Recommendation on Corals

[Maximus52]

I'm a saltwater beginner with a Biocube 32. I've had my setup for 2 months now and have had stable reef water parameters for over a month. CUC has been going strong for about 6 weeks. Added 2 clowns 4 weeks ago, 1 stripped blenny 3 weeks ago, and 1 blue-green chromis 2 weeks ago. Yesterday I added a small GSP frag on the false wall in the afternoon. It's open this morning (a good sign). I definitely want the GSP to cover most of the false wall, but I'm unsure about where to go from here. I would like any veteran reefer thoughts on corals and placement. I'm thinking of staying with soft corals and hardier stony corals. I've included pics to help make suggestions more specific.
Front View

Front View

Side View

I think a happy GSP frag.

 

[JaaxReef]

Just a couple questions and then I'll make some recommendations!

1. Do you have a calcium or KH/Alkalinity test? If yes, what are your levels?
2. What are your current nitrate and phosphate levels?

If your calcium is between 380-450 and KH/Alkalinity is between 7-11dkh that would be a good start! Even soft corals need appropriate levels for those Foundation elements to grow and thrive!

I would recommend keeping your nitrates under 10ppm and phosphate under .1ppm as well for soft corals, lower for other corals I might mention later.

As for recommendations I would say either a Nepthea or Singularia leather would be a good choice once your GSP is looking well.

Mushroom corals like Rhodactis or Discoscoma would also be great soft corals to expand your collection. I will warn that mushrooms (just like GSP) can quickly take over your tank if they are happy. If you do get some, I recommend keeping them on a separate rock or on the sand to contain them a little better. The fun thing about mushrooms are the colors can be beautiful and that they are so easy to care for!

There are also some easy Large Polyp Stony (LPS)corals, but they tend to require more stable parameters and lower nitrates and phosphates. I would recommend taking things slow with maybe a few soft corals and watching them grow for a while before trying LPS.

I would say the mushrooms do best in lower light and lower flow overall. Sandbed or lower on the rocks would be good. I wouldn't place them right by a powerhead. My green Nepthea likes fairly strong flow without being completely blasted and medium light. Given your tank and if it is the stock lighting (LED?) it would do well in direct light.

Enjoy the journey!

 

[JaaxReef]

On a side note, I really like your aquascape! Nice job with the rocks!

 

[Maximus52]

Just a couple questions and then I'll make some recommendations!

1. Do you have a calcium or KH/Alkalinity test? If yes, what are your levels?
2. What are your current nitrate and phosphate levels?

If your calcium is between 380-450 and KH/Alkalinity is between 7-11dkh that would be a good start! Even soft corals need appropriate levels for those Foundation elements to grow and thrive!

I would recommend keeping your nitrates under 10ppm and phosphate under .1ppm as well for soft corals, lower for other corals I might mention later.

As for recommendations I would say either a Nepthea or Singularia leather would be a good choice once your GSP is looking well.

Mushroom corals like Rhodactis or Discoscoma would also be great soft corals to expand your collection. I will warn that mushrooms (just like GSP) can quickly take over your tank if they are happy. If you do get some, I recommend keeping them on a separate rock or on the sand to contain them a little better. The fun thing about mushrooms are the colors can be beautiful and that they are so easy to care for!

There are also some easy Large Polyp Stony (LPS)corals, but they tend to require more stable parameters and lower nitrates and phosphates. I would recommend taking things slow with maybe a few soft corals and watching them grow for a while before trying LPS.

Enjoy the journey!

1) My KH is between 9.1-9.8
2) NO3 has been 0 for a month, PO4 has been .04 for a month
Ca is between 400-410

Thank you for the suggestions! I agree and plan on using this GSP as my canary in the coal mine. If the GSP grows, and my parameters stay stable, I will add another coral in a few weeks. Definitely like the mushrooms. Maybe place them lower in lower flow areas.

 

[JaaxReef]

Sounds like things are on the right track! Sorry if I asked a lot of basic questions, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

Some zoas might be another good choice, I bet they would do fine just about anywhere in your setup.

In my opinion, you should be fine keeping up on foundation element usage with just water changes until you start getting into LPS corals.

 

[JaaxReef]

Here's one of my current favorite mushrooms in my tank: Miami Hurricane Rhodactis. A nice bluish green with gold/yellow edges!

 

[XNavyDiver]

Ok, so I suck at drawing, but you get the picture.

 

[Maximus52]

Sounds like things are on the right track! Sorry if I asked a lot of basic questions, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

Some zoas might be another good choice, I bet they would do fine just about anywhere in your setup.

In my opinion, you should be fine keeping up on foundation element usage with just water changes until you start getting into LPS corals.

I do about 15% weekly water change with Coral Pro saltwater. My filtration is filter pad-> purigen-> chemipure elite-> chaeto refugium-> back to tank. What I've read, and my LFS has told me, Coral Pro will add the elements needed. I also test Mg and it's at 1320 consistently.

 

[Maximus52]

Wow! Thank you! Gives me some ideas I didn't even think about before.

Ok, so I suck at drawing, but you get the picture.

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

Good job on the aquascape! I love it!

 

[Subbedout]

Rocks look great! I put my GSP on the back like you too. Great minds!

 

[Mikedawg]

Some different colored acans placed close together to form a "garden" on the bottom right of your tank like shown below would look good, and they grow pretty well under Biocube leds in my experience.

 

[Subbedout]

Some different colored acans placed close together to form a "garden" on the bottom right of your tank like shown below would look good, and they grow pretty well under Biocube leds in my experience.

Cool looking tank! I thought about doing something like this but wondered how the acans would grow being that close together. Do you have to move them apart after a while to accommodate growth?

 

[Mikedawg]

Cool looking tank! I thought about doing something like this but wondered how the acans would grow being that close together. Do you have to move them apart after a while to accommodate growth?

I move mine sometimes to encourage growth and help them flatten out versus forming too much of a hump shape. Also, sometimes one will be "shaded" out by another and needs to be moved. I also like to grow them among some small pieces of rubble to give a more natural, embedded look to that area of the tank. And be careful not to mix the Lords with the Bowerbankis

 

[Katrina71]

Mushrooms are forgiving. There are some inexpensive ones that offer lots of color and texture. Mine like lower light, but will move where they are happy. You have an awesome rockscape to work with.

 

[Maximus52]

Some different colored acans placed close together to form a "garden" on the bottom right of your tank like shown below would look good, and they grow pretty well under Biocube leds in my experience.

That tank is beautiful! An acan garden would be awesome.

 

[Mikedawg]

Mushrooms are forgiving. There are some inexpensive ones that offer lots of color and texture. Mine like lower light, but will move where they are happy. You have an awesome rockscape to work with.

Good suggestion and they reproduce readily so you'll have plenty to share.

 

[Maximus52]

Mushrooms are forgiving. There are some inexpensive ones that offer lots of color and texture. Mine like lower light, but will move where they are happy. You have an awesome rockscape to work with.

Thinking mushrooms on the lower, front rock.

 

[Mikedawg]

That tank is beautiful! An acan garden would be awesome.

All it takes is patience and money.........and more money, ha ha. Thankfully acans are very popular and I do find a lot of hobbyists selling frags very cheap on Craigslist, etc. or being willing to trade them - you can build a collection pretty fast without breaking the bank.

 

[Mikedawg]

Thinking mushrooms on the lower, front rock.

I was thinking same, maybe orange/red and blue or green. Some nice contrasts and with rhodactis you'd get some interesting texture as well.