Best corals for 30 gallon

[Aldo0990]

Hey guys, I am setting up my first reef and I was wondering which corals would be the best for a 30 gallon tank, I’m not necessarily looking for the easiest corals but those that could thrive in a small tank.
Some of the corals I have in mind are:
- Zoas
- Mushrooms
- Candy cane
- Euphyllias (torch, hammer, frogspawn)
- Open brain

Are some of this not suited for 30 gallons?

 

[Hairyteeth]

Those would all be great corals for a 30…. But really any coral could be good for a 30 as long as the tank is set up Right for it, and your coral potentially needing pruning at some point

 

[Aldo0990]

Thanks dude, I asked this because I read some corals like torches have long sweeper tentacles and I have to give them a lot of space so they don’t sting other corals, could I have trouble with that in a small tank?

 

[MaxTremors]

Thanks dude, I asked this because I read some corals like torches have long sweeper tentacles and I have to give them a lot of space so they don’t sting other corals, could I have trouble with that in a small tank?

You can direct the sweepers with flow. Just be strategic with your placement. Here is my 28g, it has all the corals you mentioned, and so many more.

 

[mdb_talon]

As hairyteeth mentioned....most corals can do fine in a 30g if you are up to the pruning. However your comment about sweeper tentacles is valid and in a smaller tank can definetely limit the density of stocking as you do have to give space. Euphyllia can send out long tentacles several inches from the coral and will sting pretty much any other coral it can reach(generally non-torch euphyllia is pretty safe together while torches are only safe with other torches). Other corals like favites, hydnophora, and some others are known for being able to reach a long way and can be very aggressive.

Of the corals you mention though i would say other than euphyllia generally you are safe just with a small amount of separation.

As maxtremors mentioned you can direct sweepers with flow to an extent, but if you have good flow that alternates directions rather than laminar flow it makes that much harder.

 

[Aldo0990]

You can direct the sweepers with flow. Just be strategic with your placement. Here is my 28g, it has all the corals you mentioned, and so many more.

That’s an amazing tank man, how long have you been running it?

 

[Aldo0990]

As hairyteeth mentioned....most corals can do fine in a 30g if you are up to the pruning. However your comment about sweeper tentacles is valid and in a smaller tank can definetely limit the density of stocking as you do have to give space. Euphyllia can send out long tentacles several inches from the coral and will sting pretty much any other coral it can reach(generally non-torch euphyllia is pretty safe together while torches are only safe with other torches). Other corals like favites, hydnophora, and some others are known for being able to reach a long way and can be very aggressive.

Of the corals you mention though i would say other than euphyllia generally you are safe just with a small amount of separation.

As maxtremors mentioned you can direct sweepers with flow to an extent, but if you have good flow that alternates directions rather than laminar flow it makes that much harder.

I’ve heard creating a Euphyllia garden is a good solution because they aren’t as agressive to each other. Would you recommend keeping torches separate from hammers and frogspawn as well?

 

[mdb_talon]

I’ve heard creating a Euphyllia garden is a good solution because they aren’t as agressive to each other. Would you recommend keeping torches separate from hammers and frogspawn as well?

Yes i would. Torches often do not play nice with frogspawn and hammers(though i have seen exceptions). Hammers and frogspawn generally do better together as a garden....or a torch garden with various types of torches.

 

[Aldo0990]

Yes i would. Torches often do not play nice with frogspawn and hammers(though i have seen exceptions). Hammers and frogspawn generally do better together as a garden....or a torch garden with various types of torches.

And if I were to make a torch or a hammer and frogspawn garden how far apart should I place it from other corals?

 

[mdb_talon]

And if I were to make a torch or a hammer and frogspawn garden how far apart should I place it from other corals?

Thats a really tough one to answer because there are so many factors and variation. I have some euphyllia that i have never seen sweepers on and i only have to worry about the max length of the tentacles. On the other hand i got a frogspawn right now that sends out a few sweepers about 5" longer than the normal tentacle length away just to harass a zoa colony.

Other factors include the type of coral. For example zoas are pretty hardy and in my example above its not a huge deal it just causes parts of the colony to close up at times but no real harm done. However if it were an acan there then it would probably be a much bigger issue. If it was a hollywood stunner there then it would be ww3 (if flow pattern allowed).

Another factor is growth. What may be plenty of room today may be way too little in 6 months. Not saying though to space every coral apart 12" and only have three corals in your tank lol just saying it good to factor that stuff in.

Having said all that my general answer is i try to keep everything about 3-5 inches away from the longest standard tentacles i see on a euphyllia colony/frag. However this may mean it is right next to it on the horizontal plane but 3 or 4 inches lower/higher in the tank. Using both dimensions when planning placement can really help mitigate some aggression while also making the appearance of things being packed in a lot closer together than they really are. A nice euphyllia garden on a raised section of rock for example and low growing corals like mushrooms/zoas/etc on the rock can grow pretty much to the bottom of the euphyllia skeleton without risk(depending on how tall the skeleton is of course)

 

[Aldo0990]

Thats a really tough one to answer because there are so many factors and variation. I have some euphyllia that i have never seen sweepers on and i only have to worry about the max length of the tentacles. On the other hand i got a frogspawn right now that sends out a few sweepers about 5" longer than the normal tentacle length away just to harass a zoa colony.

Other factors include the type of coral. For example zoas are pretty hardy and in my example above its not a huge deal it just causes parts of the colony to close up at times but no real harm done. However if it were an acan there then it would probably be a much bigger issue. If it was a hollywood stunner there then it would be ww3 (if flow pattern allowed).

Another factor is growth. What may be plenty of room today may be way too little in 6 months. Not saying though to space every coral apart 12" and only have three corals in your tank lol just saying it good to factor that stuff in.

Having said all that my general answer is i try to keep everything about 3-5 inches away from the longest standard tentacles i see on a euphyllia colony/frag. However this may mean it is right next to it on the horizontal plane but 3 or 4 inches lower/higher in the tank. Using both dimensions when planning placement can really help mitigate some aggression while also making the appearance of things being packed in a lot closer together than they really are. A nice euphyllia garden on a raised section of rock for example and low growing corals like mushrooms/zoas/etc on the rock can grow pretty much to the bottom of the euphyllia skeleton without risk(depending on how tall the skeleton is of course)

Alright I’ll take it into account, thank you so much man

 

[MaxTremors]

That’s an amazing tank man, how long have you been running it?

It’s about 18 months old, but I’ve been keeping reef tanks for over 25 years.

 

[sascoaquatics]

basically got it spot on with the picks!

Hey guys, I am setting up my first reef and I was wondering which corals would be the best for a 30 gallon tank, I’m not necessarily looking for the easiest corals but those that could thrive in a small tank.
Some of the corals I have in mind are:
- Zoas
- Mushrooms
- Candy cane
- Euphyllias (torch, hammer, frogspawn)
- Open brain

Are some of this not suited for 30 gallons?

basically got it spot on just know that the zoas will grow very quickly I bought one with one head and after 2 days its already growing another. not a bad thing just put it on a rock where it will have a lot of space