Want to start corals

[Saltguy768]

Hi all,

I have a 12 year old tank 35 gallon tank and have the appropriate lights for corals. I have tried in the past to do corals but have limited knowledge

looking for a thread or article on easy types of corals, possible anemones I am thinking and any guidance on how to feed/ maintain corals? Also is fraging easier?

 

[T-J]

Frags are easy. But a few questions....

12 year old tank. Has it been sitting without water? Seals can dry out. What was it used for prior? What is your “appropriate lights”?

If you use the search feature, you’ll find plenty of info on your other questions.

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[SCReef'n]

Welcome, there are plenty of knowledgeable people here who can help you get started. A bit more info like T-J mentioned will help a lot. There is no sense starting with a handicap

 

[Saltguy768]

Welcome, there are plenty of knowledgeable people here who can help you get started. A bit more info like T-J mentioned will help a lot. There is no sense starting with a handicap

Thanks tanks has been an active marine aquarium with fish just no corals. Lights are led have a blue and white and a moon light will check voltage and get back to you

 

[T-J]

Wattage and manufacturer/model of lights would help determine if they’re appropriate. My tank came with “reed ready” blue and white lights. They couldn’t grow algae if I wanted them to! Upgraded to a nice ReefBreeders Photon

 

[rhdoug]

You’re going to get a lot of opinions and suggestions on getting controllers and a lot of other things you really don’t need. You do need to start with the right water as I found out the hard way.Do you have an RO/DI system? If you are going with corals and probably some inverts you will definitely need to do that. I tried to start my reef using regular water and ended up having a spectacular Algae Farm instead. There are a very few people who have clean enough water that they don’t need an RO/DI system but that is a very small percentage.

If you already have sufficient light than the other thing you will likely need to do is supplement calcium and alkalinity. I manually dosed a two part system made by ESV called B-ionic for several years. I think it’s better to manually do it in the beginning because it keeps you interacting with your tank and checking things until you get used to the routine. Once I realized I was fully committed to the hobby I added a way to add the calcium and alkalinity (pickling lime or kalk) through an auto top off system. I still don’t have any type of controllers on my 21 year old reef tank, so while they are nice, they are not a must.