Questions about stocking my tank

Hello! I am in the process of starting a 55 gallon reef tank. It is my first one. I have some questions regarding stocking my tank...
I have had water in my tank for 3 weeks now. my tank consists of around 80 lbs of (mostly) live rock and a clean up crew of 3 turbos, 10 nasarrius (SP?) snails, and 5 red legs.
I am wanting to take it very slowly. All of my parameters are fine. I would like to add a couple of new things but am not sure if its too early or not.
Would it be okay to add a coral banded shrimp now? can i put two coral banded shrimps in the same tank??

also, can i put a serpent star in my tank? will it do okay considering it is a new tank?

One last question, I have a friend who has a mated pair of clowns for me, should i add fish or coral first?

Thank you so much for any feedback.

 

Is ur cycle over yet? If u haven't finished it yet I wouldn't add fish

 

Maybe i am not 100% sure how to tell when my cycle is over?? i was told it would take a month and to watch for spikes in my levels and my cycle will be over when parameters become normal. However, i never noticed any spikes in my levels and my parameters are good. and feedback is appreciated

 

Your cycle may have been so small that you missed it. I would think after 3 weeks you have had your spike in ammonia already. As long as all your parameters are zero, though some nitrate is okay, you can start stocking it.

Did you ever get diatoms during these 3 weeks? Brown that appeared all over the sand and rocks? Those are a sign that the end of the cycle is coming.

 

Yes, i have gotten the brown speckles on my sand. also i have been using a product called "biozyme" i got from my lfs.

 

Okay, I think your cycle is done then, as long as your parameters are reading 0 (nitrates can be low).

I would add one fish now and let the tank adjust to that bio-load. After a few weeks if everything is okay you can add another. Coral like stable water, so you might want to wait a bit before adding some coral.

 

some good questions Indiana Boy

Coral Banded shrimps are very territorial outside of the mating season , which is why in many LFS both here and in UK they keep them isolated in single shrimp traps or even live bearer breeding traps unlike cleaner shrimp or blood shrimp or camel shrimp or even peppermint shrimp - which they tend to put many in the same tank

Serpent star - unsure , never had one

Coral or fish

personal preference IMO - I like to add fish 1st as they are the more significant contributors to bioload hence If I had my 1st few fish and then add corals, the introduction of the corals, does not cause any parameter spikes - where as introducing a large fish or multiple fish can create a short period where the bacteria present needs to catch up - but having said that, many people add corals 1st and later fish and it seems to work out for them

Steve