First Coral

[Beckmola24]

I bought my first coral the other day. It was a cheap 2.50 yellow polyp frag. It is doing extremely well in my tank. It's much larger than when I first bought it and it's fully open all of the time. My question is how long until it multiplies? My params are great and my water is clear. I add calcium and iodide. I'd love that to spread all over my LR.

Thanks!

 

[Illusion]

It really all depends on your tank itself.. Most will get used to the tank for a month or so and then start to bud out.. On a side note I wouldnt add Iodine to your tank.. It can be very toxic to your tank.. I believe NSW values is .06 so make sure when you test you are no higher than that.. Also If you are doing pretty regular water changes at least monthly you shouldnt ever need to add Iodine.. The only additives I have ever added were Ca and Alk to my fully stocked 55g reef... Also make sure you test for anything you are adding to your tank.. If you have no SPS or LPS corals you really dont even need to worry too much about adding Calcioum as of yet..

HTH<
James

 

[mattseattle]

it took my yellow colony polyps about a month before they started spreading. now i am having an issue keeping them in a controlled space. i've been using kalk paste to keep them in a controlled area so they don't spread out of control.

i second what cj10488 said about additives. i wouldn't add iodine for the same reasons he stated. it can be toxic....especially if you are not testing for iodine. i've also had problems finding a reliable iodine kit. i bought a salifert iodine kit and it just doesn't give accurate results. i think iodine must be something that is very difficult to test for due to salt mixes, foods we add, etc. don't add anything you are not testing for.....if you add too many types of different additives you can throw you tank way out of balance. believe me, i know....that was one of my mistakes when i first set up my tank. i thought since the fish store carried these additives i must need them. well i didn't! now i only add calcium and alk to my tank and things are simple and in balance and working really well. it's also alot cheaper

 

[Beckmola24]

Thanks for the heads up about the iodine and the polyps. I'm excited about my first coral =) It seems to really be thriving in my tank. That's about all i can have though because of lighting issues. I'm thinking about adding a retrofit kit. Thanks again! I appreciate the info.