What supplements to start out my coral?

[red_roadster]

I have a two month old tank with a few fish and a cleaning crew. I just added a soft coral, not sure of the name. Small frag with purple stocks and feathery "leaves". As you can tell, I am really new to this. Anyway, I am wanting to know what additives I should purchase and put in the tank for the coral.. oh, and the sponge I put in today? I looked at Kent Liquid Calcium at the store and something called Seachem calcium. What to use? Anything else? Anything that I should also be putting in for the fish? A lawnmower, small clown, and a chromis.
Thanx,
Red

 

[dzones]

It may help a lot if you can get a pic or a for sure name of the coral in question.
2 months is not a long time for a tank to be up and running for a coral to be introduced. I would not suggest adding any others for a little while.

 

[marvida]

Hmmmm..... Where to start. First off I'm glad you found this board. WELCOME.
Now the bad news. You need to find out what coral you have in order to know what to feed it. As far as supplements go I think the best rule of thumb is not to add anything you're not testing for. Your tank is very new, stop & do some research before you add anything else. Familiarize yourself with the search function & you'll find just about any info you're looking for. Patience is EVERYTHING in this hobby. Don't buy anything else before you research it, you'll be happier in the long run. By the way, did the sponge get exposed to air at any time?
Ken

 

[red_roadster]

Sponge is a tube type with bluish/blackish areas and lenghts of white. It was pulled out of the water and put in a bag at the LFS. I ask the LFS guy if that wasn't bad based on what I had read here before buying it. LFS guy said that this particular sponge was not hurt by pulling it out and putting it back in the water. Who knows.
The coral was given to me by a friend who has it growing like crazy in a 10 gal in his office.
Thanx,
Red

 

[jimmyn]

For all sponges, exposure to air will damage its cell walls. Air gets trapped and the sponge will experience die off. Another great story about lfs mistakes. Sponges should be bagged underwater and never exposed to air.

 

[donjasper]

IMHO you're going about this the wrong way.
Corals should grow without any additives (unless you consider kalk water an additive). If they need additives - then you're doing something wrong. Better to fix whatever it is you're doing wrong than band-aid over it with chemicals.
By the way "doing something wrong" includes putting the wrong corals in your tank. Just as cactus won't grow in the jungle, corals need a particular environment to grow.
Good rule of thumb: If you can't test it - don't add it.
Example: If you don't have a magnesium test kit - don't add magnesium.
One mans opinion.