Beginner corals

[Wilkerson.reed]

I am 14 and still new to saltwater tanks... I have a 36 gallon tank with 2 clownfish, T-5 lights, and low flow... I was thinking about adding some coral to my tank. What are some good beginner corals for my tank?
Also what all do you need to dose? My LFS sold me stuff for calcium, photo plankton, alkalinity, iodine, and magnesium. Is there anything else or are you supposed to even dose all of that.
I also have coral rx dip. You're supposed to dip corals before adding them to your tank right?

 

[joshkirkland83]

Welcome bud. NEVER add anything to your tank you cant test for. Get some good quality tests like red sea or salifert, do LOTS of research on soft coral and where you want to keep your parameters THEN find a good beginner coral. Like a leather, gsp, zoas or cabbage.

 

[shollis2814]

Hi. I got my first tank when I was just a little younger than you (44 now). I am pretty new to corals myself, only about 2 years. I have a 36 gallon tank. I am far, far, far from a coral expert. But I will tell you what I have had good luck with, and not so good luck with.

First of all, how long has your tank been up and running? It is generally recommended that a tank be at least 6 months old before you start adding corals. This will allow some of the wild fluctuations in water chemistry to settle down. What is your filtration system? That will make a difference as well.

The corals I have had the best luck with are green star polyps, a creeping star (i'm sorry, I forget the name but it is spreading), blastomusa, frogspawn, duncans, Pavona/cactus/bird's nest, and a chalice called a Hollywood stunner. Duncans are persnickety buggers. They take a while to settle in. Be patient with them and don't move them around a lot. Put them in a low flowing area.

The ones I had a hard time with were acros, montipora, hydonophona. I would not try those, or try small frags once you have had some success with the others.

Zoas are pretty, and I have had pretty good luck with them, but be careful. They can be toxic.

I just read that you said low flow. My growth on some of the harder corals like pavona and the chalice really took off when I added more powerheads. They will also help with 'dead spots' where detritus and red algae can build up.

As for dosing, I regularly check kH, calcium, and magnesium along with salinity and pH. This is after my tank cycled and I have ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates where they are supposed to be (0, 0, and as close to 0 as possible). All of these are related and affect one another. I had a hard time getting my calcium up high enough without spiking my magnesium. Go slow and in the beginning, check often.

I don't know about your water source, but I strongly strongly recommend RODI water. It has made all the difference with this tank.

My advice is to treat your tank like a garden. Start with some small, inexpensive frags and see what does well. My chalice was a $10 frag the size of a nickel, and it's now about 3-4" across. Use the smaller frags to see what does well in your tank, and then slowly branch out to similar species.


Again, wait for more experienced folks to chime in as well. These are some of the ones that have worked (and not worked) for me.

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

My tank hasn't been up too long... Maybe a little over a year. And for filtration I don't have much, I have a protein skimmer, filter sock, about 50-60 pounds of live sand, and about 15-20 pounds of live rock

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

They don't sell test kits at my LFS for anything other than calcium... Where would a good place online to buy that kind of thing for a good price?

 

[chessplayer86]

@shollis2814 awesome advice.

I dont have any corals yet on my biocube 29 but, I have set a rule to myself not to buy any corals until I get all the must have equipment. I think it is a MUST to prepare and plan prior buying any livestock. my Biocube has just been upgraded with an ai Hydra and a HOB skimmer from ReefOctopus, an Easy-Therm Heater , added a ATO and just ordered a new Spectrapure RODI. Even with all this equipment I feel I am not ready to add 1 Coral to my tank. I have a backup heater too.

Why? Because I dont have:
1. Doser
2. a Good powerhead
3. a Controller
4. a habit of measuring my levels on my aquarium.
5. a chiller

when I get those 5 things up and running I will feel confident I can get a coral. Otherwise I feel I might kill anything I buy. Any recommendation is acceptable.

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

How much flow do I need for a 36 gallon tank?

 

[shollis2814]

I actually have 4 powerheads and my sump return on my 36 gallon. I had to tweak them some to make sure I wasn't getting cyanobacteria in dead spots (the red slimy looking stuff). I have two pointed towards the front, one pointed along the back wall, one actually pointed up and one smaller one on some cup corals that like a lot of flow.

 

[p.pep85]

green star polyp is vary easy too keep.

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

I got a Kenya tree and a crown leather... They aren't that happy right now as you can see in the pics but that is because I just put them in the tank...

 

[shollis2814]

What what I read/hear, you will be culling that Kenya in a few months. Very hardy and fast propagators.

 

[jetmaker]

@shollis2814 awesome advice.

I dont have any corals yet on my biocube 29 but, I have set a rule to myself not to buy any corals until I get all the must have equipment. I think it is a MUST to prepare and plan prior buying any livestock. my Biocube has just been upgraded with an ai Hydra and a HOB skimmer from ReefOctopus, an Easy-Therm Heater , added a ATO and just ordered a new Spectrapure RODI. Even with all this equipment I feel I am not ready to add 1 Coral to my tank. I have a backup heater too.

Why? Because I dont have:
1. Doser
2. a Good powerhead
3. a Controller
4. a habit of measuring my levels on my aquarium.
5. a chiller

when I get those 5 things up and running I will feel confident I can get a coral. Otherwise I feel I might kill anything I buy. Any recommendation is acceptable.

You don't need 1 3 and 5 just 2 and 4

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

I just added the Kenya tree and the crown leather about an hour ago. How long do they take to open up and there polyps to come out?

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

It took my Kenya tree a few days to come all the way out and fully extend. I've had it for about 2 weeks now and I can already see growth.

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

It took my Kenya tree a few days to come all the way out and fully extend. I've had it for about 2 weeks now and I can already see growth.

Mine has made some progress so I guess that is good...

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

Please help!!!
These corals don't look so good... Do i need to move them to a place with less flow? Are they dying? Does coral sleep? I'm sorry if that is a dumb question but does this usually happen? My fishes lights are on at night but the LFS where I bought the coral, there lights are on during the day... Are they just tired or are they dying? What can I do?
This is what they looked like yesterday

Please help I don't know what to do!

 

[shollis2814]

First of all, you shouldn't leave the lights on at night. Fish need to sleep, keeping the lights on at night, especially if the tank is lit by ambient light during the day, can stress them out.

Second of all, there is a very well known, and preventable cause of coral deaths for a lot of new beginners. I went through it, too. It's called HIT (Hand In Tank) Syndrome.

Corals need time to adjust to changes in flow and lighting. They can adjust, but they like to do it at their own pace. 24 hours is not enough time in my opinion, and I think it is perfectly normal for part of the adjustment period for the corals to not look great until they go through their adjustment. From what I know of Kenya tree corals, they are incredibly hardy. Some owners consider them a pest species because of how quickly they spread.

The crown leather, too, is supposedly a very hardy species, but they take time to adjust. As long as there is some color, I'd leave them alone for a few days. Let them get used to your lights and your flow and they should perk up some. If you start moving them around now, it could stress them out further and make them look worse, then you try to move them again, etc.

Keep watch on them, check your parameters, and get a consistent, steady light on a timer. Decide when you want your lights to go off and work backwards from there, probably 6-7 hours to start with. Get a timer. Don't use your tank as a night light.

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

I have both a dual high output t5 one 10,000k and one actinic and a 78 led bulb which I'm pretty sure it's full spectrum... It also has an all blue feature...
Is this enough light?

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

What corals can I grow with these lights?

 

[human]

I'd get a test kit first, the API saltwater master kit is fairly cheap and will give you your basics, and also a powerhead, jebao RW-4 both can be found on Amazon.com. Leather corals prefer more flow as do Kenya trees. The one thing about Leathers is they will close up for periods of time and shed their skin, but come back bigger and better.