Good First coral ?

chris124

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I;am thinking about trying some coral in my 25 gallon aquarium. I have been looking at zoanthid coral is this coral good for a beginner and what kind lighting do I need? My tank has two t-5 lights at 14 watts each sg 1.022 -temp 78F-ph8.0. Any ideas would be great thanks.
 
Your PH should be more on the lines of 8.3ish. Also, you want to see where your ALk, MAG, and CA is at. As well as PO4 and No3 before you start putting corals in there. I don't think you have enough light as well.. Depending on how high you have rock work set up in the tank you might be able to pull it off if the coral is at the very top of the tank if you can get your parameters in line :)
 
Those normal T5 lights? Id think about getting a T-5 HO unit if your thinking about corals.
 
Ok thanks I;am not going to rush in to it I just want to make sure I have the stuff I need and my water is good.
 
Just do plenty of research on here and ask questions. With the right equipment and all the help you can get here you should be all good :)
 
Generally soft corals make a good first coral. Mushrooms, Kenya Tree, Leather Corals, etc. Be aware though that some of these corals can be very invasive. :)
 
Generally soft corals make a good first coral. Mushrooms, Kenya Tree, Leather Corals, etc. Be aware though that some of these corals can be very invasive. :)

Very glad you mentioned the *invasive* aspect. Really wish someone would have mentioned it to me. Especially when it comes to Mushrooms and certain palys :(


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+1 with Ricordea, Palys, and/or Zoas. Zoas were my first coral and I still have them (5 polyps turned into 200+ in a little over a year) However for a tank of your size, you definitely need more lighting power. I would look at a 4 bulb T5HO if you want to get into coral along with some water movement (like a Hydor Koralia Nano powerhead or two). If you are going with soft coral, you don't have to worry about your Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium so much - it will fall into line as long as you are using a quality salt mix (like Reef Crystals) and have nothing building skeletons in your tank.

To get started with coral, upgrade your light, get a powerhead, and use a quality salt made for a reef tank mixed to the proper salinity for coral around 1.025 to 1.026. You can go from there by getting quality testing kits for Nitrates, Phosphates,t Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium when you get more coral - I suggest Red Sea or Salifert since they are high quality and inexpensive (Don't get API - they are garbage). Don't worry about your pH - chasing after a certain pH level is futile and drip-style tests are TOTALLY inaccurate, get a pH reading pen or probe if you really want to know what it is. As long as your Alkalinity is correct and you aren't using something like a calcium reactor, your pH will be fine. Messing with pH by itself and trying to make it a certain level will almost certainly do more harm than good.
 
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Most of your mushrooms are easy and tolerate mistakes very well. Leathers, Favia, (Brain Corals) all are great choices. Especially Favia, it screams I'm a pro, to most people ;p...It grows very well, fun to watch and learn about, forgiving, will teach you how to spot feed corals, etc..Can't go wrong with Favia..Remember to have fun..
 
start with softies, they are easiset to keep while you learn the world of corals via reefkeeping....I find Dr. Foster and Smith's LIVEAQUARIA.COM does a good job breaking down coral types and gives a complete breakdown of requirements you can toggle through to start learning the different types, care levels, and requirements.
 

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