coral help!

[-Galactus-]

so i bought colony and button polyps frags and was curious to how to care for them. first of al; how do i go about putting them on my live rock my LFS told me to just put them in a place on the rock where they fit perfect ,i did they don't move and fit snug just wanted to make sure is this ok? second. she told me they grow with any LED so my question is my hood has a hood with LED's so do i have to leave the LED's on overnight and stuff to have it stick to the rock and start growing? and lastly, i had this rock a while ago and its real white it has some brown spots but my tnk had a leak and me being an idiot didn't leave it in water and so can i still use this "live" rock or should i replace it.

 

[RandoReefer]

Wow, that's a lot of questions! LOL

First off, "Button Polyps", or Protopalythoas, are a great beginner soft coral! Congrats on your purchase!!

As far as placement goes, your LFS is correct. You can place them snugly in a rock crevice or glue them, either way with proper care they will encrust and grow out. Beware of what rocks you want them to grow on. In many cases, softies have a knack for taking over the entire rock they are placed on. One common practice is to glue them to a fist sized rock and isolate it from the main aquascape. It makes for some strikingly gorgeous colony growths that don't take over your tank.

LED is becoming a more predominate lighting source for reef aquariums. Yes, your polyps will grow with LEDs. But don't fuss too much over this. As long as you have a source of light (T5, metal halide, LED) softies will grow just fine. Your reef shouldn't need more than 6-10 hours of light. It is probably best to start with short lighting periods 4-6hrs, and GRADUALLY work your way up to longer ones. This will help fight algae growth while you find that "sweet spot" for your coral's happiness. If you would like more information about lighting recommendations, please list your current light setup (i.e... What's under that hood!?!)

Lastly, as long as your water parameters are in order, that rock should not be an issue. If you are just now setting this tank up, you may want to hold off on adding anymore new corals/fish until your tank cycles. Water test kits would be very beneficial at this point. Continue to do your regular water changes and ensure your keep the tank topped-off with fresh water to maintain steady salinity. Ultimately, you want water conditions that is best for your corals and other livestock (if you have them).

Good luck!

Rando

 

[-Galactus-]

thank you so much for replying, very informal. i have LED's under my hood as for the corals my tank is cycled and well just out of curiosity how long do the corals need to grow and what do they eat . .and lastly i have like 2 hard corals my LFS gave me i forgot the name but also said were easy to care for. now the hard corals i dont see anything moving from them is it supposed to be like that or is there a spot on the hard corals that i need to stick em on to the rock? theyre kinda jsut sitting there haha

 

[RandoReefer]

thank you so much for replying, very informal. i have LED's under my hood as for the corals my tank is cycled and well just out of curiosity how long do the corals need to grow and what do they eat . .and lastly i have like 2 hard corals my LFS gave me i forgot the name but also said were easy to care for. now the hard corals i dont see anything moving from them is it supposed to be like that or is there a spot on the hard corals that i need to stick em on to the rock? theyre kinda jsut sitting there haha

Sorry for the delay...

VERY basically, corals really only need light to grow. Your softies will grow just fine without feeding them directly. Your "hard corals" can be glued with gel superglue. Just make sure you don't place them directly in the path of strong flow. It is difficult to give you more information about them without pictures and proper identification of these "hard corals". In this hobby, that could mean nearly 10,000+ different species.

You should try to take some photos of your tank setup and corals, and folks on here can really help you out even further!

Good Luck!

 

[NobleSun27]

Always try and do research on any coral or fish your are planning on adding. Personally (and I am not trying to be rude) I think if you do not know the name of the species or anything about it you probably shouldn't get it. If you have any questions about any corals of fish liveaquaria.com has at least some general info on most species you will run into. Sps or small polyp stony coral can be a lot harder to care for than your softies, they need more light and more flow and cannot handle parameter swings very well.
If you don't have one invest in an automatic top off system which will help keep your salinity in line and also save time having to add water daily.