Ready for my First Hard Coral...Recommendations for a Newbie?

[livinlifeinBKK]

Hey guys, I'm ready to add my first hard coral to my tank which I started several months ago. I know about checking my pH, alkalinity, and calcium and how they relate but I don't know which hard corals are hardy enough to withstand a few beginner mistakes. Don't get me wrong, I visually inspect my tank everyday and test the water regularly but I'm sure I make little mistakes as a beginner sometimes. I'd prefer a branching hard coral, maybe like a pocillapora but I don't know if they are difficult and if that would be a good choice given my experience. I'd love to hear any suggestions for any hard coral to be my first.....

 

[Bfragale]

I love Duncan’s and they are pretty forgiving.
Pociapora is fairly hardy for an sps.
most Monti is pretty hardy as well.

 

[hds4216]

If by hard you mean SPS, then the following are good choices:

• Stylophora
• Montipora
• Pocillopora
• If you want an Acropora, then Bali Green Slimer is the most forgiving
• Cyphastrea (arguably SPS)

Top 5 Beginner SPS Corals - ReefBum

SPS or Small Polyp Stony corals can be demanding to keep but there are some that are much more forgiving versus others. Here is a top 5 list of beginner SPS.

reefbum.com

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

If by hard you mean SPS, then the following are good choices:

• Stylophora
• Montipora
• Pocillopora
• If you want an Acropora, then Bali Green Slimer is the most forgiving
• Cyphastrea (arguably SPS)

Top 5 Beginner SPS Corals - ReefBum

SPS or Small Polyp Stony corals can be demanding to keep but there are some that are much more forgiving versus others. Here is a top 5 list of beginner SPS.

reefbum.com

Hey, I checked out the link you posted and I think I like the Stylophora species would look good in my tank. Do they grow relatively quickly? I've heard they do...either way, I want healthy coral growing at optimal pace for its species....not coral thats pretty for only a week because I can't handle maintenance.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

What kind of fish do you have in the tank currently?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I love Duncan’s and they are pretty forgiving.
Pociapora is fairly hardy for an sps.
most Monti is pretty hardy as well.

I'm thinking I'll go for a Monti...I love all the NPS corals like Duncans too! I love feeding them, one polyp at a time. I really want to find a Black Sun Coral again.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

What kind of fish do you have in the tank currently?

No fish right now so no fish-reef compatibility problems
God bless you too!

 

[ShepherdReefer]

I have read that a successful reef aquarium has a good fish selection but I know of others who don't have fish in the reef aquarium. Just a thought.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I have read that a successful reef aquarium has a good fish selection but I know of others who don't have fish in the reef aquarium. Just a thought.

I do plan on adding fish now because I have a little money to spend on my hobby. I'll be sure to me positive they're reef safe and won't nip at coral.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

You can go with digitata montipora

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Hey guys, I'm ready to add my first hard coral to my tank which I started several months ago. I know about checking my pH, alkalinity, and calcium and how they relate but I don't know which hard corals are hardy enough to withstand a few beginner mistakes. Don't get me wrong, I visually inspect my tank everyday and test the water regularly but I'm sure I make little mistakes as a beginner sometimes. I'd prefer a branching hard coral, maybe like a pocillapora but I don't know if they are difficult and if that would be a good choice given my experience. I'd love to hear any suggestions for any hard coral to be my first.....

First question is how old is the tank,10 years ago when I switched from fowlr,personally I thought I'd be the exception to the rule and I could put hardcorals in my tank for one of my first corals buying some montis some chalices and acros(got bored of looking at my rocks.... it was a bad idea eventually your pockets will start to feel the pain along with your heart. Hard corals were taken from parts of the ocean with some of the cleanest water in the world and it can be hard to replicate these conditions in a newly established system without the $$$ invested(most beginners or anyone doesn't have thousand to invest on a maybe and start off small and kiss,which I only had a aqueon quietflow 75 and a 300 g canister filter) but this was 10 to 12 years ago people were still using non actinic t5s and halides and topping off by hand pre ato very few ran sumps in tanks under 75 gallons,but back to my original point ,understand your species i.e. placement,diet,parameters from original tank,parameters in nature, how often was it fed,did they feed at lights on or off or both,do they adjust the flow through out the day, do you need to adjust your flow,what are the nutrient requirments,are you providing the proper requirements,is it nps or photosynthetic,all of this said I say avoid hard corals for about a year or so if u just set up your tank to establish beogeochemical cycle, the next step is to add away for excess nutrient absorption by having a balanced tank rich in micro fauna and bacteria then add macro algae for nitrification to have what people in freshwater call a balanced system,basically if your poor or dont want to invest as much,you want your tank to filter itself as the biological use a hob filter for a mechanical then canister for biological as substrate and macro does all the chelating and your live rocks bacteria and micro fauna work in unison as a microscopic clean up crew on a finer level filtering unwanted nuisance micro algaes. But for now I would say go with mushrooms any kind of soft coral would be a good start I would say go with the mushroom because this is what I went to after I failed miserably at hardcoral losing like 600$ over night.and they've been good to me ever since,my advice if you have a lfs see if the frag they're own chance are probably pretty good that they have a mushroom that spread like wildfire in their system see if you can talk them into giving you a sweet deal on a rock with like 6-12 bushies on it that's a good start to grow your collection from by only investing 60 -120 or so $ you can then turn your 10 to 20 in a few weeks,maybe buy a Kenya tree a good starter coral I had one shipped and the heat pack studded out and it made it like nothing happened in -2 degree neo winter while all the other ones were shocked and most died over the fiasco but not the kenya tree you could grow her in toilet water get a decent sized tree like a 4 incher and you got a mini collection,trade a few mushrooms for some zoas, boom in a few months you'll have your collection built up in no time!

 

[hds4216]

I'm thinking I'll go for a Monti...I love all the NPS corals like Duncans too! I love feeding them, one polyp at a time. I really want to find a Black Sun Coral again.

Duncans are photosynthetic, just FYI. They love to eat as well though. Also, yes, stylophora grow pretty quickly when provided with the proper light and stable parameters with adequate alk and calcium.