# Taking the step from FOWLR to Fish and Corals...



## nizzmo (Feb 4, 2011)

Just got my 4 34 watt t5h0 coralife fixture with moonlighting this week in the mail, and I'd like to slowly start adding some corals to my tank... 
My question is:

What timing should I do with my light cycle? I work 10am - 6pm so ideally I would like to view it from 6pm-12 am... Right now I have the whole setup running from 5-11pm... But I'd like to upgrade to a better timer so I can use my moonlights in the evening and my blue bulbs an hour before and after my 10000k's kick in...

What corals are best to start with? I'm looking for colour and a variety... They must also work well with my current lighting setup until I upgrade.

Should I go for frags or ones already attached to LR? 

What are some common steps to keep corals? IE dosing or specific water requirements? At the moment I change 15 % of my water on a weekly basis.... Lately I've been doing a poor job with my salinity readings but I calibrated my refractometer and we should be back on track... (I lost a fish because of this I think)

Any advice would be very helpful!

Specs :

45-55 gal bowfront
coralife t5ho 4 light strip
Lots of LR and LS
Hydro powerhead
Fluval 4 running just biomax

Stocklist:

3 spotted cardinals 
1 cleaner shrimps
Small snails and crabs
Blue tux urchin
Sand sifting star


Thanks in advance.


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## sandsifter (Aug 6, 2012)

nizzmo said:


> Just got my 4 34 watt t5h0 coralife fixture with moonlighting this week in the mail, and I'd like to slowly start adding some corals to my tank...
> My question is:
> 
> What timing should I do with my light cycle? I work 10am - 6pm so ideally I would like to view it from 6pm-12 am... Right now I have the whole setup running from 5-11pm... But I'd like to upgrade to a better timer so I can use my moonlights in the evening and my blue bulbs an hour before and after my 10000k's kick in...
> ...


Lighting regimen of 8-12 hours (but optimal at 10 hours). I work almost the same hours as you so I would go 2 PM to 12 PM.
With that kind of light, I would say softies and some lps. I would get an array of mushrooms (ricordeas are pretty), zoas (very colorful), palys, toadstool, or even xenia(they grow like weeds so I don't recommend them - especially if you overfeed your fishes). I would start with frags and most people here can sell you or give you one. 
For waterflow, most softies tend to like medium to low i.e. with my MP10 30% short wave on a 34 gallon.
I would do 10% WC every week if it is a fairly new tank then gradually switch to bi-weekly as the system stabilizes (maybe around 6 months or so). Softies like dirty water mind you. I only do 10% waterchange once a month now and the corals are looking great!
Also, you need a protein skimmer just for fail safe purposes. You don't need to dose for softies if that is the route you are going to. The water changes replenishes the elements. 
Never dose anything that you can't test .
Salinity should be at 1.025 - 1.028 and temperature of at least 77-79 Fahrenheit. I set my temp at 79 for fluctuations.
Also I would recommend an ATO for nano tanks.

Fluval 4 is good for surface agitation for oxygen exchange and pH purposes. I would take out any filters though as they become nitrate factories if left unattended.

I hope a bit of this info helped.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

In this heat wave, go to a reverse photoperiod and have the lights on at night when it is cooler. If you turn on your highpowered reef lights during the day, you'll often overheat the tank in this heat.


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## BaoBeiZhu (Apr 24, 2010)

you just went from being broke to being bankrupt


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