When and What Coral advice

[Reef4Rose]

So if I may inquire of corals that are a good match for a beginner to corals with a “messy” tang tank. I say messy since they eat lots! I am new to corals and have started gathering information on corals that don’t mind less than perfect water. I have the following mainly to ensure best water oxegenation. Secondary will be for stable parameters. Lots of light. 2-36” Hamilton Cebu Sun which gives 4 HO T5’s and 2-250 watt MH per unit. 250 gallon display with large sump and remote refugium. Currently I have lots of turnover at 15 to 20 times per hour. System is around 275 total gallons. Just shy of a pound of rock per gallon. Display has around 210 pounds of various rock. Pukani and Fiji shelf mainly. Refugium has small rubble and porous rock. Tank is shallow sand bed. Refugium has deep sand bed in a 1’x4’ tank. Tank is 2 months old. Looking for some coral advice! Thanks...

 

[Matthew Dambra]

Start with some LPS corals (or softies if you like them)such as euphyllia, trumpet corals, some cheaper acans
avoid any SPS, and chalices as they are very temperamental when it comes to chemistry fluctuations

 

[skiergd011013]

So if I may inquire of corals that are a good match for a “messy” tang tank. I say messy since they eat lots! I am new to corals and have started gathering information on corals that don’t mind less than perfect water. I have the following mainly to ensure best water oxegenation. Secondary will be for stable parameters. Lots of light. 2-36” Hamilton Cebu Sun which gives 4 HO T5’s and 2-250 watt MH per unit. 250 gallon display with large sump and remote refugium. Currently I have lots of turnover at 15 to 20 times per hour. System is around 275 total gallons. Just shy of a pound of rock per gallon. Display has around 210 pounds of various rock. Pukani and Fiji shelf mainly. Refugium has small rubble and porous rock. Tank is shallow sand bed. Refugium has deep sand bed in a 1’x4’ tank. Tank is 2 months old. Looking for some coral advice! Thanks...

what immediately comes to mind and are very forgiving corals are xenia, green star polyps, galaxia, various mushrooms. Leathers, hammer, torch, frogspawn are also fairly hardy, but not as much as the first three. Beware, the first three can also become quite invasive. They grow fast, and encrust onto rock, making them difficult to remove. If you want to prevent that, isolate them onto their own "rock island" on the sand bed. If you are just looking to fill up the tank with coral, then let them go!

 

[mtraylor]

+1 for some frogspawn. Grab one head of it and see how it does. Inexpensive.

 

[A Toadstool Leather]

Leathers can do well in high flow. Higher light takes some acclimation time though so be careful, and not too high. What is also nice is that they tolerate nutrients well and dont brown out.

 

[Reef4Rose]

Thanks for the information. Pretty much confirms some reading I’ve been doing.