Coral help needed desperately!

[mud1059]

First and foremost I need to appologize for making my first post so horrific. I've been scouring these forums for weeks to avoid exactly what I'm caught up in. I have a 180 gal tank that's been cycling for 3 weeks now and all tests/temps have been regular and good. I found a guy on craigslist looking to sell his entire 90 gallon setup. I obviously didn't want all that I just wanted his live rock (110 lbs) I asked him if he was interested. Not only was he interested he offered me the lighting (4 power compacts w/ballasts) and live rock for $400. I couldn't refuse. I got everything today and to my surprise he threw in all his coral as well! AAH! I don't want coral yet! I'm going to kill it because I'm a newbie moron! So here I sit with 2 rubbermaid tubs full of live rock and 50-60 frags of colt coral along with 10 other kinds including a bubble coral, and a frogspawn were the only two I recognized. And a 18" anenome.

I don't know what to do with this! I don't want to kill it. I currently have a 240gph powerhead in the 45g rubbermaid and a airpump/stone in the 10g rubbermaid. What do I need to do to ensure these poor guys don't die by my hands? Thanks so much and I'm soo sorry for such a moronic first post.

Here's tank stats just in case:
PH 8.3
Nitrite .4ppm
Ammonia .4ppm
Nitrate 5ppm
Temp 79f

Thanks for any help folks!

 

[auqua man]

You could ship them all to me I would be happy to take them off your hands lol. I hope some of the others will have some good ideas for you.

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Here is what you can do, Take them all to the local lfs and see if they will sell them for you or get store credit for them, This way you can at your liesure get stuff in return for your corals. I would do this first thing monday, get them to tank as soon as posssible.

 

[Cwazy Clown]

well yes, besides the giving away part, you can plug in your pc lighting and light all your corals. this way, you might be able to keep them "alive" personally, i would sell the anenome to your LFS or a person. just get rid of it for now. keep all your coral and run a powerhead/heater/lighting and hope it lives. ur a lucky dude for getting all that coral for free =P (hit me up with some if you want to rid yourself of some) hope this helps.

 

[mud1059]

You could ship them all to me I would be happy to take them off your hands lol. I hope some of the others will have some good ideas for you.

HAHA I knew I was going to get that at least once. I'll try to do the local store tomorrow. I believe most are open tomorrow. As for colt coral, if you want some just let me know I have an "abundant" collection! I'm not sure of a store that would even want to try to sell 8" frogspawn or 12-14" bubble coral. I'd assume they're a pretty penny.

Thanks for the assistance guys.

 

[ronj]

i would definately get rid of the anemone..don't let it get chopped up in your powerhead before you get rid of it...you could try lighting the corals that you have left..you may be able to keep them..personally, i would set up a 10g with a powerhead and cured liverock rubble..i would keep them in there until i could transfer them to the other tank

 

[matts125]

My father has a new tank I have been helping him with and is eager to add corals so if you need to unload any of these to someone who needs or wants them I am sure he would love to take a few frags off your hands!!

send me a pm

Matt

 

[Reefdaddy1]

I would take the store credit, He virtualy pay for all of his hardware ie.. controllers , calcium reactors, or lighting upgrade with what he got. Jsut a thoought, that way he gets it all now rather then later. Pic corals at his liesure. Beside why take the chance on it living or not, Get something for them and let them guarantee life.

 

[mud1059]

I would take the store credit, He virtualy pay for all of his hardware ie.. controllers , calcium reactors, or lighting upgrade with what he got. Jsut a thoought, that way he gets it all now rather then later. Pic corals at his liesure. Beside why take the chance on it living or not, Get something for them and let them guarantee life.

I'd agree, just because I honestly don't trust myself with anything without more knowledge. I appreciate your input!

 

[returnofsid]

I'd say put the rock in your tank, get the PC lighting up and running and put the corals in the tank. They'll definately not live in a rubbermaid container with no lighting. As for the anemone, I'd agree with the above and try and give it a good home ASAP. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how hardy most of those corals are and you'll find them thriving in no time...as long as your water quality is up and maintenance is good. If the coral does start to deteriorate, you'll notice it and usually have time to take corrective actions. However, if you're really NOT interested in the corals at all, do as suggested and either give them to a good LFS that will give you store credit or find another reefer in the area who can re-home them for you. Maybe even get ahold of the guy who sold it all to you and ask if he knows anyone or if he can help.

 

[jesshimom]

There are a lot of people local to you; if you post or can take pics of what you have I'm sure they will buy the corals from you. If you post in the livestock forum I'm sure you'd get rid of it and make a lot more than store credit. But definately the store route will work too.

You might even find someone to hold the best pieces for you until your tank is ready.

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF! Seems like you've gotten some great ideas already! Hope everything works out well for you and I think that is very admirable of you to want to get rid of them rather than try and keep them knowing you are not ready for them yet

 

[mud1059]

Again I greatly appreciated everyones input. Thank you krish for the compliment! So I obviously I can't keep the anenome. Most of the colt coral is attached to the live rock. I've only read how to add live rock to the tank. Now that I have LR with coral attached it's a whole new ballgame. Any hints or tips? I can't seem to find anything over the internet of someone in even close of the same predicament as me. Thanks again folks, your help is being put to good use I hope.

 

[plack]

Colt coral can be cut away from the live rock at the base with a sharp new razor and then rubberbanded to a small piece of rubble or even a small piece of scuffed up pvc. give it lots of flow and add carbon to the sump then you have the rock without it on it and sell or give it away
as for the 8" frogspawn and 12-14" bubble coral just ask for a trade for sompthing you know you will need like compact lights? or salt? or test kits or ???

 

[burning2nd]

sell the harder ones to the lFs (or just ask 2 hold for you) and if he can sell it.... have a nice day.

keep the ones you can and prey

 

[redrooster]

Colt coral is one of the hardier corals out there. I would go ahead and put some of the LR with the colts in your main tank. If after a few days the braches are extending and the start to look "fluffy" and full then put the rest in. Don't be afraid you need to start sometime, and there is nothing better than starting with free coral. I would get rid of the anenome ASAP, and would also get rid of the frogspawn and other hard corals as those are a little tougher to keep. But if you

1) Have lighting set up
2) Have a least moderate current
3) Have a reasonable stable temp
4) Water is not testing totally out of whack

Then there is really no reason not to see how the colts do when you put them in. Just my $.02 Some corals are very delicate, others like colt are actually difficult to kill and can withstand quite a bit of abuse.

 

[mud1059]

Colt coral is one of the hardier corals out there. I would go ahead and put some of the LR with the colts in your main tank. If after a few days the braches are extending and the start to look "fluffy" and full then put the rest in. Don't be afraid you need to start sometime, and there is nothing better than starting with free coral. I would get rid of the anenome ASAP, and would also get rid of the frogspawn and other hard corals as those are a little tougher to keep. But if you

1) Have lighting set up
2) Have a least moderate current
3) Have a reasonable stable temp
4) Water is not testing totally out of whack

Then there is really no reason not to see how the colts do when you put them in. Just my $.02 Some corals are very delicate, others like colt are actually difficult to kill and can withstand quite a bit of abuse.

I passed off all the harder corals and anenome to Matt125. I figured if I lost the free colt coral that obviously spreads like wildfire; it wouldn't be much of a loss. All seems to be good so far. I plucked off 10-15 that were turning a not so healthy looking purple color. I assume it was due to getting smashed in the transition and situating the live rock. If I only lose 10-20% in a new tank, I think I'm doing pretty good. I also kept the polyps and multiple mushrooms that seem fine. As for flow I got 1100gph in powerheads and 800 in the return. I want everyone to know again that I appreciate all the help. I can't say it enough!