Coral tank sizes?

[Unitylover]

Ive been looking into some LPS for the future, like frogspawn, and apparently they need a 50 gallon tank? Is this true? IS it possible to keep a hammer or frogspawn in a 10 gallon tank?

 

[SlugSnorter]

yes, but you should have a well matured tank due to how little dilution you have, and plenty of rock to ensure that corals won't spread and sting each other.

Additionally they may not do very well if you use tap water.

 

[Unitylover]

yes, but you should have a well matured tank due to how little dilution you have, and plenty of rock to ensure that corals won't spread and sting each other.

Additionally they may not do very well if you use tap water.

yes, i will use some distilled (once i get my hands on it) how old should the tank be? 1 Year? more? or less?

 

[nereefpat]

Ive been looking into some LPS for the future, like frogspawn, and apparently they need a 50 gallon tank? Is this true?

No. That's nonsense.

IS it possible to keep a hammer or frogspawn in a 10 gallon tank?

Yes.

 

[Unitylover]

No. That's nonsense.

Yes.

thanks!

 

[SlugSnorter]

yes, i will use some distilled (once i get my hands on it) how old should the tank be? 1 Year? more? or less?

I would say to wait for when you get significant, healthy coraline growth, usually around a year mark, sometimes more, sometimes less.

 

[Unitylover]

I would say to wait for when you get significant, healthy coraline growth, usually around a year mark, sometimes more, sometimes less.

sure, at the past 1 yr mark, I'll start seeding the tank with coralline, so that means at the 1 yr mark. which is perfect, as I was planning to get LPS corals after I get my softies and establish them.

 

[nereefpat]

yes, i will use some distilled (once i get my hands on it) how old should the tank be? 1 Year? more? or less?

Tank just needs to be cycled and relatively stable, and have appropriate lighting and flow. You need to have salinity on target, and should be testing and keeping alkalinity fairly stable in the range of 7-10. This shouldn't take a year, but a couple months. New reefers do need to mature along with the tank, as there are things to learn. Frogspawn and branching hammers are about as easy as it gets for stony corals. Don't get a wall hammer.

 

[SlugSnorter]

sure, at the past 1 yr mark, I'll start seeding the tank with coralline, so that means at the 1 yr mark. which is perfect, as I was planning to get LPS corals after I get my softies and establish them.

You don't need to worry much about seeding, coralline spores can come in on basically anything. When you visit your LFS you can also ask for some corraline scrapings to help out too.

 

[Unitylover]

Tank just needs to be cycled and relatively stable, and have appropriate lighting and flow. You need to have salinity on target, and should be testing and keeping alkalinity fairly stable in the range of 7-10. This shouldn't take a year, but a couple months. New reefers do need to mature along with the tank, as there are things to learn. Frogspawn and branching hammers are about as easy as it gets for stony corals. Don't get a wall hammer.

i keep alk around 11-10. also, my tank is already approx 7 months old, my lighting is good , but not too strong, so i might stay with frogspawn.

 

[Unitylover]

 

[The_Skrimp]

For a while you'll be okay, they're not the fastest growers, but they do get big and sting neighboring corals. Their sweeper tentacles can reach pretty far. You'll have to dedicate an entire half of the tank to one coral if you put it in a ten gallon.

 

[Unitylover]

For a while you'll be okay, they're not the fastest growers, but they do get big and sting neighboring corals. Their sweeper tentacles can reach pretty far. You'll have to dedicate an entire half of the tank to one coral if you put it in a ten gallon.

cant i just trim it though? if it gets too big, i can trim some pieces off (like fragging), but throw the pieces out? Just asking if thats possible

 

[nereefpat]

cant i just trim it though? if it gets too big, i can trim some pieces off (like fragging), but throw the pieces out? Just asking if thats possible

Yes, exactly.

 

[Unitylover]

Yes, exactly.

good, ill prob dedicate a rock to the coral.

 

[Reefing Reefer]

cant i just trim it though? if it gets too big, i can trim some pieces off (like fragging), but throw the pieces out? Just asking if thats possible

Or frag it and trade it for store credit at your LFS, that’s what I plan to do with my BTA in my 20G - or give it away to a fellow hobbyists…like me! Lol jk good luck.

 

[Unitylover]

Or frag it and trade it for store credit at your LFS, that’s what I plan to do with my BTA in my 20G - or give it away to a fellow hobbyists…like me! Lol jk good luck.

good point

 

[The_Skrimp]

cant i just trim it though?

Once they start branching out they're easier to frag but at that point they're already pretty big. Maybe other people's hammers grow differently but mine are about the size of a soft ball with sweepers that extend a good four or five inches and they have several mouths but all of the polyps are still close to the original stalk. They haven't started branching enough to frag yet but I'd still consider them way too big for a ten gallon with other coral.

It's doable. Don't let me discourage you. Just saying that it'll take some arranging your rock and coral to give it enough room.

 

[Unitylover]

Once they start branching out they're easier to frag but at that point they're already pretty big. Maybe other people's hammers grow differently but mine are about the size of a soft ball with sweepers that extend a good four or five inches and they have several mouths but all of the polyps are still close to the original stalk. They haven't started branching enough to frag yet but I'd still consider them way too big for a ten gallon with other coral.

It's doable. Don't let me discourage you. Just saying that it'll take some arranging your rock and coral to give it enough room.

yes, but can they grow horizontally? just asking

 

[jfoahs04]

I wouldn't worry too much about tank size with coral. What's more important is spacing between coral and compatibility with other corals. Even in a 10 gallon, you can leave enough space between a frogspawn and trumpet coral (for example) to allow each to grow out a bit without getting into a war with each other. Eventually, you'll have to trim them back (you can frag and donate or sell) from time to time, but that's not a big deal. That said, I personally avoid torches in my 13.5 gallon tank. A single head can grow pretty long and I'd have to keep a pretty big area around it clear. I don't want to do that.