is it true that

[Live Rock Ricky]

hard corals are more difficult to keep than softies?

so I just started converting from a FO tank...

I now have one open brain, 1 green star polyp, 1 xenia (it appears to have split on its own) and 1 staghorn. I also have 1 flaming scallop and a feather duster along with a few fish, crabs snails and shrimp....

I have been feeding PhytoPlex 3x per week along with your regular meaty frozen fish food for the fish....

with the amount of corals i have in my 55g tank, do i really need to check for iodine? calcium is around 450... someone said to feed the staghorn rodi????? or roti.... sorry..... or do i really even need to feed them anything????

can someone tell me what else i should be checking for besides the basic, ph, nitrate, nitrites etc.... should i be checking for magnesiuim???

other are pushing tech a & b.....

My brain is getting fried....

fyi, i want to add a clam and was told they are calcium pigs... what are you guys using for a calcium supplement...

i am using red sea coral pro sea salt and my calcium level is always around 450.....

thanking you in advance....

fyi, i am also using ro/di water...

oh, for lighting i have 2 MH lamps... I believe the bulbs are Phoenix 14k - 125w each...

[Live Rock Ricky]

a few more pix..

[OIIIIIO]

Never dose what you don't test for. Hard corals can be more difficult to keep, but that usually only happens when it is heavily stocked. It can be more difficult if there are a lot of softies in the tank due to chemical warfare. Your tank as it stands should get all it needs from regular water changes and shouldn't need anything dosed because it doesn't have a lot of coral yet.

If you do decide to go hard, you'll want to test for Ca, Mg, and Alk along with what you are already testing for. If your levels aren't keeping up with demand, dose lightly until you can get a recipe for your tank. There are a lot of things for each of those that you can dose to bring levels up.


Here's what I use but have used a&b:

• Ca - Mrs Wages picking lime (kalkwasser) and on occasion, Calcium chlroride when Ca gets way too low (bulk reef supply)
• Mg - Magnesium chloride (bulk reef supply)
• Alk - cooked baking soda (bake A&H baking soda @ 400 deg for 20 minutes)

Once I get sick of keeping up with dosing, I'll be trying to cram a reactor under the tank.

[FireEater]

Yes, as it has been said, you should not worry about dosing yet. Water changes will do.

Learn how to drip Mrs. Wages first for when you do start dosing. Mrs. Wages is dirt cheap and a great calcium supp. You can drip it until you buy a Calcium Reactor down the line.

A good thread to start at is HERE

My tanks is dominated by SPS and I have a Calcium Reactor, but I still supplement with Mrs. Wages. I use 5 heaping teaspoons to 2 1/2 gallons and drip it. It usually takes 48 hours to drip it all out.

The pics in my sig below are old. My tank is completely different now. I really need to update the site.

Personally, if you want to go SPS, then ditch the xenia. That stuff is a weed and will overtake your tank.

You do not want to have to try and control it later down the line when your tank is full of SPS's, as you will most likely break them up trying to get to the new xenia stalks that will pop up everywhere.

[UTCreefer]

Your tank parameters look good so far. When it comes to dosing which all sps tanks require eventually search for Randy's 2 part, it tells you how to make your own.