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12/11/2010, 11:18 AM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Atlantic City, NJ
Posts: 980
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What would your suggestion be for one's first coral?
I am not quite ready but by the middle of January I think I'll be squared away. Besides, I am diggin' the Christmas spirit with the kids. So, what would your suggestion be? I like zoa's, but I also like movement.
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"Winners do what they have to and losers do what they want" Phill 4:13 Current Tank Info: 5.5g Spec V Pico Reef |
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12/11/2010, 11:25 AM
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#2 |
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I <3 Acros
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 2,523
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Torch corals are very cool and offer great movement, easy to care for as well.
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80g Deep Blue Rimless - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2651295 225g Reef Savvy SPS Dominant - Retired http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1945361 |
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12/11/2010, 11:28 AM
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#3 |
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RC Mod
 
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The main question is what's your lighting? T5's---stony coral is ok and you should begin to test alkalinity, calcium and magnesium ; less light, test alkalinity, go zoas, mushrooms, softies and run carbon.
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
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12/11/2010, 11:41 AM
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#4 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 51
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pulsing sinularia is a good starter if your going softy it opens and closes its polyps pretty quick and sways in the current.
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12/11/2010, 11:56 AM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 30,279
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Is there a must have coral in your future? If so you want to plan other corals around your target species.
I'm not a fan of starter corals. Yes they're easy to maintain and grow quickly but they can also spread like a plague and take over your tank. Don't add anything you don't want to keep long term.
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Less technology , more biology . Current Tank Info: 30 gallon half cube and 5.5, both reef tanks |
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12/11/2010, 12:16 PM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Shepherd, Mi
Posts: 2,348
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I agree that we need to know what lighting you have and what you plan to keep to give you a good recommendation.
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92 Gallon corner tank, 2-radion gen 2 led lights, 2 mp40's Current Tank Info: 92 Gallon Corner Tank |
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12/11/2010, 05:17 PM
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#7 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Atlantic City, NJ
Posts: 980
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My lighting is T5 -10k & 50/50 24 watts. I need to add some lighting. I would like to start with zoa's and mushrooms. Eventually move to LPS's.
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"Winners do what they have to and losers do what they want" Phill 4:13 Current Tank Info: 5.5g Spec V Pico Reef |
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12/11/2010, 06:27 PM
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#8 |
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Reefaholic
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Carmel, IN
Posts: 5,135
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With the small amount of lighting...I'd stick with mushrooms.
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INDMAS President Check out my tank in the Large Tank Forums, "A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build"! Current Tank Info: 600 Gallon DT, 140 Gallon Grow Out Tank, 125 Gallon Sump, 90 Gallon Fuge, 200 Gallon Fish QT, 15 Gallon Frag QT |
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12/11/2010, 06:35 PM
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#9 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 4,041
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I'd start with mushroom sand zoanthids. I was a total coral noob with worse lighting and yet they survived. Soon you'd want better light output though, as corals get addicting and you want them to thrive!
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12/11/2010, 08:17 PM
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#10 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Norwich, CT
Posts: 1,532
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Mushrooms and Zoanthids will live with a regular piece of junk fluorescent fixture. Not to say they will thrive, but they'll live. So they'd be fine in your tank. You could also look at some leathers like Sinularia, they are low light and not super demanding (they actually like a bit of dirty water).
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Red Sea Max 130D Mixed Reef: ReefKeeper2, Rapid-LED retrofit, MiniMaxx Reactor, Tunze 9001 Skimmer, 2x Jebao RW-4, 2x Maxi-Jet 600 returns, 2x Koralia Nano 425 |
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12/11/2010, 08:27 PM
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#11 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Atlantic City, NJ
Posts: 980
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I am going to supplement them with a coralife aqualight...
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"Winners do what they have to and losers do what they want" Phill 4:13 Current Tank Info: 5.5g Spec V Pico Reef |
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12/11/2010, 09:57 PM
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#12 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 67
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i would start off with mushrooms then when you bump up your lighting you can move on the lps and other softies
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12/11/2010, 10:39 PM
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#13 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Spring, Texas
Posts: 32
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Mushrooms, zoas, or xenia for some movement. All at an easy car level and i had good luck with all of them when i started out.
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12/12/2010, 11:05 AM
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#14 | |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Naples, FL
Posts: 3,345
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Quote:
Jeff |
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12/12/2010, 11:07 AM
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#15 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Norwich, CT
Posts: 1,532
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+1 for GSP. They are very easy to grow and they look really nice under actinic light.
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Red Sea Max 130D Mixed Reef: ReefKeeper2, Rapid-LED retrofit, MiniMaxx Reactor, Tunze 9001 Skimmer, 2x Jebao RW-4, 2x Maxi-Jet 600 returns, 2x Koralia Nano 425 |
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12/12/2010, 11:11 AM
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#16 |
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Padawan Reefer
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Land O Lakes
Posts: 922
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Torch is easy and looks awesome flowing in the current. I would think very carefully before adding GSP, xenia, or mushrooms to your tank as they can be invasive.
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12/12/2010, 11:47 AM
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#17 |
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RC Mod
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Torch is, however, a stony coral, and requires higher (though not the highest) lighting, plus calcium supplementation. But I agree with you, some of those are invasive. My advice to somebody who wants to start with the discosoma mushrooms, buttons, and gsp, is NOT to let them get onto any rock you're unwilling to sell. Ultimately, when you switch to lps, like torch, hammer, etc, you will want to get these other species under control, which may mean selling all your rock or most of it. This is not bad, however, as specimen rocks cost (and sell for) more than live rock. Just don't let them get onto a really big heavy rock.
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
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12/12/2010, 12:04 PM
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#18 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 1
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I would say xenia and green star polyps combine maximum looks, easy care, movement, and they won't break the bank.
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