Best corals to start with?

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Experiment397

Experiment397

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Feb 26, 2010
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Probably the Poly section
For my 125 I need to find out the best corals to start with. I won't be able to run a calcium reactor for a few years and I only have normal t5 lights no vho or metal halides. So corals that require calcium or high lighting are out of the question. What would some good corals be. I've been thinking maybe mushroom, leather, tree, and some zooanthids and polyps. No gorgonians or sps or lps. What are some particular species that would be good? Thnx


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Stick with soft corals IMO,

mushrooms, toadstools, kenya trees....pm Fleshy or look through some threads in the search box that one of the big questions on mfk I noticed.

Its good to hear that your are doing research before making buys, costly mistake I made in the beginning also polyps too are great!
 
With the huge stock your planning Gorganians are perfect! They require no special lighting and like a High nutrient enviorment. LPS Sun corals are another that don't produce zooxanthallane but don't do so well with higher levels of P04. Riccordea and other mushooms are very easy with minimal lighting and overstocking. Toadstools + devil's hand leathers if High in the tank and good circulation. Polyp's also do well in higher nutrient tanks. Trees Not so much they need good lighting and low nitrate reading - low like 5 ppm. Zoa's are very hardy but expensive.

The problem with lots of fish and corals is more fish means more food, more food means more nitrate, more nitrate means more phosphate, phosphate's inhibit calcium absorption and all corals use calcium - some alot more than others. Also the corals aren't as aggressive as fish with eating - alot of fish can starve them out. Yes they do make PO4 reactors and media however they are pretty much for LNS - low nutrient systems were the PO4 is less than 1 ppm not 4-5 ppm that can be generated with lots of fish.
 
Okay. I already cut the stock list to about 1/3 of the original list. Thanks for the advice on feeding. I'm building a drip system from an iv setup, my dads a medic and can get out of date ones, to drip feed phytoplankton stuff like "reef bugs" and "reef snow". I'll look at gorgonians and see if I can find some for cheap somewhere. Thnx for the advice, keep it coming. Also where is the best place to order corals? I've been looking on liveaquaria.com and bluezooaquatics.com since my lfs prefers not to carry corals. Thnx



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Great concept - wrong "Stuff!" Phytoplankton like DT's is basically micro-algaes and other micro "greens". Reef Snow is Bacteria or Bacterioplankton. Reef Bugs the powder is sandbed critter eggs, the larva is eaten when hatched but those that escape live in sandbeds eating deterus. Zooplanktons are the micro animals and their larva and eggs. When feeding Zooplanktons there eggs get into the water column and hatch, most corals gobble up the larva, the ones that don't get eatin also eat Phytoplanktons and in time will reproduce and live in your tank.

I wouldn't feed Bacterio or Reef Bugs daily. Do the Reef Snow during the weekly water changes and reef bugs at your lesiure. The drip should be Phyto and Zoo - Zoo as in liquified in a bottle NOT PODS in gell. Feeding a variety is GOOD, too much is bad - esp. things with hard carbon skeletons.
The hard carbon takes forever to decomp it just piles up and is a constant source of nitrate and po4.

Sorry I've never had to order online - I live within' 10 miles of That Fish Place - the self proclaimed largest fish store in the world.
 
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