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Im Ready im ready

Hi was wondering how do i know when i am ready for Coral in my tank? i read when i start to see corline algae on my glass? is this a good rule of thumb? My tank is 7 weeks old, im buying the calcium testing kit tomorrow to see where my rates are at. Will post tomorrow. But what the ideal water conditions? Even for like some Zoanthids? I have a T5 light with 2 normal lights and 2 Actinic lights, at 54watts each. What would be my restrictions on LPS SPS and so forth
 
you should be ok, just check ur salinity, nitrates, nitrites, amonia, calcium should be ok.... you don't have anything in there yet that would absorb it from the water, but as long as ur nitrates, nitrites, and amonia is ok, then ur cycle should be finished... i have t5's and have many zoos, mushrooms, lps, and leathers.... but i have seen a few beautiful sps tanks with t5's...
 
I think if you have any SPS they should be closer to the top generally speaking.
Try to decide what you want to do so you have a plan before you proceed. Mixed reef with SPS has different requirements then without SPS ect. You might want to increase the amount of LR before you start adding things.
 
Here is a link to some suggested paramaters that are stickied to the top of the General Discussion forum.

If ammonia and nitrites are zero and the other parameters are in check, you can proceed slowly. I always check alk when I check Calcium.

JRWOHLER makes great points about having a plan and adding the rest of your rock first. You usually get a mini cycle when new rock is added. Also 35lbs will only support a very small bioload. What are your fish plans?

IMHO your T5's should support most leathers, zoas and LPS as is. Easy SPS like montipora and millipora should do fine as well. If you are going for more light demanding SPS they need to be near the top or add two more T5's.
 
Yes i have bought more rock and it is now 50lbs, plan on buy another 10-15 this week come pay day. But i plan on trying to get my LR up to 150lbs. With fish such as tangs, clowns, lots of peaceful fish. Should i just hold off till i reach my mark of LR so my aquascaping doesnt mess up the coral?
 
If you can yes, create the stable environment and then add the corals. The bacteria colonies should build up as you add additional fish.
 
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