180 Corals

[Chef Mateo]

Hi, I'm trying to figure out what corals I want in my 180 tank. I only have 9 corals including anemones (I understand they aren't coral). But, many people have so many more corals and my corals aren't as tall and big. I will isolate the more invasive corals but, I still want several more. Here are the fish I'm getting in case they have impact for your suggestions.

Fish:
Pair of Designer Clowns (Occelaris)
Dragonet (will need some live rock surface for him)
Green Clown Goby (just a little boy)
Flame Hawkfish
Flame Angelfish (Hit or miss will remove if starts hurting my corals)
Wrasses 3-5 (All fairies and Flashers)
Yellow Tangs (not sure bout this one someone suggested 3 of them might be overstocking on fish)

Corals/Anemones:
Zoanthids (3 Types)
Spotted Mushroom (2)
Green Toadstool Mushroom Leather
Green Star Polyp
Bubble Tip Anemone (2)

I'm mostly thinking SPS. Although some LPS corals do look pretty. Also, could you guys tell me if I'm overstocking? How many wrasses should I get 3, 4 or 5?

Thank you guys so much!

 

[Neo Jeo]

Hi, I'm trying to figure out what corals I want in my 180 tank. I only have 9 corals including anemones (I understand they aren't coral). But, many people have so many more corals and my corals aren't as tall and big. I will isolate the more invasive corals but, I still want several more. Here are the fish I'm getting in case they have impact for your suggestions.

Fish:
Pair of Designer Clowns (Occelaris)
Dragonet (will need some live rock surface for him)
Green Clown Goby (just a little boy)
Flame Hawkfish
Flame Angelfish (Hit or miss will remove if starts hurting my corals)
Wrasses 3-5 (All fairies and Flashers)
Yellow Tangs (not sure bout this one someone suggested 3 of them might be overstocking on fish)

Corals/Anemones:
Zoanthids (3 Types)
Spotted Mushroom (2)
Green Toadstool Mushroom Leather
Green Star Polyp
Long Tentacle Anemone (2)

I'm mostly thinking SPS. Although some LPS corals do look pretty. Also, could you guys tell me if I'm overstocking? How many wrasses should I get 3, 4 or 5?

Thank you guys so much!

I have 12 fish in my 120g. It's busy but everything is fine. I say your fine on with. Just add all your tangs last and all the tangs at the same time if possible. That's what I learned.

 

[PatW]

The corals you have are soft corals which are reputedly more forgiving than SPS corals.

SPS corals like a fair bit of flow and if possible flow that varies.
They like stable conditions especially alkalinity. Many people who keep SPS corals measure alkalinity daily and many use a doser. With a computer controlled doser, you can add alkalinity very gradually or many times per day keeping conditions much more stable.
My SPS corals seem to like phosphates and nitrates low and stable but not zero. They will quickly wither if nutrients get too low.
SPS corals also like strong lighting, well most of them anyway.

I would suggest that you consider some of the LPS corals before ranging into SPS corals. They are more forgiving than SPS but more demanding than softies. Acans are nice as are Euphylla, Favias, Leptos and so are Cyphaestrea, which come in some nice vivid colors.

There are SPS corals that are not so demanding. Montipora corals come in many kinds of encrusting and plating varieties and are pretty forgiving. Other corals to look at are Birds Nests and Stylophora.

But the SPS corals that everyone seems to aim at are acropora. And they are my favorite corals.

So it is a matter of just how adventuresome you want to get. In a 180, you can stick in a pot load of frags, like a couple of dozen easy if you get carried away and it is easy to do. You can get corals from various sources: frag swaps, the LFS and there are a number of excellent on line dealers like Boom Corals, Battlecorals, Aqua SD or Jason Fox. If you buy a frag pack, you will get a mix of corals at a pretty modest price.

It takes awhile to a coral to grow to any size. I would start with hardy, aquacultured corals. Also, it is good to get corals from a reputable source. There are a number of nasty coral pests that are tough to get rid of such as the dreaded acro eating flatworms. That is the advantage of dealing with a reputable dealer.

The odd thing about acroporas and montiporas for that matter, is that once you hit a sweet spot of conditions they like, they will grow quite rapidly. I have a couple of frags I took off of a mother colony about a month ago and they are already almost mini colonies.

 

[Chef Mateo]

The corals you have are soft corals which are reputedly more forgiving than SPS corals.

SPS corals like a fair bit of flow and if possible flow that varies.
They like stable conditions especially alkalinity. Many people who keep SPS corals measure alkalinity daily and many use a doser. With a computer controlled doser, you can add alkalinity very gradually or many times per day keeping conditions much more stable.
My SPS corals seem to like phosphates and nitrates low and stable but not zero. They will quickly wither if nutrients get too low.
SPS corals also like strong lighting, well most of them anyway.

I would suggest that you consider some of the LPS corals before ranging into SPS corals. They are more forgiving than SPS but more demanding than softies. Acans are nice as are Euphylla, Favias, Leptos and so are Cyphaestrea, which come in some nice vivid colors.

There are SPS corals that are not so demanding. Montipora corals come in many kinds of encrusting and plating varieties and are pretty forgiving. Other corals to look at are Birds Nests and Stylophora.

But the SPS corals that everyone seems to aim at are acropora. And they are my favorite corals.

So it is a matter of just how adventuresome you want to get. In a 180, you can stick in a pot load of frags, like a couple of dozen easy if you get carried away and it is easy to do. You can get corals from various sources: frag swaps, the LFS and there are a number of excellent on line dealers like Boom Corals, Battlecorals, Aqua SD or Jason Fox. If you buy a frag pack, you will get a mix of corals at a pretty modest price.

It takes awhile to a coral to grow to any size. I would start with hardy, aquacultured corals. Also, it is good to get corals from a reputable source. There are a number of nasty coral pests that are tough to get rid of such as the dreaded acro eating flatworms. That is the advantage of dealing with a reputable dealer.

The odd thing about acroporas and montiporas for that matter, is that once you hit a sweet spot of conditions they like, they will grow quite rapidly. I have a couple of frags I took off of a mother colony about a month ago and they are already almost mini colonies.

Yes acroporas are quite beautiful I will try those guys out. I will add montiporas as well. I do understand the lighting and flow conditions for most of the corals. Thank you for your help and I will definitely look into your suggestions. Thanks again.

 

[Chef Mateo]

I have 12 fish in my 120g. It's busy but everything is fine. I say your fine on with. Just add all your tangs last and all the tangs at the same time if possible. That's what I learned.

Do you think I could have 5 wrasses or would that be overstocking?

 

[mcarroll]

I only have 9 corals including anemones (I understand they aren't coral). But, many people

Replace any that you're not in love with, but I can tell you that growing out just 9 corals so large that they filled that tank would look amazing. And rare.

 

[Chef Mateo]

Replace any that you're not in love with, but I can tell you that growing out just 9 corals so large that they filled that tank would look amazing. And rare.

Okay, That does sound pretty nice.

 

[Chef Mateo]

After much consideration I've decided I want to go with less corals and grow them out bigger like @mcarroll said.
This is my improved stock list:

2-3 Types of Zoanthids
1 Spotted Mushroom
1 Green Star Polyp (will big one of my bigger, more grown out corals)
2 Bubble Tip Anemones (I know they're not coral also will isolate from corals so they don't sting them)
1 Acropora
1 Bird's Nest
1 Euphylla

This only has 7-8 corals plus the 2 anemones. In a 180 I feel the more minimalist approach will be beautiful.
Thanks everyone for their input!!