To coral or not to coral

[ErikVR]

Hi all,

I've recently did a half-reset in my main tank. Prior to my vacation it was overrun by Bryopsis.
Fluconazole killed off the Bryopsis but unfortunately my tank-sitter turned off the return pump by accident instead of using feed mode.
So all the dead Bryopsis became a full on nutrient bomb that killed off most of my LPS.

Left the sump/refugium wet and added a few circulation pumps. (sump has tons of bio media in it)
I moved my fish to my quarantine tanks.
Removed all the rocks and bleached them.
Left the sand in the tank with an inch of water.
Rinsed the rocks toughly and let them dry in the sun for a week.
Made a new aquascape and moved the fish back.

Now everything is clean and happy/healthy.
The bio media in the sump and the sand does a great job of keeping the tank ammonia free.

The question I have now is, should I keep the tank running coral free for a while or should I add some fast growing soft corals right away?
I read conflicting stories. Some say I should add fast growing corals to take up nutrients. And some say I should wait 3-6 months.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Hi all,

I've recently did a half-reset in my main tank. Prior to my vacation it was overrun by Bryopsis.
Fluconazole killed off the Bryopsis but unfortunately my tank-sitter turned off the return pump by accident instead of using feed mode.
So all the dead Bryopsis became a full on nutrient bomb that killed off most of my LPS.

Left the sump/refugium wet and added a few circulation pumps. (sump has tons of bio media in it)
I moved my fish to my quarantine tanks.
Removed all the rocks and bleached them.
Left the sand in the tank with an inch of water.
Rinsed the rocks toughly and let them dry in the sun for a week.
Made a new aquascape and moved the fish back.

Now everything is clean and happy/healthy.
The bio media in the sump and the sand does a great job of keeping the tank ammonia free.

The question I have now is, should I keep the tank running coral free for a while or should I add some fast growing soft corals right away?
I read conflicting stories. Some say I should add fast growing corals to take up nutrients. And some say I should wait 3-6 months.

You can add soft corals like zoas immediately. I wouldnt expect that to be the best (or needed) way to decrease nutrient levels though.

 

[ErikVR]

You can add soft corals like zoas immediately. I wouldnt expect that to be the best (or needed) way to decrease nutrient levels though.

Got my chaeto refugium to take care of most of the nutrients.
Would it matter in a sense of overall tank health to add softies at this stage?
No idea if it would aid in coralline growth, or if that is totally unrelated.

 

[reefsaver]

I would recommend similar. Xenia/Anthelia, GSP, Leathers and Zoas.
We wait that 3-6 months for the system to mature and completely stabilize.
During that time bacteria colonize the media, rocks, surface area and sand in your tank.
Primarily two kinds, so you have Nitrifying bacteria called Nitrosomonas which converts decomposing organics, fish waste and aquarium food from what it breaks down into, ammonia to Nitrite, Ammonia(NH2) being the most poisonous but Nitrite is still toxic. And then you have Nitrobacter bacteria which convert the Nitrite(NO2) into Nitrate (NO3) which isn't toxic until it reaches high enough concentrations. This is when your water change is warranted usually because high nitrates could give you all kinds of problems like algae blooms, cyano, diatoms and dinoflagellates.
Usually throughout that 3-6 month period there's a lot of testing of the water to see how the cycle is going, meaning how well that bacteria is colonizing the aquariums media.
The general consensus is that LPS, Anemones, SPS are typically, not always but usually more susceptible to the parameter swings and instability in a brand new system.
But you could absolutely speed it up by adding your own bacteria, live aquarium rock and Dr.Tims.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Got my chaeto refugium to take care of most of the nutrients.
Would it matter in a sense of overall tank health to add softies at this stage?
No idea if it would aid in coralline growth, or if that is totally unrelated.

It would probably benefit the tank by adding biodiversity. Dont worry about coralline right now, itll find its way in and grow as the tank matures as long as lighting and parameters are adequate.

 

[ErikVR]

I would recommend similar. Xenia/Anthelia, GSP, Leathers and Zoas.
We wait that 3-6 months for the system to mature and completely stabilize.
During that time bacteria colonize the media, rocks, surface area and sand in your tank.
Primarily two kinds, so you have Nitrifying bacteria called Nitrosomonas which converts decomposing organics, fish waste and aquarium food from what it breaks down into, ammonia to Nitrite, Ammonia(NH2) being the most poisonous but Nitrite is still toxic. And then you have Nitrobacter bacteria which convert the Nitrite(NO2) into Nitrate (NO3) which isn't toxic until it reaches high enough concentrations. This is when your water change is warranted usually because high nitrates could give you all kinds of problems like algae blooms, cyano, diatoms and dinoflagellates.
Usually throughout that 3-6 month period there's a lot of testing of the water to see how the cycle is going, meaning how well that bacteria is colonizing the aquariums media.
The general consensus is that LPS, Anemones, SPS are typically, not always but usually more susceptible to the parameter swings and instability in a brand new system.
But you could absolutely speed it up by adding your own bacteria, live aquarium rock and Dr.Tims.

Bio media in the sump and the sand in the tank is established (2 years or so). Only the rocks have been reset. Which of course is a major factor. But I don't see any measurable ammonia so I'm sure the bio media and the sand is still fully loaded/active in supporting the fish load.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

It would probably benefit the tank by adding biodiversity. Dont worry about coralline right now, itll find its way in and grow as the tank matures as long as lighting and parameters are adequate.

I agree with you! I had coral in my tank before coralline was a thing!