Hey Budde,
You've got me confused. Help me out here...
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Budde I have a 55 Gallon Aquarium. At this point it has gone through it's initial Cycle. I have a Hang On the Back Filter, with a Tetra Heater. |
How do know it has cycled because you also said this...
You haven't bought the very basic test kits that tell you your tank has cycled. Yet you are telling us it has cycled. How do you know??? If you took your water to the
LFS and had them test it for you, you can't trust them to give you accurate results.
Quote:
| I have about 4-5 Pounds of Live Rock. 40 Pounds of Live Sand. |
You should have put 75 to 100 lbs of
LR in the tank for cycling along with the LS. Now when you add
LR in the future, you are going to have another cycle and very likely kill some or all of the critters you have. I don't car if the
LFS or anyone else tells you, "It's cured
LR, you won't get a cycle". People that make statements like that don't know what they are talking about.
Now to your questions...
Quote:
| Will I be able to have a Couple (2) of Mandarins? |
No, you will not be able to house 2 Mandarins. They require live copepod and they would starve to death. IReef IKeeper recommends waiting at least 6 months after adding the rest of your
LR,
sump and
refugium. I'd recommend waiting at least a year and then settling on one Mandarin. A 55 gallon tank may look big to you, it is not!!!
After you have added the rest of your
LR and the tank has cycled again, yes. However, Sun Corals require supplemental feeding. They are not like other corals that derive much of their energy from the symbiotic relationship with algae.
Quote:
| Oh, and for those of you wondering if there is another way to feed those Mandarins. Melev (Marc Levenson) has made a Mandarin Diner... |
It is rare for a Mandarin to live long enough on live food, derived from pods in the tank alone, to be trained over to frozen food let alone pellet food. Marc Levenson is a devoted aquarist with years of experience and a gifted talent. Not many have accomplished what he has with his Mandarins. Simply copying Marc's "Mandarin Diner" will not do the trick. The fish have to first survive in your tank on live food and trained to take dead food. That could take months of intense dedication to the task and could result in failure because like every living animal some adapt some do not. So, it's not a sure thing.
Dick
