How many corals per week

Ok one of these days my tank is going to cycle. What I want to know is how many corals can I add at a time. And how often. I know that I can add like mabey 1 or 2 fish a week but I'm not too interested in the fish. Mostly adding corals. Someone please advise.

 

Corals have very little impact on a tank's bioload so you can pretty much add as many as you want as long as your tank is ready for them. In a newer tank, however, I would only want to purchase one or two "test" corals just to see how they do for a few weeks before you go nuts.

 

Cool thanks. If someone was to have a saltwater reef only system with dead rock could you get by without cycling the tank?

 

I mean like a coral only tank.

 

It will still need to go through a small cycle. Depending on your corals you will be adding different supplements and what does not stay in the current will eventually settle and die which will cause a small amount of amonia.
I would still sugest getting a tang or some other fish to help keep down the algie because without any grazers it will be extremily hard to fight the algae on your own.

 

No, there is no way to avoid a tank cycle. You'd have to feed those corals eventually and your live rock and live sand will contain critters that will produce ammonia. Not much mind you but it only takes a little to get a cycle started.

 

I disagree. IMO you shoulnd't add to many at once. New corals, especially wild collected, tend to slime up/release toxins when added to a tank. Adding a bunch will only increase that reaction even more. I've watched systems melt down in front of my face, from too much coral bring added. IT takes a good amount of money for a hobbyst to get to that point though

 

IMO, there are no shortcuts to a successful reef. The water has to cycle in order to maintain balance. Remember, corals feed on plankton and that requires water that is stabilized. Also, fish add deterius which turns into food for reef inhabitants. I read an article about this in FAMA magazine that had a quote that sticks in my mind. "When you feed your fish, you are feeding your reef."
Plus, think about it. How many shows about reefs have you ever seen where a reef is devoid of fish? Usually when this happens, the reef dies!
Nature is a balancing act. Cycle your tank.

 

Very interesting. I've never added too many corals at a time because I'm too poor so I had no idea Has this happened in well established tanks that run a lot of carbon too?

 

I have read an article as well that stated that a reef won't be as plush and beautiful when lacking fish. It is an ecosystem that works together, inverts, fish, corals, they all work together in their habitat. I would agree that in an established tank you can probably add quite a few corals at once but I would definitly run carbon due to toxins. With a newer tank I would limit it to 2 at a time to be safe, but I would cycle a tank before adding anything.