when can i add clam and coral frags and how many

[weslogston]

I have a new 55 gallon setup. i have 50 lbs of dead live rock and 20 lbs of live sand, and i have a protien skimmerw/filter and a aqeoun 55 power filter and heater, t5 ho lights with led strip 4 bulbs individual reflectors. i have 6 margarita snails and a large black volitan lionfish, a burrfish puffer, and a yellow tail blue damsel. when i add coral frag, how much can i add before or if it will affect the parameters? and where is the best place to put it in the tank. can i scatter it all over my rock formations =) ph 8.1 sal. 1.022 temp 80. trates o, trites o ammonia 0

[Kaymanager]

what are your water parameters? how long has it been set up? what is your overall plan for this tank?

[Phurst]

We'll definitely need to know more about the tank. what are your water parameters? what kind of gear do you have? How much flow? What kind of lighting? What kind of corals are you looking to add?

[weslogston]

my water parameters: ph 8.1, temp 80, salinity 1.030, my plans are to grow coral and add a cucumber and a puffer and a clam, but i want alot Iof colorful corals and clams in the tank, but i want to raise it up myself. It really is a nice 55 set up. alot of live rock and live sand, really clear clean healthy tank. i just bought some really expensive t5 with led strip light for it.

[weslogston]

my parameters are flat 0's, ph 8.1, sal. 1.030, temp 80. i have no power head, but i have an aqueon 55 power filter and a 55 skimmer/filter. one on each end of tank. the lighting is 48in. t5 with led strip. the tank has been running for two months. i also have an air wand in the tank.

[CarmieJo]

Hi Wes, to TR.

Many puffers grow to a large size and would outgrow your 55 within a few months but there are some that remain small. You may not be aware that a puffer will eat snails and clams and may also nibble on corals. What kind of lion do you have?

Can you tell us how many bulbs your light has? Does each bulb have its own reflector or is there one big reflector?

[Kaymanager]

What is the readings of your nitrites and nitrates?

[weslogston]

like i said in my previous statement the levels are flat 0's, ph 8.1 , sal. 1.032on the glass meter, and 1.022 in the plastic deep six hydrometer. my t5 has 4 bulbs with individual reflectors. i'm fully aware of puffers, i have several large freshwater puffers. i will be upgrading to a 125gal in about 6 months. my lion fish is a very large black volitan. i added a few hermits today. its good for a puffer to eat invertabrates so i keep some in the tank, i get the puffer on thursday.

[CarmieJo]

Could you take your water to the LFS and get them to test the specific gravity (SpG) with a refractometer? A difference of 0.01 is pretty significant. Plastic swing arm hydrometers can be off but when used properly are consistent. A laboratory quality floating hydrometer when read at the meniscus in still water (say in a glass or graduated cylinder) is very accurate but you need to compensate for temperature. I am not sure about the accuracy of the cheaper ones but I would expect they would be consistent. The salinity of natural sea water is 35 ppt which is equal to a SpG of 1.026 so you could be considerably under or over the desired target.

[weslogston]

look i just had a very simple question. my tank is perfectly fine all levels are dead on, my question was not about levels ok. everything about my tank perfectly matches the tank where i buy my fish. that tank is much larger (125gal) but its full of corals, anemones, clams, shrimp, fish, etc... the reason im seeking outside counsel is because he simply just charges too much for everything; hence i dont want to ask him when to add frag and how because i dont want him to know im shopping elsewhere. So once more- when and how much coral frag can i add to my tank. do i randomly place the frags on my stacks of dead live rock, or place it in the sand? do all the frags i buy have to be placed together in one spot? Do i have to cure the frags i buy? and last but not least how much or many frags can i put in the tank without changing the parameters? I am not new to the aqarium world, i have a few very nice large freshwater tanks with beautiful fish, i breed EBJD's. i have two puffers (seperate tanks of course) hairy puffer 8in. very big and very healthy, mbu puffer very big and very healthy, a pair of large clown knifes- that i breed-believe it or not. a very large male jack dempsey 10in. - beautifully healthy and a gorgeous tiger oscar. i spend alot of time and money on my hobby, they are my pets. Basically what i really dont have mastered yet is corals etc.. I would really appreciate some friendly advice without being treated like a dumbass, i completely understand if no-one can answer my questions and i will get answers from another forum. thank you very much and have a good day. wes

[Amphibious]

Hey Wes, Welcome to TR. If you’ll give me a chance to explain, maybe you will have a better understanding of why we ask questions about your water and system. Then, I’ll address your specific questions and give you some saltwater specifics as it pertains to a comparison to your freshwater experience, which is quite extensive.

We get all sorts of people joining TR and asking questions. We don’t have a clue as to their level of experience. When they ask a question, only a fool or care less person would blurt out an answer without finding out more about their system. Why? If we give you an answer based on our assumption that you are an “expert” and that answer leads to your failure in that area, your going to think we are a bunch of fools or care less people. We are not going to let that happen. To avoid that situation we train new people that want to give answers to ask questions before giving advice.

To give you a little background on me before I answer your questions, I’ve been in the hobby 63 years (I’m 72), had 22 FW aquariums in my basement by the time I was 25, breading multiple FW fish including Discus, Rams, Angels, Africans and a few others. In 1966 I set up my first SW aquarium. In 1968 I began selling off all FW stock and metal framed aquariums. By 1970 it was all SW for me and I’ve never had a FW tank since. At present, I’m setting up an aquaculture facility for growing out coral for sales on the Internet. All this, just so you know I have extensive experience.

Here are the warning signs that I saw in your first post and questions I have.

First

I have a new 55 gallon setup.

This triggers the questions, "Do you know about the cycle?” “Has it cycled?” You posted that your Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate was 0. That doesn’t tell me anything about the cycle because in a “new” system those levels will read 0 for awhile until Ammonia builds up and kicks off the chain of events we know as the cycle. We don’t know that from your first post.

The best article on the SW cycle I’ve ever read is by Eric Borneman, a coral scientist, hobbyist and friend. You can find it here - The Building of a Reef Tank. I hope you will take the time to read it, everyone should.

Second

i have 50 lbs of dead live rock and 20 lbs of live sand

This tells me you are unsure of correct nomenclature, which leads me to believe you are a SW novice. The correct term would be, 50 lb. of dry rock or base rock. This tells us that your cycle is going to take much longer than if you had used 50 lb. of live rock (LR). The normally recommended amount of LR is 1 1/2 to 2 lb. per gallon, which can vary based on rock density. The more porous the better as the necessary denitrifying bacteria grow in the deep anaerobic layer. Using 20 lb. of live sand (LS) is okay but a minimal amount. How much other sand (dry sand) do you have in the system? Are you doing a deep sand bed (DSB) for Nitrate removal? If not, how do you plan on removing Nitrates?

Third

i have a protien skimmerw/filter and a aqeoun 55 power filter

This statement makes me question whether you did any research on the proper way to filter a SW aquarium. You cannot equate your extensive experiences with FW into SW. While some similarities exist, there is a HUGE difference between the two, especially when it comes to filtration. Having a skimmer is very beneficial, the Aqueon hang on the back (HOB) filter is totally inadequate for SW, NO MATTER what your local fish store (LFS) or any advertising tells you differently. You will soon have problems with Nitrate build up and no amount of water changes will correct the problem. The Aqueon and other brands of HOB are for amateurs trying to skimp on equipment. It doesn’t pay to skimp on anything with SW. They are barely okay for FW. What should you have??? You need to look into a sump/refugium soon.

Fourth

when i add coral frag, how much can i add before or if it will affect the parameters? and where is the best place to put it in the tank. can i scatter it all over my rock formations

It’s always best to add a minimal amount of frags or clams at a time. The newer your system the easier it is to throw your parameters off with adding more bio-load. Adding one or two corals to a new tank would seem okay. Testing is the criteria for adding new things. You can group your corals near each other, place them anywhere you want. Certain corals require more light than others. The key is to watch the reaction of the corals as to their distance from the light. A coral placed low in the tank that browns out needs more light, a coral up high that never extends it’s polyps and doesn’t grow probably needs less light. You need to do your homework, as I’m confident you will, and research each new coral or critter BEFORE you buy it. Don’t make the mistake many newbies make, impulse buying and then asking questions later. That ultimately leads to disaster, wasted specimen and wasted money.

There is an old saying in SW circles, ”The only thing that happens fast in SW aquariums is disaster”. That is very true and should never be forgotten.

You can easily get by with certain things in FW that you cannot get by with, what seems like a straight forward correlation, in SW.

I hope you now understand why the questions. We’re simply covering our ass. We don’t want to make snap judgments on a new TR member’s abilities or system. The answers are in the details.

I hope my evaluation of your first post clears things up. Stick around, Wes, TR has many great members willing to help.

Dick (the old fart of TR)

[Coreyz]

I agree with the above we need to know more about your tank. What clams are you looking to get? I would read up allot on them as there are many ways to help you spot clams you may want to avoid, just like when looking at fish on display or corals. What corals are you looking to get? I would only add one or two corals at a time depending on the size of them. As far as placement goes this varies depending on each coral you are looking to get. Tell us what you are looking at buying and we can better help.

[SaltyDawg]

"Look I just had a very simple question". True...it is. But to a complicated situation. Which is why everyone is asking for specifics. At 2 months old to add the critters you mentioned is going to be a strain on the tank and animals in it. It sounds like you have a goal that you want to achive, but need to realize how many hurdles there are before you cross the finish line. Take it slow and enjoy the ride.