Coral only to start

earlfd

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I have a 20 gallon innovative Marine fully cycled after two months however I’m thinking of adding corals first and letting them flourish for a month or two before adding fish. Can anyone give me their thoughts if this is possible or should I just add Fish first then Coral second
 

crazyfishmom

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I have a 20 gallon innovative Marine fully cycled after two months however I’m thinking of adding corals first and letting them flourish for a month or two before adding fish. Can anyone give me their thoughts if this is possible or should I just add Fish first then Coral second
I start my tanks with corals only on day one these days and they do great. If you can keep your parameters stable as well as maintaining reasonable nutrients that’s just fine.
 

crazyfishmom

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But how long until you add fish?
Some of them I don’t add fish to.

My current 24 AIO has been up for 3 months without any fish. Coral and CUC are all that one will ever host. Oh! And a feather duster.

My 40 gallon I added fish about 3 weeks post coral addition because I wanted anemones. And then I added nems.
 
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earlfd

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Some of them I don’t add fish to.

My current 24 AIO has been up for 3 months without any fish. Coral and CUC are all that one will ever host. Oh! And a feather duster.

My 40 gallon I added fish about 3 weeks post coral addition because I wanted anemones. And then I added nems.
Are you doing daily feeding to your corals ?
 

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I think a "routine" is needed. Before you add corals, maybe even a fish, you need to establish a "baseline" first. (parameters)

Two months old?
 
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earlfd

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Tank has cycled for 2 months and all is spot on. I have an apex system. Also hooked up the dos which does a gallon a day water change every day for my 20 gallon tank
 

crazyfishmom

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I would ad fish about a month later, I would think it would be easier to maintain water parameters. But looking. For advised from those who have been on the hobby for a while
It is easier to add fish first and then slowly add coral. But I do think this is all overstated. If you want to add coral first and you start slowly with a couple of easy frags then it shouldn’t be a problem. Yes, fish feed the coral but there’s ways to do it without fish that are not super complicated.
 

crazyfishmom

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Are you doing daily feeding to your corals ?
I like running bacteria fed systems so I dose a little bit of bacteria with a little bit of food for the bacteria and then those two combined feed the coral. Coral also get a good proportion of their energy from your lights.

How did you start your tank? Did you add live rock or did you start with dry rock?
 

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I don’t know, @crazyfishmom , I think you might be the exception rather than the rule when it comes to new reefers. Obviously you have a knack for this and the scientific background to boot, but I don’t think it is the best path for every new reefer…. @earlfd , if you do go down this path, I suggest reading up on nitrate and phosphate dosing as you will likely need it to avoid bottoming out.
 
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earlfd

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I like running bacteria fed systems so I dose a little bit of bacteria with a little bit of food for the bacteria and then those two combined feed the coral. Coral also get a good proportion of their energy from your lights.

How did you start your tank? Did you add live rock or did you start with dry rock?
Started with dry rock and Fritz. Added ammonia to the tank and let it cycle. Then over the past month have been dosing micro life
 

GARRIGA

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Here’s a series on starting with corals day one.

 

crazyfishmom

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Started with dry rock and Fritz. Added ammonia to the tank and let it cycle. Then over the past month have been dosing micro life
Do you know what type of coral you might be thinking about to start with?

I might be wrong but it sounds like this might be your first tank right? I would consider something like a small zoa frag or a Duncan. Both are hardy corals that will introduce biodiversity into your tank and then lots of frequent testing. If you want to also list your current water parameters and how stable those have been that would be a good thing.

Is there a particular reason you really like the idea of coral first instead of adding at least one fish?
 

crazyfishmom

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I don’t know, @crazyfishmom , I think you might be the exception rather than the rule when it comes to new reefers. Obviously you have a knack for this and the scientific background to boot, but I don’t think it is the best path for every new reefer…. @earlfd , if you do go down this path, I suggest reading up on nitrate and phosphate dosing as you will likely need it to avoid bottoming out.
I agree that I don’t think anyone should just jump into corals first knee deep without really thinking it through. I don’t mean to imply that this was the easiest way to start a tank. But I do find that if someone is really interested in trying this approach to reefing that maybe trying to help them get started in a relatively approachable way helps more in the long run. I started my first tank with fish and then added coral and was super discouraged after an ich wipe out so all the tanks that have followed were started with coral only and then I caved in and introduced fish. In some ways I think nutrient balance may be easier to establish in a tank without fish and only coral as most nano people will argue. I thought they were crazy until I did more research into how to make a nano successful. So many amazing ways to start a reef!
 

Townes_Van_Camp

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I'm with fishmom on this. If everything is good to go with your setup. No reason not to start with corals. I wait until the diatoms are gone. But after that, I add whatever I want. The only time things get spooky is if there is a green hair algae explosion that crowds my stumpy frags. In which case manual removal and a oversized clean up crew do nicely.
 

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I agree that I don’t think anyone should just jump into corals first knee deep without really thinking it through. I don’t mean to imply that this was the easiest way to start a tank. But I do find that if someone is really interested in trying this approach to reefing that maybe trying to help them get started in a relatively approachable way helps more in the long run. I started my first tank with fish and then added coral and was super discouraged after an ich wipe out so all the tanks that have followed were started with coral only and then I caved in and introduced fish. In some ways I think nutrient balance may be easier to establish in a tank without fish and only coral as most nano people will argue. I thought they were crazy until I did more research into how to make a nano successful. So many amazing ways to start a reef!
Good points. I need to work on my manners. I can come off as judgmental by discouraging new folks to try more advanced methods, when many of them may be very well up to the task. And I wouldn’t want to discourage the next one of you!
 

crazyfishmom

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Good points. I need to work on my manners. I can come off as judgmental by discouraging new folks to try more advanced methods, when many of them may be very well up to the task. And I wouldn’t want to discourage the next one of you!
I didn’t take it that way. I think you were doing the responsible “questioning” in trying to help. I fell deeply for this hobby and because of that have done a ton of research into the different approaches that make each tank successful and I think I’ve come up with the 3 P’s: passion, patience and perseverance, everything else seems largely fluid.
 
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