Easiest Coral for beginners?

CGarot87 · 03/06/2015, 03:21 PM

Just started my tank 2 days ago. I want to put some color in it. What would be the best/easiest way to do that? I was thinking button polyps, is that a good place to start? I bought the tank already established and moved it to my house. My Ph is good, my nitrites are good, my ammonia is good, my salinity is good, but my nitrates are 40ppm. Just did a water change and put in some nitrate filter pads in the sump. Should I wait til they go down, or is it ok to add stuff? Also, the guy had the protein skimmer hooked up wrong so it hadn't been working, solved that though. Sorry, lots of stuff, just trying to figure it all out.

KabayanReef · 03/06/2015, 04:41 PM

Leathers of all sorts are easy and pleasing to look at for a beginner coral.

- Mushrooms are unkillable aswell
- buttons , zoas easy growth and care.
- same goes for gsps but tend to be hit or miss for a beginner IMO

Welcome to RC (and the darkside of saltwater tanks!)

thegrun · 03/06/2015, 04:41 PM

Here is a good website for easy to grow corals:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/cor...5-Easy-Corals/
This one describes many of the common corals found in the hobby and the care they need:
https://sites.google.com/a/asira.org/www2/caresheets
A word of caution, many of the easy corals can spread to the point they are considered pests.

tidus10 · 03/06/2015, 04:49 PM

Green star polyps ftmfw!!!

cloak · 03/06/2015, 04:58 PM

Here's another link you might want to check out.

http://successfulreefkeeping.com/lea...coral-choices/

HTH.

Goldndoodle · 03/06/2015, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegrun

Here is a good website for easy to grow corals:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/cor...5-Easy-Corals/
This one describes many of the common corals found in the hobby and the care they need:
https://sites.google.com/a/asira.org/www2/caresheets
A word of caution, many of the easy corals can spread to the point they are considered pests.

Those are AWESOME sites. I'm bookmarking those for sure!!

Reef Frog · 03/06/2015, 06:50 PM

I would research tanks that appeal to you and see what it takes to create one, technically & money wise, and estimate if you can and want to do those things to have a tank like the ones you like. Take note of the species in those tsnks and read up on them.

By doing this you can avoid corals you will later regret owning. Let's say you like mixed stony reefs - brain corals, acans, plating montipora, maybe SPS. If that's the case, you may want to go easy on the "Easy" cheap corals like GSP, Xenia, some mushrooms, ugly zoas etc....unless that's what you really want long term.

I would definately avoid putting things in willy-nilly just because they're easy or cheap. I suggest developing a plan. If you're shooting for a colorful hard coral tank, you might make different decisions for example. JMOs. Good luck with your new tank.

TDB · 03/06/2015, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CGarot87

Just started my tank 2 days ago. I want to put some color in it. What would be the best/easiest way to do that? I was thinking button polyps, is that a good place to start? I bought the tank already established and moved it to my house. My Ph is good, my nitrites are good, my ammonia is good, my salinity is good, but my nitrates are 40ppm. Just did a water change and put in some nitrate filter pads in the sump. Should I wait til they go down, or is it ok to add stuff? Also, the guy had the protein skimmer hooked up wrong so it hadn't been working, solved that though. Sorry, lots of stuff, just trying to figure it all out.

If you just started your tank 2 days ago you will have plenty of time for research since it will takes weeks for your tank to cycle.

Hitch08 · 03/06/2015, 11:04 PM

Many thanks for the links in this thread. I'm still in the planning stages, so these are great!

rjdv420 · 03/06/2015, 11:17 PM

imo palys and mushrooms

supervdl · 03/07/2015, 02:10 AM

hairy mushrooms - look nice and I was never able to kill them in my tanks. Also, I have the nicest acros and people unfamiliar with reef tanks look at the tank ignore the acros and say how nice the hairy mushrooms look.

bluecoyote79 · 03/07/2015, 02:21 AM

Toadstools are easy and the thick branched birdsnest coral are like weeds in my tank. I've never had luck with zoas but they're supposed to be easy.

1fstnsx · 03/07/2015, 03:10 AM

For me, Duncan's. Zoas, mushrooms and acans what I started off with. I'd start with cheaper ones first, and make sure your parameters are stable.

joesfiddy · 03/07/2015, 08:11 AM

Brown Kenya trees are very ez same with mushrooms

EvolutionIsALie · 03/08/2015, 07:54 AM

I was looking at the "Sea Mat and Button Polyps"

but it reads
Some of these species contain a strong neurotoxin which can affect humans.
Who has this? Maybe the same person with a blue ringed octopus?

hotelbravo · 03/08/2015, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tidus10

Green star polyps ftmfw!!!

I threw these in my tank havent done anything to them and they grow like crazy, its my only coral

Tin Man · 03/08/2015, 10:06 AM

Picking corals is ten times harder than picking fish IMO. I keep reading and reading and still have no idea what will (in no particular order) 1) not grow like weeds 2) be fairly easy to start with 3) make a nice compatible group in a 29g biocube with standard lights 4) not be poisonous and 5) look nice, at least to me.

JoelA7 · 03/08/2015, 06:25 PM

Great thoughts and suggestions above. I'd add something that is you really need to look at the tank and animals closely. There's an art to this and it takes a while to be able to see the subtle changes that indicate health or not.

Harbour · 03/08/2015, 06:41 PM

Know that some corals can grow so fast the they quickly overtake everything! I'll never have GSP or another mushroom in one of my tanks. OK, never say never. Bought both because they were reasonably priced and regretted it latter. But your mileage may vary and each to their own. :-)

They are very colorful.

Harbour

delor-02 · 03/08/2015, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supervdl

hairy mushrooms - look nice and I was never able to kill them in my tanks. Also, I have the nicest acros and people unfamiliar with reef tanks look at the tank ignore the acros and say how nice the hairy mushrooms look.

My hairy mushrooms, Xenia, and gsp get more comments than anything else, just because they sway in the current....

delor-02 · 03/08/2015, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harbour

Know that some corals can grow so fast the they quickly overtake everything! I'll never have GSP or another mushroom in one of my tanks. OK, never say never. Bought both because they were reasonably priced and regretted it latter. But your mileage may vary and each to their own. :-)

They are very colorful.

Harbour

I'm to the point I am basically giving away gsp, Xenia, and Kenya tree!

\Clownfish/ · 03/08/2015, 08:19 PM

ill take them

hehehehe

mandarin_goby · 03/08/2015, 08:42 PM

For me, xenia, kenya and GSP grow the best. Almost too well! Thankfully my GSP has stayed put on a softball-sized rock but the xenia is everywhere and refuses to be stopped. I like the movement though, so no worries. I noticed my kenya tree sheds small pieces that take root elsewhere when it blows in the current...sneaky thing.

delor-02 · 03/08/2015, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandarin_goby

For me, xenia, kenya and GSP grow the best. Almost too well! Thankfully my GSP has stayed put on a softball-sized rock but the xenia is everywhere and refuses to be stopped. I like the movement though, so no worries. I noticed my kenya tree sheds small pieces that take root elsewhere when it blows in the current...sneaky thing.

My experience exactly! My Kenya tree has become a Kenya forest!

03/06/2015, 03:21 PM	#1
CGarot87 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Beaumont, CA Posts: 4	Easiest Coral for beginners? Just started my tank 2 days ago. I want to put some color in it. What would be the best/easiest way to do that? I was thinking button polyps, is that a good place to start? I bought the tank already established and moved it to my house. My Ph is good, my nitrites are good, my ammonia is good, my salinity is good, but my nitrates are 40ppm. Just did a water change and put in some nitrate filter pads in the sump. Should I wait til they go down, or is it ok to add stuff? Also, the guy had the protein skimmer hooked up wrong so it hadn't been working, solved that though. Sorry, lots of stuff, just trying to figure it all out.

03/06/2015, 04:41 PM	#2
KabayanReef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Middle east Posts: 158	Leathers of all sorts are easy and pleasing to look at for a beginner coral. - Mushrooms are unkillable aswell - buttons , zoas easy growth and care. - same goes for gsps but tend to be hit or miss for a beginner IMO Welcome to RC (and the darkside of saltwater tanks!) __________________ What is a word made up of 4 letters, yet is also made up of 3. Although is written with 8 letters, and then with 4. Rarely consists of 6, and never is written with 5.

03/06/2015, 04:49 PM	#4
tidus10 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Oswego, Ny Posts: 610	Green star polyps ftmfw!!! __________________ Support your local Reef Club! Upstate Ny - Lake Ontario Reef Society Current: 40B- Fish, Water, Rocks, Sand, Pumps, Heaters, Skimmer, Coral 93C build coming soon

03/06/2015, 11:04 PM	#9
Hitch08 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Philly Suburbs Posts: 665	Many thanks for the links in this thread. I'm still in the planning stages, so these are great! __________________ 120g tank with 40g breeder sump. SVS-30 LifeReef Skimmer. EcoTech Radion Pros.

03/07/2015, 02:10 AM	#11
supervdl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NE PA Posts: 1,315	hairy mushrooms - look nice and I was never able to kill them in my tanks. Also, I have the nicest acros and people unfamiliar with reef tanks look at the tank ignore the acros and say how nice the hairy mushrooms look. __________________ My tank thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1167897 Current Tank Info: 135 gal mixed reef with Radions and Zeovit; 210 gal SPS reef being set up

03/06/2015, 04:41 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Here is a good website for easy to grow corals: http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/cor...5-Easy-Corals/ This one describes many of the common corals found in the hobby and the care they need: https://sites.google.com/a/asira.org/www2/caresheets A word of caution, many of the easy corals can spread to the point they are considered pests.

03/06/2015, 04:58 PM	#5
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	Here's another link you might want to check out. http://successfulreefkeeping.com/lea...coral-choices/ HTH.

03/06/2015, 06:50 PM	#7
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	I would research tanks that appeal to you and see what it takes to create one, technically & money wise, and estimate if you can and want to do those things to have a tank like the ones you like. Take note of the species in those tsnks and read up on them. By doing this you can avoid corals you will later regret owning. Let's say you like mixed stony reefs - brain corals, acans, plating montipora, maybe SPS. If that's the case, you may want to go easy on the "Easy" cheap corals like GSP, Xenia, some mushrooms, ugly zoas etc....unless that's what you really want long term. I would definately avoid putting things in willy-nilly just because they're easy or cheap. I suggest developing a plan. If you're shooting for a colorful hard coral tank, you might make different decisions for example. JMOs. Good luck with your new tank.

03/06/2015, 11:17 PM	#10
rjdv420 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 36	imo palys and mushrooms

03/07/2015, 02:21 AM	#12
bluecoyote79 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 380 Blog Entries: 2	Toadstools are easy and the thick branched birdsnest coral are like weeds in my tank. I've never had luck with zoas but they're supposed to be easy. __________________ All of my fish are named after Seinfeld characters. Current Tank Info: DSA 65g w/ 20g sump, two AI Hydra 52s, Skimz SM-163 skimmer and Reef Octopus DC-5500 return

03/07/2015, 03:10 AM	#13
1fstnsx Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 68	For me, Duncan's. Zoas, mushrooms and acans what I started off with. I'd start with cheaper ones first, and make sure your parameters are stable.

03/07/2015, 08:11 AM	#14
joesfiddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Morris IL Posts: 518	Brown Kenya trees are very ez same with mushrooms __________________ 250 dd, 180 reef tank 100 gal sump, 75 reef tank 30 gallon sump, 40 gal frag tank, 12 gal nano Current Tank Info: 100 gal long reef, 75 gal reef, 40 gal frag tank

03/08/2015, 07:54 AM	#15
EvolutionIsALie Moved On Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 12	I was looking at the "Sea Mat and Button Polyps" but it reads Some of these species contain a strong neurotoxin which can affect humans. Who has this? Maybe the same person with a blue ringed octopus?

03/08/2015, 10:06 AM	#17
Tin Man Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 112	Picking corals is ten times harder than picking fish IMO. I keep reading and reading and still have no idea what will (in no particular order) 1) not grow like weeds 2) be fairly easy to start with 3) make a nice compatible group in a 29g biocube with standard lights 4) not be poisonous and 5) look nice, at least to me. __________________ 29g Biocube, LR, LS, Tunze ATO, Tunze 9004, Intank Media Basket, Jebao WP-10, 1 fish, LPS 125g 6' Acrylic, 850gph external pump, power heads, skimmer, GFO Reactor, LEDs, fuge

03/08/2015, 06:25 PM	#18
JoelA7 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,056	Great thoughts and suggestions above. I'd add something that is you really need to look at the tank and animals closely. There's an art to this and it takes a while to be able to see the subtle changes that indicate health or not. __________________ New 48x24x26.25 w Precision Marine R30 sump, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, 2@Vertex 1.5L reactors for carbon & phosban, GEO Ca reactor w Aquarium Plants regulator. 2 MP40's 2@Radions. #120 live rock & #12

03/08/2015, 06:41 PM	#19
Harbour Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 311	Know that some corals can grow so fast the they quickly overtake everything! I'll never have GSP or another mushroom in one of my tanks. OK, never say never. Bought both because they were reasonably priced and regretted it latter. But your mileage may vary and each to their own. :-) They are very colorful. Harbour

03/08/2015, 08:19 PM	#22
\Clownfish/ Saltwater Beginner $\Clownfish/'s Avatar$ Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Anemone Posts: 629	ill take them hehehehe __________________ Keep your friends close, and your anemones closer.
$\Clownfish/ is offline$

03/08/2015, 08:42 PM	#23
mandarin_goby Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 844	For me, xenia, kenya and GSP grow the best. Almost too well! Thankfully my GSP has stayed put on a softball-sized rock but the xenia is everywhere and refuses to be stopped. I like the movement though, so no worries. I noticed my kenya tree sheds small pieces that take root elsewhere when it blows in the current...sneaky thing. __________________ 75 with Eshopps 100 sump, Reef Octopus 110 SSS skimmer, Sicce 3.0 pump, Maxspect Gyre 130, 2 x Kessil a360W, mangroves plus clip-on bulb in sump 75 FW planted with CO2, 12 gallon cherry shrimp tank