Which corals can i keep in mixed reef?

[Ahbaloch]

hello everyone, i am trying to figure out which corals i can keep in my 37 gallon extra high tank?

I want it to be mixed reef,

Maybe one rock aquascape in left and one on right,

And one type kf corals on left and other in right.

So what are mt options? Because i think i read sm where that some corals will sting others and you can only keep certain type.


So here i am, i am new to this again, i teied to keep a reef tank nano one 2 years ago but i failed lol

So here i am back.

Tank is 37 gallong with 20l sump w 2 hang on back cpr fuges,
Probably 60 gallons water volume if i had to say.

Below is a picture of what i got

 

[NY_Caveman]

This is off topic, but it is interesting, how will you use the two HOB refugiums? Will they be used differently or the same?

As far as corals, many LPS are notorious for long sweepers. Soft corals like zoas release toxins. In general, you can use islands to help separate them.

 

[Ahbaloch]

Cant ruin the surprise just yet!! Lol stay tuned, i will be launching a youtube too so stay around



And that is my plan to have to two islands

Just not sure what to keep

 

[NY_Caveman]

Right. If they are separated you can really keep anything you like. LPS Like Euphyllia have long sweepers where things like Acans have shorter sweepers. Caulastrea are pretty peaceful with short sweepers. Zoas and Palys release toxins, so I would keep them downstream in the tank flow. SPS do not generally attack other corals outright like those and they like flow, so I would suggest keeping them upstream.

 

[A Toadstool Leather]

Btw you can keep most corals next to eachother if they are from the same genus. So acans can be next to acans for example. Some corals like torch corals are an exception though.

 

[jeffyhound]

I would say anything you want.

 

[NS Mike D]

Most importantly, IMO, as implied in above posts, is planning the space for corals to grow out and similarly stay contained. i have a mixed tank and follow red sea's advice and that is to target your water parameters to the lowest common denominator which is sps. i like using their guide for sps growth - 1.5 - 2 ppm NO3 , 0.1 ppm PO4, 465 CA, 12 alk (i shoot for 10) 1390 Mg

basically the mix that got along in my tank are;

Soft: kenya tree (but grows like a weed requiring pruning) , devils hand, zoas and shrooms (i regret since they will spread fast and are not easy to contain)
LPS: frogspawn, candy canes/trumpets, duncans

SPS: cooler turaki, cheery tree monti, yellow tips, strawberry chaphastrea, CC pumpkin patch psammycora, pink and green Damicornis and an unknown monti,

I do have a JF Lime Light Hydno. That is a coral that has a reputation for being an aggressive stinger, but i placed that in the middle of my over grown green mushroom patch and am letting that one bully its way for space and show offs it's bright colors and cool texture.


i did take me about 2 years and a lighting upgrade to get the SPS to do well. after losing too many sps in the beginning, I took a break from trying sps and focused on the corals that did well in my tank. I suppose, along the way my tank husbandry got better coupled with the tank maturing, that I was able to dip my toe back into sps. Once the first two frags took I then added the rest





fts, note: i recently had a short that triggered events to a tank crash, when this pic was taken the sps were moved to the sand bed and my kenya had to be severely cut back and the devils hand removed. the sps are back at the top.

 

[Ahbaloch]

Whats sweepers,

Sorry i am noob lol

Right. If they are separated you can really keep anything you like. LPS Like Euphyllia have long sweepers where things like Acans have shorter sweepers. Caulastrea are pretty peaceful with short sweepers. Zoas and Palys release toxins, so I would keep them downstream in the tank flow. SPS do not generally attack other corals outright like those and they like flow, so I would suggest keeping them upstream.

s

 

[Ahbaloch]

Wow i like it,


So should i just keep some thing basic and let it mature for couple months? Before i go hard on corals?


Also i heard the zenia pulsing js very easy but every time i get it, it dies idk why

Most importantly, IMO, as implied in above posts, is planning the space for corals to grow out and similarly stay contained. i have a mixed tank and follow red sea's advice and that is to target your water parameters to the lowest common denominator which is sps. i like using their guide for sps growth - 1.5 - 2 ppm NO3 , 0.01 ppm PO4, 465 CA, 12 alk (i shoot for 10) 1390 Mg

basically the mix that got along in my tank are;

Soft: kenya tree (but grows like a weed requiring pruning) , devils hand, zoas and shrooms (i regret since they will spread fast and are not easy to contain)
LPS: frogspawn, candy canes/trumpets, duncans

SPS: cooler turaki, cheery tree monti, yellow tips, strawberry chaphastrea, CC pumpkin patch psammycora, pink and green Damicornis and an unknown monti,

I do have a JF Lime Light Hydno. That is a coral that has a reputation for being an aggressive stinger, but i placed that in the middle of my over grown green mushroom patch and am letting that one bully its way for space and show offs it's bright colors and cool texture.


i did take me about 2 years and a lighting upgrade to get the SPS to do well. after losing too many sps in the beginning, I took a break from trying sps and focused on the corals that did well in my tank. I suppose, along the way my tank husbandry got better coupled with the tank maturing, that I was able to dip my toe back into sps. Once the first two frags took I then added the rest





fts, note: i recently had a short that triggered events to a tank crash, when this pic was taken the sps were moved to the sand bed and my kenya had to be severely cut back and the devils hand removed. the sps are back at the top.

i l

 

[NY_Caveman]

Sweepers are tentacles that extend from the coral to feed and to commit acts of aggression against others. These are not the tentacles you see all day swaying in the current. They are usually unveiled at night or when food is introduced. Hammers for example have sweepers much longer than the coral may appear (6-7").

Take a look at this image (borrowed from an R2R user
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/coral-problems-only-at-night.260309/#post-3090820)

 

[Ahbaloch]

Wow i am already learning lol

 

[jeffyhound]

Yep. They don't always attack each other though. Some are more aggressive than others, and you just have to kind of watch for it. In the end, they live in the wild next to one another, and you want that in your tank too.

 

[Mike Reef Addict]

Sweepers are tentacles that extend from the coral to feed and to commit acts of aggression against others. These are not the tentacles you see all day swaying in the current. They are usually unveiled at night or when food is introduced. Hammers for example have sweepers much longer than the coral may appear (6-7").

Take a look at this image (borrowed from an R2R user
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/coral-problems-only-at-night.260309/#post-3090820)

I had a pink bubble that jas sweepers so long they could sting stuff im another tank lol

 

[Mike Reef Addict]

Hydnophora are pretty brutal! brown (light colored) SPS will usually lose a battle to their more brightly colored counterparts also... Euphyllia sp can be kept in close proximity with other Euphyllia sp like your Frogspawn E. divisa an E paradivisa (branching) Hammer/Anchor coral E. ancora an E. paraancora (branching) Grape coral E. cristata which are kind of rarer.
The Torch coral or E. glabrescens an E. paraglabrescens (branching) these probably have the longest sweepers 10"-14" at times of the Euphyllia spp and they a pack a potent punch too, the rest average 6"-8" sweepers.

There is also a new species Euphylia baliensis some calling it "bubble coral" found only off Bali (hence the name E. baliensis) and not to be confused with the true Bubble coral Plerogyra sinuosa, which I haven't been able to find at my LFS recently they have super long sweeper tenticals and pack a punch too, an are very easy to damage while shipping (deflating them first and rubberbanding them to styrofoam helps.)

There are quite a few soft corals that can be kept pretty close to each other but there is "chemical warfare" but mine are packed pretty close an seem to do well but I run a skimmer for 100g tank on a 55g an I run carbon a handful of days a month to polish the water. Corilamorphs (mushrooms) can be fun too like metioned earlier Zoanthids and Palythoas do put off paly toxins and can kill other "Zoas" of different color growing on the same rock/plug but people successfully grow Acropora youngei (green slimer) and Montipora capricornis (Monti cap) on the same rock or plug intentionally because they are both fast growers and can be used to shade out areas for lower light or NPS (nonphotosythetic)corals like some Gorgonian spp. as well as suncorals.
There is also Green Star Polyps "GSP" and Xenia which are fast growers but can become a weed for some ppl personally I just trade them for store credit. Trachyphyllia spp. (open brain) are great on the bottom of the tank if you have a sandbed also Fungia spp (plate coral) Favites and Favia (closed brains) are fun Favites are fast growers. Caulastraea sp (candy canes/Trumpet coral) come in a vast aray of colors pinks blues neon greens yellows and golden colors just to name a few an have short feeder tenticals and can be kept very close to each other and seem to do well around Turbanaria (Pagoda/Cup coral) an are growing a few inches under my A. youngei and a Montipora digitata.

The posibilitys are endless an it is your tank it all depends on how much time an effort you put into the hobby, the best advice I can personally give you, or anyone, is research first, don't make impulse buys, take what the LFS people tell you with a grain of salt and double check or tripple check what they say, and last but not least read, read, read, the reread what you read!

Hope this helps.

Happy reefing...