When to add corals

[Afrashz]

So now that my tank is cycled and I have 2 clownfish in there I was curious when the best time to add corals would be. I want to start with come soft beginner corals. I haven't seen any diatoms or algae at all yet so I wasn't sure if I should wait for them to come and go before adding corals or add the corals and hope for the best? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[tdileo]

You should be fine to add corals any time after cycle. Like you said, best bet is easy soft corals. Just choose carefully. Green star polyps are beautiful, easy, and fast growing, but make sure it’s isolated on an island so it doesn’t take over your rockwork. Most leather corals as well as mushrooms and zoanthids are other good choices. What light are you using? That could help me give you some other good starter corals

 

[Afrashz]

You should be fine to add corals any time after cycle. Like you said, best bet is easy soft corals. Just choose carefully. Green star polyps are beautiful, easy, and fast growing, but make sure it’s isolated on an island so it doesn’t take over your rockwork. Most leather corals as well as mushrooms and zoanthids are other good choices. What light are you using? That could help me give you some other good starter corals

Just a cheap black box. Aqua knight its called.

 

[tdileo]

Just a cheap black box. Aqua knight its called.

From what I hear it’s not a bad light for the price point. I can pretty confidently say that once you have a few soft corals doing well that light is sufficient to move you over to LPS and the SPS that grow fine in lower light such as montipora and seriatopora. The only things I really would avoid are acropora and clams, however it should be fine for most other things, provided it stands up to what some people claim.

 

[Jesterrace]

From what I hear it’s not a bad light for the price point. I can pretty confidently say that once you have a few soft corals doing well that light is sufficient to move you over to LPS and the SPS that grow fine in lower light such as montipora and seriatopora. The only things I really would avoid are acropora and clams, however it should be fine for most other things, provided it stands up to what some people claim.

Just a cheap black box. Aqua knight its called.

If you do venture into LPS, I would highly recommend a frogspawn coral. Mine has taken a fair bit of abuse (ie beating beat up in the direct flow of a 1950gph powerhead for a few months) and grows like a weed under a cheap mars aqua light bar. It definitely responds well to Frozen LRS Reef Frenzy and likes it when I feed the fish two small feedings a day. On the other hand, despite my best efforts I couldn't get a zoanthid to stay alive to save my life. My small leather mushroom won't die, but isn't thriving. My Frogspawn and Hammer are my two best successes, yet they are supposed to be more difficult.

 

[mitch91175]

If you do venture into LPS, I would highly recommend a frogspawn coral. Mine has taken a fair bit of abuse (ie beating beat up in the direct flow of a 1950gph powerhead for a few months) and grows like a weed under a cheap mars aqua light bar. It definitely responds well to Frozen LRS Reef Frenzy and likes it when I feed the fish two small feedings a day. On the other hand, despite my best efforts I couldn't get a zoanthid to stay alive to save my life. My small leather mushroom won't die, but isn't thriving. My Frogspawn and Hammer are my two best successes, yet they are supposed to be more difficult.

Weird right that you can keep a coral that is SUPPOSE to be more difficult, but the one where people say is super easy doesn't cut the mustard. If you run a lower nutrient system then maybe that can have an affect on keep zoanthids, but who TRULY knows? Not like our livestock can talk to us and say something witty.