when should i add sps

I was just wondering when i could start adding sps to my tank. My tank has been up and running since 10/12 and i have a refugium and skimmer running under the tank and the tank size is 125. my lighting is led and my tank stats are

salt 1.025
ph 8.1
cal 435
mag 1310mg
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
ammonia 0
phosphate .1

i have soft coral and and some fish but nothing big oh and i have about 140 pounds of live rock that has been in the tank since the day i turned everything on the coralline algae has taken off in the last two months i cant keep up with stuff keeping it off the glass lol. so am i ready for sps or should i wait alittle bit longer i know by reading here that it takes a seasoned tank for it to thrive and i just want some info so i dont mess up and kill the coral. Thanks so much

 

start off with the more "hardy" species and see how they react. a couple of hardy sps would be montiporas and pavonas.

you cold also try going through LPSs before hitting the SPSs

 

Welcome to 3reef.



You should probably bring your magnesium up to 1250 at least and test Alkalinity instead of pH or test for both.

I see no problem starting with some easy sps like Pocilliopora.

Try to get your Phos down to 0.03.

 

Thanks so much you guys i just wanted to make sure my tank was ready so maybe this weekend i'll go down to the lfs and see what they have. when picking out sps is there anything different i should look at before buying the coral. and when adding sps to the tank is there any thing different i should do. i have floated everything since i've started adding everything and i havn't lost anything "knock on wood" and what about placement or flow do i know they need medium to high flow but i just want to make sure. thank so much again

 

Not 100% sure on SPS acclimation however, just as a heads up you may want to read into the drip method. I highly suggest using this for any kind of invert or fish additions in the future. Very easy to setup, just need a bucket and airline tubing with either a knot or better yet an adjustable valve...

 

Also, do you have any dosing equipment or reactors? SPS will suck the calcium out of your tank fairly quick once they get going so just want to make sure you're prepared for that...

 

yea ive been dosing a 2 part three times a week for cal and then i does mag as needed i test twice a week everything to make sure all is in order and i do a 30 gallon water change once a month but the funny thing is i've never had a problem with my no2 and no3 or ammonia but i do the water change to keep everything happy and ill read up on the dip method for now on i use that.

 

Ok cool, yeah then maybe some SPS gurus can chime in on anything else. I believe, and i totally could be wrong, just about any method will work. Float/dunk, drip, ect. As long as your adding your tank water to the original water in a fashion that allows the coral to become accustomed to the parameters in your tank vs the lfs. Then simply transfer the coral to your tank and discard the mixture of LFS/Hometank water.

 

I started of with birdsnest, pocillipora, and monti caps. I added these after the tank had been running for about 6 months.

Here is how I acclimate all my corals. SPS,LPS, and softies, all the same.

Float to temp,then I add a little tank water, about half of what the coral came into a bowl with coral Rx or Bayer insecticide for about 5-8 minutes with some flow. Then I put them in the tank.

 

You are dosing already? I suppose your coralline could be using some up. I would figure water changes alone would have been able to keep up with the low demand from softies and coralline. What salt are you using?

Anyways, as long as your tank parameters are stable (no big alk swings, pH is relatively stable), you have adequate lighting and flow, you should be good to go with some easier SPS as mentioned. With corals from LFS, all I do is dump the coral and water they came with in a bucket that I have marked with 1/4 gal, 1/2 gal, etc. I then double that water by slowly adding my tank water. I use the appropriate amount of Coral Rx per their instructions. When done dipping, I get a small container with fresh tank water and dip them in that to minimize the amount of dip solution to get into the tank. Then just place them where I want. Start them off low in the tank and move them up slowly to make sure the acclimate to the new lighting.

I also feed my SPS with Oysterfeast 1-2 per week. Both of my LFS have it, but it is pricey (needs to be refrigerated). Seems to be working well for me so far!

Edit: Apparently dowtish and I basically do the same acclimation process