinking that if/when we branch out into LPS we may need them then?

Yeah, alkalinity and calcium test kits are all you'll need until it's time to start dosing (which will take some more time).  If you wish, you could get by with just alkalinity tests.  When dosing, you'll need to test for alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium.

[Clown79]

You don't need ramp up and down, for yrs hobbyists ran their tanks with on and off with a timer.

 

I run my system for 8 -10hrs. Additional time for moonlighting on top of that.

 

What time you set it up is up to your schedule so you can view it.

 

 

Once you get into lps or sps adding alkalinity, phosphate, and calcium kits are beneficial.

[NaturallyKait]

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

You don't need ramp up and down, for yrs hobbyists ran their tanks with on and off with a timer.

 

I run my system for 8 -10hrs. Additional time for moonlighting on top of that.

 

What time you set it up is up to your schedule so you can view it.

 

 

Once you get into lps or sps adding alkalinity, phosphate, and calcium kits are beneficial.

I know the ramping isn’t needed, I do want it though so eventually I’ll get the controller. I just mentioned it because a lot of the other posts about photoperiod I saw had people talking about ramping and only having peak intensity for a few hours and that’s not currently an option for us. 

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, NaturallyKait said:

I know the ramping isn’t needed, I do want it though so eventually I’ll get the controller. I just mentioned it because a lot of the other posts about photoperiod I saw had people talking about ramping and only having peak intensity for a few hours and that’s not currently an option for us. 

Ya, I ramp up for 1 hr and ramp down 1hr. So 6 hrs peak.