First Corals? Good Idea?

[Beausoleiljacob]

Hey Reefers,
I'm thinking of getting my first corals. I was thinking of buying them from Vivid Aquariums.
What's on my list right now:

1. Frogspawn Coral
2. 2 Polyp Duncan Coral
3. Eagle Eye Zoanthids
4. Radioactive Zoanthids
5. Green Star Polyp
6. Green & Purple Fungia Plate
7. Blood Red Discosoma Mushroom Coral
8. Green Ricordea Mushroom
9. Dragon Fly Zoas (Maybe)

I'm planning on making a zoanthid island as well as a mushroom island. Would I have to dose? Please add or delete from my list as needed. I'm a pure beginner to corals, I have no knowledge whatsoever. Well... Of course I have been researching like crazy.

 

[hit_the_gap]

Your list seems pretty reasonable. Are your tank parameters stable (temp, salinity, alk, etc)? How long has your system been running? what kind of lights are you running?
when i first started adding corals, i only purchased a few small frags (couple zoas and a hammer). it cost me like 20$. be careful purchasing a lot of stuff (initially) because it your system isnt ready, you may be flushing money down the drain. good luck

 

[3dees]

you won't need to dose for those coral. I would stay away from the plate for now. not the easiest for new tanks. hammers are pretty easy and you can go with all kinds of leathers which are all easy.

 

[Sabellafella]

Hey Reefers,
I'm thinking of getting my first corals. I was thinking of buying them from Vivid Aquariums.
What's on my list right now:

1. Frogspawn Coral
2. 2 Polyp Duncan Coral
3. Eagle Eye Zoanthids
4. Radioactive Zoanthids
5. Green Star Polyp
6. Green & Purple Fungia Plate
7. Blood Red Discosoma Mushroom Coral
8. Green Ricordea Mushroom
9. Dragon Fly Zoas (Maybe)

I'm planning on making a zoanthid island as well as a mushroom island. Would I have to dose? Please add or delete from my list as needed. I'm a pure beginner to corals, I have no knowledge whatsoever. Well... Of course I have been researching like crazy.

good choice, thats like the best coral for beginners spread sheet lol .nope no dosing here just put shrooms and frogspawn in lower flow

 

[Beausoleiljacob]

Your list seems pretty reasonable. Are your tank parameters stable (temp, salinity, alk, etc)? How long has your system been running? what kind of lights are you running?
when i first started adding corals, i only purchased a few small frags (couple zoas and a hammer). it cost me like 20$. be careful purchasing a lot of stuff (initially) because it your system isnt ready, you may be flushing money down the drain. good luck

What would you recommend doing then? Is there any way to make sure everything is stable. Testing of course. Its been running for about a month or so.

 

[Beausoleiljacob]

you won't need to dose for those coral. I would stay away from the plate for now. not the easiest for new tanks. hammers are pretty easy and you can go with all kinds of leathers which are all easy.

Could I do a fox coral instead? Also is the Green Star Polyp a bad choice? Xenia?

 

[Sabellafella]

Yes nd no theyre not. Just make sure you have the right equipment and do alot of testing till you get used to whats going on.

 

[Sabellafella]

And i have to say it. WEAR gloves as much as possibly when handling zoas

 

[hit_the_gap]

What would you recommend doing then? Is there any way to make sure everything is stable. Testing of course. Its been running for about a month or so.

I think your coral list is good, they are pretty much all beginner corals. i would just recommend taking your time and buying one or two of these corals to start off with and see how they do before placing a large order with Vivid Aquariums.

 

[hit_the_gap]

Could I do a fox coral instead? Also is the Green Star Polyp a bad choice? Xenia?

GSP and Xenia are good choices as well, but they can take over a tank quickly. so if you get those corals as your starters, try to isolate them to one or two rocks so they dont spread like crazy.

 

[Beausoleiljacob]

I think your coral list is good, they are pretty much all beginner corals. i would just recommend taking your time and buying one or two of these corals to start off with and see how they do before placing a large order with Vivid Aquariums.

So do you recommend going to a LFS of some sort to purchase my first corals? Don't bother with Vivid Aquariums just yet? Or is there some other great online vendors that are closer so shipping isn't astronomical.

 

[Josh King]

So do you recommend going to a LFS of some sort to purchase my first corals? Don't bother with Vivid Aquariums just yet? Or is there some other great online vendors that are closer so shipping isn't astronomical.

I would recommend a LFS at this point if you have a good one. I see you are in CT, you may want to wait till it warms up a bit for shipping. I have never ordered when this cold, but I know people do it successfully.

 

[3dees]

I buy from my lfs for all coral and fish. I like to see what I'm buying and I insist on seeing fish eat. you want easy coral and you shouldn't have trouble finding them from a lfs. nothing wrong with ordering online as many people do it. I have many lfs' around me but many areas don't.