What are these corals?

[ndz98]

My lfs finally has got some coral in that has caught my attention so I'm trying to figure out what they are and if I will be capable of keeping them alive. If any of you know what they are and could tell me that would be great. I think in that last photo those are acropora right? And Kenya tree in the middle. I've got a 29g tank with 10g sump. I only have one circulation pump but am going to get another one soon to create more flow in the tank.

 

[go29]

Last photo definitely is acropora. Ill try my best to name some from last photo to first:

last --> sps acro's or other (need extremely stable tank, high light and strong strong non-direct water flow, definitely would hold off on these if your a beginner)

2nd to last --> zoanthid polyps on left, two on right look like some sort of lps (maybe favia frags) (zoanthid are excellent beginner corals, lps are easier than sps, but still require rather stable tank parameters, medium light and medium indirect flow, also weekly feedings help)

3rd to last --> cyphastrea coral , believe its considered an sps due to small polyps, this one though if I'm not mistaken does well in lower light conditions (placed lower in tank depending on lighting) and like high flow as well

4th to last --> favia brain on right, blasto frag on left, both are lps required again good stable conditions and benefit from weekly feedings, like medium light and medium indirect flow

5th to last --> Green star polyp frags, awesome beginner coral but just beware they can spread rather quickly under right conditions. does well under most light intensities, and likes medium-high flow as well.

That should be all pictures, hopefully that gives you a little more info on them. Im no expert, just a fellow reef nerd who has been in the hobby for 20 years so have some experience, but far far from an expert. As far as what is best suited to you, maybe if you could give us some more information on your system we could help. Do you run a skimmer, what type of filtration, type of fish you have (some pick on sps and lps corals) etc. Also maybe what type of lights you are running. For corals I would definitely focus on keeping your tank stable (salinity, calcium,ph, alk,) are good starting points. Also making sure to keep nitrites, ammonia, basically zero and low nitrates and phosphate (little bit is fine). When i first started the hobby i learned a lot through trial and error, which sucks and costs money so just trying to offer some friendly advice. If you keep up on water changes and keep the tank stable, pending your lighting and flow I would say few of the above frags would be a great starting point on your coral keeping journey. Let us know how it goes, and definitely search around the forums for advice as I've learned a lot through forums over the past 20 years. Good luck and happy reefing!

 

[ndz98]

Last photo definitely is acropora. Ill try my best to name some from last photo to first:

last --> sps acro's or other (need extremely stable tank, high light and strong strong non-direct water flow, definitely would hold off on these if your a beginner)

2nd to last --> zoanthid polyps on left, two on right look like some sort of lps (maybe favia frags) (zoanthid are excellent beginner corals, lps are easier than sps, but still require rather stable tank parameters, medium light and medium indirect flow, also weekly feedings help)

3rd to last --> cyphastrea coral , believe its considered an sps due to small polyps, this one though if I'm not mistaken does well in lower light conditions (placed lower in tank depending on lighting) and like high flow as well

4th to last --> favia brain on right, blasto frag on left, both are lps required again good stable conditions and benefit from weekly feedings, like medium light and medium indirect flow

5th to last --> Green star polyp frags, awesome beginner coral but just beware they can spread rather quickly under right conditions. does well under most light intensities, and likes medium-high flow as well.

That should be all pictures, hopefully that gives you a little more info on them. Im no expert, just a fellow reef nerd who has been in the hobby for 20 years so have some experience, but far far from an expert. As far as what is best suited to you, maybe if you could give us some more information on your system we could help. Do you run a skimmer, what type of filtration, type of fish you have (some pick on sps and lps corals) etc. Also maybe what type of lights you are running. For corals I would definitely focus on keeping your tank stable (salinity, calcium,ph, alk,) are good starting points. Also making sure to keep nitrites, ammonia, basically zero and low nitrates and phosphate (little bit is fine). When i first started the hobby i learned a lot through trial and error, which sucks and costs money so just trying to offer some friendly advice. If you keep up on water changes and keep the tank stable, pending your lighting and flow I would say few of the above frags would be a great starting point on your coral keeping journey. Let us know how it goes, and definitely search around the forums for advice as I've learned a lot through forums over the past 20 years. Good luck and happy reefing!

Thank you for all that information! I do run a skimmer in my sump. I plan on running chaeto in the sump as a filtration method. I have a SB reef light extreme 16 in. Here's the link in case you've never heard of them: https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/9-sbox-extreme-wifi.html . I've been thinking of making a DIY Kalk dripped for my tank to keep levels good. Looking to do that soon. I do water changes about every 2-3 weeks. Sometimes sooner. I've got some zoas, frogspawn, and a montipora in my tank right now and haven't managed to kill them yet lol. My livestock includes two clowns, sailfin tang, 4 snails (I forget which kind exactly), 4 blue legged crabs, and one emerald crab.

 

[go29]

Seems like solid lights just based off their webpage. As far as dosing I would definitely look at your levels (i use red sea test kits) and figure out where your calcium and alk is at before doing too much with dosing. I personally just use the BRS (bulk reef supply) pre measure bags for dosing, as Im in medical school and loans don't stretch enough for a dosing system yet haha. I ordered the kit that comes with two nice jugs with squirt dispensers (each are a gallon) and then you order the gallon mix and just pour it in the jug and mix with RODI water. Then i just measure out what i need for my tank each day and pour it in slowly in high flow area and I'm done. Forgot to ask but how do you top off the tank (do you use rode water) and also what water and salt do you use for water changes? I would just offer the advice of using rodi as it will safe you headaches in the long run as far as algae growing in the display. Based off your above post though i don't see any reason for you to not be able to try any one of those frags you posted pics of, just make sure to acclimate and place accordingly based on corals needs.

 

[ndz98]

Seems like solid lights just based off their webpage. As far as dosing I would definitely look at your levels (i use red sea test kits) and figure out where your calcium and alk is at before doing too much with dosing. I personally just use the BRS (bulk reef supply) pre measure bags for dosing, as Im in medical school and loans don't stretch enough for a dosing system yet haha. I ordered the kit that comes with two nice jugs with squirt dispensers (each are a gallon) and then you order the gallon mix and just pour it in the jug and mix with RODI water. Then i just measure out what i need for my tank each day and pour it in slowly in high flow area and I'm done. Forgot to ask but how do you top off the tank (do you use rode water) and also what water and salt do you use for water changes? I would just offer the advice of using rodi as it will safe you headaches in the long run as far as algae growing in the display. Based off your above post though i don't see any reason for you to not be able to try any one of those frags you posted pics of, just make sure to acclimate and place accordingly based on corals needs.

Haha yea I know what you mean. I'm still in highschool and my budget doesn't allow for a dosed quite yet. I'm going to purchase test kits but wasn't really sure what I need to test for. I figured the main things I really need to test for are alk and calcium since the tank is pretty much well established by now. I've been holding off on purchasing some though because they can be pricey and I wasn't sure what would be good for the price. I manually top off the tank. If I notice it getting a little low I'll top it off with some ro water. I mix ro water with instant ocean reef crystals. Do you have a link to those pouches and jugs you are talking about on brs? This is the Kalk dripped I was looking at. Would this be alright? http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-diy-kalk-dripper-kit.html

 

[ndz98]

Btw if that's your tank in your profile picture, nice tank man!

 

[go29]

Haha yep thats the current tank thanks!... that clown is the female of my pair and when they lay eggs she turns into a smaller version of jaws (literally draws blood from my hand). Nice to see high school aged kids on the forum, I started out reef keeping at 12 and had one all the way through high school and college so i know the struggles of that kind of budget. Now that I'm in medical school i have a little more (stress the little part haha) money to spend on the tank which is fun. Good to hear you use RO water, and as far as jugs on brs if you click on additives on home page, then click on BRS brand ones you will see one called the "BRS 2 part calcium & Alkalinity starter package (pre portioned)". I got that one just to have some nice jugs to mix it in, and still use them today (just buy pre portioned calcium and alkalinity packages once i use up whats in the jug) so they are going on 4 years now. Now as far as a kalk dripper (this is totally subjective advice here) but I would refrain from something like that for now. In a tank your size, you should easily be able to get by via manual dosing and water changes alone (could dose that two part pack i showed you every night). In a smaller tank that isn't plum full of sps i just fear that sometimes its easier for things to fail and you end up frying your tank by having to much kalk get dumped in for instance. If it were me, I would simply use the BRS calculators on their package to figure out how much you should dose daily, and simply add that every night before going to bed. This way there is no chance of accidental overdose, which can quickly nuke a tank. I would advise you to save up some money and first and foremost buy one of the red sea (just brand i have come to like for tests) calcium and alk test kit. This will allow you to test the tank every day for a few days in a row (right after a water change start) and figure out where your levels are (write them down in notebook), and allow you to see how quickly your tanks inhabitants utilize those (how much calcium and alk drop in your tank each and every day). Then once you know this I would be saving up and purchase that BRS kit (or another method of calcium and alk ) and then start dosing based off of your tanks needs. Until you get the money for those things I would recommend doing nothing but weekly (if possible) 5 gallon water changes. This will allow your salt mix to serve as a weekly dose of new calcium etc until you have the money to get a quality test kit and ensure you know where those levels are, then from there you start dosing. I think dosing is definitely important, but in small tanks that aren't packed with coral yet you may end up raising your levels which can kill corals faster then slowly letting the levels drop. Thats why my main advice is to not dose until you test your levels and know how much to dose, and more importantly know where those levels are, and how they change on a day to day basis. After daily testing for a week, you can get by with only testing levels maybe once a month or once every two months (I'm into such a routine I test now maybe 10 times a year total or less).