New to saltwater

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

Hi all. I am new to saltwater bought a used 30 gallon bow front from a guy. has several corals I need help identifying so I know what kind of care they require. I have done a fair bit of research about saltwater and figured I might as well take the plunge. I have attached photos of all the corals if you guys can help me identify them and figure if they in the correct spot in the tank or not. The guy told me for sure that I have to target feed the orange one with tentacles (Sun coral?). are there any others in here that require that? also I have two wrasses in the tank which have buried themselves since I set the tank up. How long do they normally stay under the sand? any help or advice is much appreciated!

4FordFamily · Apr 1, 2018

Welcome home? You will love it here!

I’m not a coral guru but I see some
Sun coral and button polyps!

*K&AreeFers* · Apr 1, 2018

1st pic sun coral (i belive)
2nd hammer
3 and 4 might be some sort of paly
5 mushroom
Not sure about the last pic hope this helps i have a bunch of the 3 pics all are great corals had a hammer but died due to brown jelly

Mrod · Apr 1, 2018

The blue mushrooms usually prefer lower light and flow

Probably a good idea to always run activated carbon since you also have the brown button polyps. Never handle them out of the tank without eyewear and Gloves.
Not trying to scare you, just be extra careful and you can look up protopalythoa on google for more info.

Overall looks like lower light corals which is nice and easy compared to the higher light corals that are more difficult for beginners.

Good luck!!

DancingShark · Apr 1, 2018

Sun coral. Does are non photosynthetic.
Euphilias, hammer head it seems?
Button polyps? like 4ford said.
Mushrooms
Looks like they might be acans. Not sure.

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

Awesome. I will have to research them some bit. any special advice on any of those corals?

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

DancingShark said:
Sun coral. Does are non photosynthetic.
Euphilias, hammer head it seems?
Button polyps? like 4ford said.
Mushrooms
Looks like they might be acans. Not sure.

thanks! I have another one which I believe is called frogspawn. I could not get the photo to upload but I am sure that is what it is.

WWIII · Apr 1, 2018

Welcome to R2R!

*K&AreeFers* · Apr 1, 2018

STEVEN ADAMS said:
Awesome. I will have to research them some bit. any special advice on any of those corals?

Just with the hammers, from my experience they can be picky with flow the mushrooms will explode i started with a little disk of 2 maybe 4 now half my tank is covered. Good luck and WELCOME! You're in a great forum with people who care

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

Mrod said:
The blue mushrooms usually prefer lower light and flow

Probably a good idea to always run activated carbon since you also have the brown button polyps. Never handle them out of the tank without eyewear and Gloves.
Not trying to scare you, just be extra careful and you can look up protopalythoa on google for more info.

Overall looks like lower light corals which is nice and easy compared to the higher light corals that are more difficult for beginners.

Good luck!!

Great info! Thanks! as far as lighting its saying the button polyps like lower light? they should be placed closer to the bottom of the tank? The lighting setup the guy gave me with the tank is called Orbit Marine LED. I am finding instructions on how to program it. I has white light and blue light. I am able to program the intensity of light from 0-100 percent. Which basically means nothing to me what do you guys recommend with the lighting intensity? I know alot of people program their lights to get brighter and dim down to simulate the day time. what should be my max intensity for white and blue on scale of 0 to 100?

Mrod · Apr 1, 2018

Fortunately what you have are corals that don’t need pristine water and actually like water that is a little “dirty”.

Still, best thing to do is try to keep your parameters stable as swings do more harm than good. Don’t overfeed and keep up with your water changes and good chance you won’t need to dose any amino acids or 2 part and be fine with fish food and fish poop keeping your corals happy.

If you list some of your equipment (lights, skimmer?, powerhead, etc) many of the members can see if you need anything else. Some may also ask if you test any parameters and also give advice from there.

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

*K&AreeFers* said:
Just with the hammers, from my experience they can be picky with flow the mushrooms will explode i started with a little disk of 2 maybe 4 now half my tank is covered. Good luck and WELCOME! You're in a great forum with people who care

What kind of flow do the Hammers prefer? I have them in front of but just below my power head. they are not swaying much maybe just a little. also they are attached to a piece of coral that is pretty white. must be bleaching? could that mean this coral is not doing so well and is beginning to die off? the

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

Mrod said:
The blue mushrooms usually prefer lower light and flow

Probably a good idea to always run activated carbon since you also have the brown button polyps. Never handle them out of the tank without eyewear and Gloves.
Not trying to scare you, just be extra careful and you can look up protopalythoa on google for more info.

Overall looks like lower light corals which is nice and easy compared to the higher light corals that are more difficult for beginners.

Good luck!!

what is the Idea of activated carbon for brown polyps? is that to basically help keep the toxins out of the water? I use carbon on my freshwater and the hang on back filter this tank came with has some in it already. guy told me its probably due to be changed.

*K&AreeFers* · Apr 1, 2018

That should be fine as long as theyre not getting blasted. As far the attached piece could be dying or already dead.

Mrod · Apr 1, 2018

Yes. I saw online some experts said that it helps neutralize the toxins in the water and should be run just to be extra safe.

I have had them myself for many years (can’t get out completely but have tried and still trying) and never had issues but they can also squirt and have had a few close calls early on. After I later learned more about then I am extra cautious if I need to remove any rock out of the water just in case one is around that I might not see.

*K&AreeFers* · Apr 1, 2018

*K&AreeFers* said:
That should be fine as long as theyre not getting blasted. As far the attached piece could be dying or already dead.

Low to med flow

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

Mrod said:
Fortunately what you have are corals that don’t need pristine water and actually like water that is a little “dirty”.

Still, best thing to do is try to keep your parameters stable as swings do more harm than good. Don’t overfeed and keep up with your water changes and good chance you won’t need to dose any amino acids or 2 part and be fine with fish food and fish poop keeping your corals happy.

If you list some of your equipment (lights, skimmer?, powerhead, etc) many of the members can see if you need anything else. Some may also ask if you test any parameters and also give advice from there.

Lighting: Orbit Marine LED
Power head: aqueon acp 700. I have a second one that is not installed in the tank atm.
No Skimmer.
Hang on back filter: Tetra Whispher ex45
That is pretty much all I have for it. the guy gave me a test kit which is expired since 2016 LOL. also gave me salt and RO system. He gave me some bottles of doses they said he was using roughly every week but I am unsure how much or how often so far.

STEVEN ADAMS · Apr 1, 2018

Mrod said:
Yes. I saw online some experts said that it helps neutralize the toxins in the water and should be run just to be extra safe.

I have had them myself for many years (can’t get out completely but have tried and still trying) and never had issues but they can also squirt and have had a few close calls early on. After I later learned more about then I am extra cautious if I need to remove any rock out of the water just in case one is around that I might not see.

good to know. I was poking at them a little bit when I had them in my transfer bucket I will be sure not to play with them again lol.