am i ready for soft corals

so here are my parameters, my tank has been up for about 2 months and im getting the itch for some soft corals, i know that ill have to change my lighting if i want hard but am i ok for soft


i have a 40gl breeder
my lighting is a single t5 ballast 36inch and an led fix to kicks out 1200k

PH 8.0-8.2
ammon 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate is been 40ppm for about a month cant seem to get it lower
calc 340
carb (kh) 143.2
phosphate 0ppm


so what do u think am i ready

 

The Nitrates are high!!Are you using tap water??Overfeeding???Overstocked??
While softies don't really care about Calcium or Alk.They should probably be brought up a little especially dKH as this helps keep the PH in the proper range.What is the Magnesium level?
Need a little more info about your light.Is it one t5 bulb?What kind of bulbs?(Actinic or daylight and temp?)How many watts? Also how many leds?I am assuming you mean 12000k.How many watts are the leds and what brand is the fixture?

 

@ vinny

about the water no im doing water changes with ro/di water from lfs and topping the tank off with aquafina bottled water , about the t5 light yes its a single with a Zoo Med T-5 HO Coral Sun Actinic 420 Fluorescent Bulb and yes 12000k not sure of the watts im at work now and will post around 11pm when i get out
i thought i had all the tests (API Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit and Reef Master Test Kit) never thought of magnesium levels will have to get that

 

If you are doing WC's not overfeeding or overstocked and your Nitrates are still not decreasing then I would stop using Aquafina until it can be tested for Nitrates.I would get RODI water from the LFS for top offs or consider purchasing an rodi unit(can't imagine doing this without one in all honesty and it will save you money in the long run).You will not need to test Magnesium very often especially with softies but it is still nice to know what the reading is as this level keeps Cal. and Alk. stable and in solution.

 

What size is your tank? What do you have for livestock so far?

If you're changing water with RO/DI and nitrates aren't dropping, you might consider getting a second opinion. Your LFS will most likely test your water for you if you take in a sample. FWIW, API is not the most accurate, nor the most stable test kit available.

 

@bill i have a 40breeder and my live stock is 2clowns 1 scooter Benny, 1 tiny tiny green croma, Diadema Dottyback,Invertebrates lta, Condylactis Anemone

 

I'm going to assume you are aware that scooter dragonet eats pods and are not easy to keep... I would get ATI bulbs for the light fixture but you don't have to. A single t5ho and low quality leds can't grow anemones which are even harder to keep than soft corals.

 

IMHO your bioload is too much meaning, and again IMHO, you have too many fish in your small tank. The filtration simply can't keep up. That in addition to the water you were using, well, you're going to have a difficult time getting and keeping the nitrates low.

 

I don't think your that overstocked but it would be good to return the scooter for store credit if you can.It probably won't survive in a new tank setup of your size.I agree with vinny on the aquafina,good tasting water is often not good for aquariums.For topoff,distilled would be better,ro/di would be best.

 

Buy distilled water or spring water in the jugs at the grocery store, aquafina has sodium and other additives for humans. If your fish are doing alright, then yeah I don't think a few soft corals would be a problem.