what order to add corals?

[trelise]

Hi guys, I'm a newbie to corals and have a few questions. Starting my first saltwater system now -- It'll be a 25g tank with a BTA anemone, cleaner shrimp and 3 fish (occelaris clownfish, bangaii cardinal, yellow clown goby). I have a skimmer and a filter and all that jazz. Not particularly worried about nutrient export, more about having to dose (and how expensive that may end up!).

Here are the corals I like the look of:
Plating Montipora
1-2 Zoas
Hammer coral
small Birdnest SPS
Candycane coral
Pulsing Zenia, maybe?
GSP, maybe?
Kenya tree maybe?
Toadstool coral
Torch coral maybe?
Bubble coral maybe?

Is it achievable to have all of these? Would I need to dose anything to keep up with the nutrients they would deplete from the system? I'm aware I'm still new to the hobby and will probably discover a coral I love and absolutely need, so how 'stocked' is this? Could I add any more? I obviously have a few 'maybes' that will go first if need be.

In what order do I add the corals? Does it matter at all?

Do I have seperate any? Like, will any of them do that thing where they injure each other?

Other than that, anyone have any cool suggestions on corals I should look into? As said, total noob to the coral side, so anything you say will be taken with devotion.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just trying to get this sussed out. Thank you so much!

 

[blaxsun]

1. You need to wait at least few months yet before adding anything.
2. Select corals that are hardy and thrive easily.
3. Choose corals that you can afford to replace.

 

[BVF]

After cycling and ugly phase and things get stable, start with zoas and candy canes. Give them a few weeks to show you if the tank is ready for more. Usually the order of addition runs along with the sensitivity of the species. Start with softies, then LPS, gradually to SPS, then Nems and clams.

Personally, I avoided most of the leather and softies because they spread so fast and I didn’t want to give up the real estate to zenias Kenya trees and GSP.

 

[A Young Reefer]

Hey, it is totally achievable however I would suggest staying away from a few corals on your list:
1) bubble corals tend to grow quite large and are VERY aggressive, I did the mistake of adding one in the middle of my 25 gallon tank and not only it took the most real estate but also it killed everything around it!
2) gsp and xenia I personally keep them in my tanks, however they are invasive, so make sure to isolate them on a rock on their own if you don't want them to take over your whole tank.

Now for the order I would suggest you with adding the soft corals first like:
kenya tree, toadstool, zoas, gsp and xenia ( if you still want these two).
then once you make sure that you are getting the hang of stuff, you can proceed to adding the lps like:
torches, hammers, candy canes and bubble corals. an lps I really like and is very easy to take for is an dunkin coral.
then at the end you can proceed with adding sps.

As mentioned above make sure to wait for your tank to cycle before adding anything. you will need to separate corals that have sweeper tentacles that can sting, such as; lps, that's why its very important to leave space between corals so that they can happily grow without bothering each other.
lastly for dosing it really depends on your tank needs you will see how that goes down the road.

 

[Duncan62]

Hi guys, I'm a newbie to corals and have a few questions. Starting my first saltwater system now -- It'll be a 25g tank with a BTA anemone, cleaner shrimp and 3 fish (occelaris clownfish, bangaii cardinal, yellow clown goby). I have a skimmer and a filter and all that jazz. Not particularly worried about nutrient export, more about having to dose (and how expensive that may end up!).

Here are the corals I like the look of:
Plating Montipora
1-2 Zoas
Hammer coral
small Birdnest SPS
Candycane coral
Pulsing Zenia, maybe?
GSP, maybe?
Kenya tree maybe?
Toadstool coral
Torch coral maybe?
Bubble coral maybe?

Is it achievable to have all of these? Would I need to dose anything to keep up with the nutrients they would deplete from the system? I'm aware I'm still new to the hobby and will probably discover a coral I love and absolutely need, so how 'stocked' is this? Could I add any more? I obviously have a few 'maybes' that will go first if need be.

In what order do I add the corals? Does it matter at all?

Do I have seperate any? Like, will any of them do that thing where they injure each other?

Other than that, anyone have any cool suggestions on corals I should look into? As said, total noob to the coral side, so anything you say will be taken with devotion.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just trying to get this sussed out. Thank you so much!

Some of your list are rapid spreaders that will need to be isolated or grown on the back glass or a rock of their own. A kenya tree is great to start with but will get big fast and can also spread. I'd add the zoas and mad gsp first. Zenia next. It will grow fast too. Then your lps choices. It'll be hard to keep the sps lighted properly without having to much for the lps. It can be done. You question about stocking. I'm looking at a 29 that has 2 RBTA, maybe 30 duncan heads. A huge purple torch, several hundred assorted zoa and paly polyps, gsp, rose coral, 9 hammers. Lol there's more. It's all about your filter capacity. Tanks this size are cheap to dose. I do this one by hand. 2 drops of this one of that. Lol. Good luck. Enjoy your creatures!

 

[shrimped]

I highly disagree that you need to wait more than a week to add soft coral, or even easier lps coral after cycling. Just my experience, my build thread & instagram page is proof. I don’t run any mechanical filtration whatsoever. Others have their own methods which should work as well.

I’d add zoas, shrooms, most other softies, easier lps like candy canes, then more finicky lps like euphyllia, fimbriaphyllia, then some easier sps like aquacultured birdsnest & montis, then more difficult sps. As someone said above, watch out for sweeper tentacles and invasive coral. Research which ones tend to be real estate grabbers. Go slow in that order.

You’ll learn a lot about this hobby and your very own tank as you go. Each tank doesn’t act the exact same as another, gotta adapt.

Don’t need to dose as long as water changes replenish necessary elements. Start dosing if you can’t keep up.

 

[Chrisv.]

Honestly I'd reconsider a few of these. I know that's not the question you actually asked.

The BTAs are just a pain. The are prone to wandering --- after which they are prone to either stinging your corals or getting sucked I to a powerhead.

Xenia, GSP, and Kenya trees are pretty at first, but they really do grow out of control pretty quickly. So just as I would advise a person not to plant vibrant yellow dandelions in their perennial bed, I would leave these out.

The toadstool you mentioned is a great coral. Hardy enough to withstand being a beginner. Go for the neon green variety. They are super pretty.

Another soft coral I absolutely love are Ricordea florida. Can't beat them for an easy punch of color that grows pretty slowly (which is desirable).

Before you pay up for coral, make sure you have all of the proper testing equipment, so that you're ready to supplement. Buying decent test kits and developing decent testing habits will pay dividends long term.

Soft coral should be fine with just water changed to make up for depleted trace elements. When you start adding hard corals, you need to pay attention to calcium and alkalinity at a minimum, and ideally magnesium as well.

You mentioned bird's nest. Those are fine if you're doing calcium and alkalinity supplements, assuming you have enough light. But at that point, consider montipora digitata. It's much more colorful than bird's nest.

 

[Chrisv.]

Also, it's worth pointing out that unless you buy the clown and anemone as an already bonded pair, there is a very good chance that the clown will not live in the anemone. BTAs are not the natural host of ocellaris clowns.