Coral questions from a beginner

[Parsely]

What kind of light do you have for the tank?

Beginner is really relative to what your goals are and what you are equipped for.

Don't load up on coral you don't really want just because they are supposed to be easy - especially ones that are notorious for being invasive.

If your goal is zoa's, then just get some cheaper Zoa's.

I just have the stock lighting for the Fluval evo 13.5g tank. This seems to be common advice, not going to be getting ones just cause they’re easy. I’ll try to be a lot more deliberate

 

[Parsely]

My Duncan is one of my favorite corals I’m 7 months into my first saltwater tank and I will have it en every tank from now on.

Awesome, I’ll look at some next time I’m at the lfs

 

[xCry0x]

I just have the stock lighting for the Fluval evo 13.5g tank. This seems to be common advice, not going to be getting ones just cause they’re easy. I’ll try to be a lot more deliberate

Great.

Fluval evo 13.5 PAR stock lighting

I purchased a seneye this weekend and thought I'd test it out to see if i could some PAR recordings on the stock lighting which comes with the fluval evo. Few general points: 1) Not great broadcasting of light, especially at the top. There were some sudden drop offs of PAR when recordings were do...

www.nano-reef.com

That is a write-up on the par breakdown for the tank's stock lighting.

It's not super strong but should be more than capable for softies and most lps. The 50-150 range is usually fine for those corals.

That gives you a huge amount of options.

Just to throw some stuff out there.

- chalice corals
- torches/hammers/frogspawn/duncans (euphyllia corals)
- leathers (can get a nice toadstool leather)
- zoa's
- acans

Lots of really affordable options for those corals to get started with and you can have a really cool tank with that stuff.

Depending on your rock work, you could likely even throw some easy lower light SPS at the top like birds nest corals. But I'd keep it simple to start and stick with the above.

Just make sure you have some nitrates in your water! You will kill softies in a hurry with water that is too clean.

 

[Parsely]

Great.

Fluval evo 13.5 PAR stock lighting

I purchased a seneye this weekend and thought I'd test it out to see if i could some PAR recordings on the stock lighting which comes with the fluval evo. Few general points: 1) Not great broadcasting of light, especially at the top. There were some sudden drop offs of PAR when recordings were do...

www.nano-reef.com

That is a write-up on the par breakdown for the tank's stock lighting.

It's not super strong but should be more than capable for softies and most lps. The 50-150 range is usually fine for those corals.

That gives you a huge amount of options.

Just to throw some stuff out there.

- chalice corals
- torches/hammers/frogspawn/duncans (euphyllia corals)
- leathers (can get a nice toadstool leather)
- zoa's
- acans

Lots of really affordable options for those corals to get started with and you can have a really cool tank with that stuff.

Depending on your rock work, you could likely even throw some easy lower light SPS at the top like birds nest corals. But I'd keep it simple to start and stick with the above.

Just make sure you have some nitrates in your water! You will kill softies in a hurry with water that is too clean.

Wow, this community is amazing with the help. Thank you so much for this! I never bought something to measure the par (got a little frustrated with the seemingly never ending things to buy while setting it up the first two months haha). So this is a big help. I’ll be looking into all of these corals right now.

I have two quick questions if you don’t mind. What should nitrates be at?
Do any of these corals require additional supplements that need to be added to the water?

 

[xCry0x]

Wow, this community is amazing with the help. Thank you so much for this! I never bought something to measure the par (got a little frustrated with the seemingly never ending things to buy while setting it up the first two months haha). So this is a big help. I’ll be looking into all of these corals right now.

I have two quick questions if you don’t mind. What should nitrates be at?
Do any of these corals require additional supplements that need to be added to the water?

Ya you shouldn't buy a PAR meter. You can rent them or often borrow if you have a local reef club.

Nitrates. I think one of the problems new tank owners run into is that their tank is too clean and/or the second they see algae grow they attack it by stripping nutrients from the water (aggressive GFO usage, reduce feeding, etc)

BRS did a recent series with the founder of world wide corals.

He talks about how they see new tank owners buy pulsing xenia then come back later saying it died -- which he equates to the tank being too clean.

You want detectable nitrates. I wouldn't stress about them unless they are 0 or increasing beyond 20.

At 0 I'd feed more, filter less, and/or get another fish.

Increasing beyond 20, do the opposite.

All coral will need alk, calcium, mag. But with a small tank you can definitely maintain it fine doing water changes. A 5g water change would be half your water volume, for example, and go a long way to keeping those parameters in check.

I ran a 20g tank for years with decent success and all I did was water changes.

 

[Parsely]

Ya you shouldn't buy a PAR meter. You can rent them or often borrow if you have a local reef club.

Nitrates. I think one of the problems new tank owners run into is that their tank is too clean and/or the second they see algae grow they attack it by stripping nutrients from the water (aggressive GFO usage, reduce feeding, etc)

BRS did a recent series with the founder of world wide corals.

He talks about how they see new tank owners buy pulsing xenia then come back later saying it died -- which he equates to the tank being too clean.

You want detectable nitrates. I wouldn't stress about them unless they are 0 or increasing beyond 20.

At 0 I'd feed more, filter less, and/or get another fish.

Increasing beyond 20, do the opposite.

All coral will need alk, calcium, mag. But with a small tank you can definitely maintain it fine doing water changes. A 5g water change would be half your water volume, for example, and go a long way to keeping those parameters in check.

I ran a 20g tank for years with decent success and all I did was water changes.

Thanks so much, just did a test and looks like my nitrates are just around 20. I did do a water change recently thought so maybe I’ve been over feeding.

So just to clarify the alk, calcium, and mag is already present in the salt water naturally?

 

[xCry0x]

Thanks so much, just did a test and looks like my nitrates are just around 20. I did do a water change recently thought so maybe I’ve been over feeding.

So just to clarify the alk, calcium, and mag is already present in the salt water naturally?

Ya those are the big three from a water chemistry for coral perspective.

Natural in sea water. Corals consume it to grow and will deplete it in a tank.

A small tank can usually maintain the chemistry just from water changes.

 

[Parsely]

Ya those are the big three from a water chemistry for coral perspective.

Natural in sea water. Corals consume it to grow and will deplete it in a tank.

A small tank can usually maintain the chemistry just from water changes.

Perfect, thank you so much. I was under the impression I had to buy some sort of bottled calcium supplement and add it in haha

 

[xCry0x]

Dosing calcium and alk, if you need to, is really easy.

Test your calcium and alk on day 1. Test it the same time on day 2. Calculate the difference and then dose based on what is needed to replace the daily change. You should not have to worry about this or do it for a while (if ever).

That said, if you change 5g weekly, that is such a huge volume of water compared to your systems total volume that you will likely maintain levels just from the water change. Not to mention also control nitrates as your 20 nitrates would be 10 after a 5g change.

That is why small tanks can often be easily managed via the water changes. The flip side is if you get lazy they also quickly go out of control!

 

[Parsely]

Dosing calcium and alk, if you need to, is really easy.

Test your calcium and alk on day 1. Test it the same time on day 2. Calculate the difference and then dose based on what is needed to replace the daily change. You should not have to worry about this or do it for a while (if ever).

That said, if you change 5g weekly, that is such a huge volume of water compared to your systems total volume that you will likely maintain levels just from the water change. Not to mention also control nitrates as your 20 nitrates would be 10 after a 5g change.

That is why small tanks can often be easily managed via the water changes. The flip side is if you get lazy they also quickly go out of control!

Makes total sense, thank you so much for all the help!

 

[xCry0x]

Makes total sense, thank you so much for all the help!

Absolutely, good luck!

 

[AustinBabler]

I really don’t mind my Xenia and GSP. I put my GSP on my back glass and it’s grown up and around to the side glass now so it needs fragged. Which is fine with me I’ll frag it and move it to another spot on the back wall and watch it grow some more. Or I’ll pawn it off at the LFS. He’s begging me for frags everytime I go in there. I did isolate my Xenia to its own rock and it’s been there for a year and half and doubled in size. If you think someday you’d be interested in fragging to get store credit or just a little bit of money to spend on the hobby I’d have to say these are the way to get into that.

 

[Idech]

My Duncan is one of my favorite corals I’m 7 months into my first saltwater tank and I will have it en every tank from now on.

I love your Akita too !

 

[Parsely]

I really don’t mind my Xenia and GSP. I put my GSP on my back glass and it’s grown up and around to the side glass now so it needs fragged. Which is fine with me I’ll frag it and move it to another spot on the back wall and watch it grow some more. Or I’ll pawn it off at the LFS. He’s begging me for frags everytime I go in there. I did isolate my Xenia to its own rock and it’s been there for a year and half and doubled in size. If you think someday you’d be interested in fragging to get store credit or just a little bit of money to spend on the hobby I’d have to say these are the way to get into that.

Nice, is it fairly set to get off the side glass?