Is this article correct?

[ChemGuy]

I did not think this was the way to do things.

Reef Aquarium Additions: When to Add Live Rock, Corals, and Fish

[Ninong]

A customer with a 120-gal aquarium asked Drs. Foster & Smith for advice. I will copy their advice and add my comments in blue:


Q.I'm setting up a 120-gallon reef aquarium. In what order should I add the live rock, fish, and coral?

A.Once you've installed the aquarium and successfully set up the filtration and equipment, add the live rock and sand that will provide the foundation for your reef environment. Follow the correct procedures for curing live rock and sand, allowing 4 to 6 weeks for it to completely cure. During this time, do not illuminate your aquarium or you will have algae problems.

They sell only uncured live rock. I agree with their recommendation on allowing 4 to 6 weeks for uncured live rock to completely cure. If you start with fully-cured live rock, two to three weeks may suffice. Whether you run your lights during this period is up to you. I ran mine for about 5 hours a day. Running the lights will help preserve any 'good' macroalgae or even possible coral hitchhikers. If you're scared to death of the possibility of nuisance hair algae, then keep your lights off.

Add coral second.

That's the way I did it. I added a Ricordea yuma as my first coral and then a couple of R. florida a week later. I didn't add my first fish until 5 weeks after starting up my 120-gal aquarium with fully-cured live rock. Actually, I think I added some clean-up crew critters two weeks before I added my first coral.

After your live rock is completely cured, add the majority of your corals to the aquarium, and set up your lighting system with timers.

If they're actually recommending that you add "the majority of your corals to the aquarium" all at once, then I don't agree with that recommendation. I would add the corals gradually over several months and I would always choose captive-propagated coral frags whenever possible. Maricultured corals are another possibility but they carry greater risk of potential problems than captive-propagated frags.

If your aquarium has growth of nuisance algae at this time, control it with a selection of invertebrates such as hermit crabs, including Scarlet, Dwarf Red Tip, and Dwarf Zebra Hawaiian crabs; and snails, such as Mexican turbo and Margarita snails.

Margarita snails are all temperate. They won't live long at reef-aquarium temperatures. Trochus snails are much better all-around grazers. You should add some grazing snails at the very first sign of nuisance hair algae. They only eat it if it is very, very short and tender. They ignore the long strands. Some tangs do eat long strands but they're not suitable for a small 120-gal aquarium.

Hermit crabs are up to you. I had a few scarlet reef hermits but, in general, I think we could all do with a lot fewer, if any, hermits.

Add fish last Adding corals will cause your water parameters to change.

Adding anything will cause your water parameters to change and adding "the majority of your corals" all at once will definitely cause your water parameters to change, which won't be good for any sensitive SPS corals. I would wait at least three or four months before adding the first SPS corals.

Check your water parameters frequently with a test kit. Once water parameters have stabilized, you can start adding fish. Adding fish last reduces the possibility of disease resulting from fluctuating water parameters that occur when other livestock is added to the aquarium. After your fish have been in the aquarium for a few days, you may also wish to add invertebrates to control the amount of decaying material in your aquarium.

Well, I'm not sure which employee wrote this response, but if he/she is talking about adding a whole bunch of fish all at the same time, then I don't agree with that at all.

These may include sea stars and sea cucumbers.

Some sea stars are suitable but many are not. Sea cucumbers require a lot of open sand-bed surface to survive. One small sand-mopping cuke might survive in a little 120-gal tank.

Remember, when adding fish, add the small, peaceful fish first, and the more territorial, aggressive fish last.

I agree with that statement.

[ChemGuy]

The part that confused me was the add the corals first then the fish. I always thought fish first.
Some sites recommend fish first to get the cycle going.
But evidently it can be done either way ??

[metalhead]

i've only got two problems so far...

one - i would not add any type of coral before establishing a permanent and adequate lighting solution.

two - i would never recommend adding any type of livestock in order to supplement any kind of "cycle".

that said...

one - it is very true that minimizing the lighting period during the first stages of a new setup will minimize nuisance algae, especially diatoms. BUT... it will also prolong the "cycle" and, as Ninong points out, you will probably lose some fauna that you really don't want to lose in the process.

two - hypocritically speaking i have added pretty much any and every type of livestock to my aquaria even rumored to eat aiptasia anemone at one time or another, more often than not resulting badly for the livestock in question (aka deadstock).

[Ninong]

The part that confused me was the add the corals first then the fish. I always thought fish first.
Some sites recommend fish first to get the cycle going.

These are the same people who will tell you that you should buy a few damsels for your tank "to get the cycle going." That advice goes back to the days before live rock when there were no reef aquariums, just fish-only aquariums with dead coral skeletons for decoration. The same sort of tank you are likely to see in some commercial offices that hire professional aquarium maintenance companies, ofen part of your LFS, to set up and maintain their fish-only aquariums with dead coral skeletons. They look hideous!

You do not need any fish at all to "get the cycle going." Your live rock will "get the cycle going." If you have concerns that your live rock is so thoroughly fully-cured that it will experience absolutely zero die-off after you add it to your aquarium, you can always throw in a dead shrimp or simply add a teaspoon of ammonia to your tankwater. Even if you don't choose to throw in a dead shrimp or add any ammonia to your tank, your fully-cured live rock is already loaded with beneficial bacteria and those bacteria will be more than capable of dealing with the gradual addition of new fish and/or corals.

If you start your tank with the sort of live rock that Drs. Foster & Smith sells -- uncured live rock -- then the die-off in and on your live rock will cycle your tank, which is why they recommend waiting so long for it to finish dying off.

Under no circumstances should anyone add new fish to their aquarium specifically for the purpose of subjecting those fish to the stress of an initial cycle. That advice should have gone out twenty years ago but unfortunately many LFS people still offer the same advice they were giving twenty years ago. These are the same LFS that are still setting up tanks with dead coral skeletons for decoration.

But evidently it can be done either way ??

Yes, it can be done either way but the reason to add fish first has nothing to do with cycling the tank. Never use fish to actually cycle the tank.