How are my readings for coral

[Ricky1066]

I did a full test of mytank because I am going to start looking into some softies My wifes said she loves them (great for me) and she loves the ones they call brains

Here are my results

Amonia--o
nitrite--0
ph---8.4
phosphate--0.5
nitrate--20 No matter what i do always 20
calcium--420

I don't understand the alkalinity test so I don't bother

salt is 1.025- 1.026
temp--79


Is all ok to start some easy coral ?

I got my refractometer today and 2 reactors wil hook up shortly

[drparker]

The numbers you have are ok but you should be tracking Alk and maybe even magnesium. What test kit do have and what is the problem with it?

[zebrafish]

How long has the tank been running? Also what I don’t quite understand …2 reactors wil hook up shortly? What reactors are you hooking up.

What type of lighting are you using?

Brains are not considered Softies, they are LPS.

[schoch79]

I gotta pipe in here. Not to rush into anything or sound irresponsible in my aquarium husbandry I think with the numbers that you have described from your tests it is pretty safe to say that you can probably keep most of the hardier soft corals and some of the easier lps corals too. I have numerous times (though not recommended) set up tanks and within about 1-2 months in just about had them fully stocked with corals. However I did only have 2-3 smaller fish in them too so I didn't have to worry so much about overloading the bacterial populations with too much waste all at once. I would say if you want to get started just do some research on easy to to keep corals and go from there. As a beginner I would suggest that you start with zoanthids, mushrooms, and really easy softies like those......Oh but before you do make sure that you have a decent set of lights...at least power compact, t-5 or metal halides....corals are almost all photosynthetic and will die without proper lighting to get their food from.

[BurntOutReefer]

keep an eye on that angel and your corals...........

[seapug]

you'd be fine for most corals but things will be generally happier if you get that Nitrate and Phosphate down to undetectable. A few water changes with RO/DI based saltwater can bring down the nitrate, but the Phosphate might require a reactor and GFO. If Phosphate shows up in a test you have too much. Personally I think Phosphate is the bane of the cycled reef tank.