Choosing first corals for tank

[Fishmas]

I am looking for some suggestions as to which corals would be good candidates to start with. I have had the tank up and running for 5 months now and am anxious to dress up my rocks with some colour. I have no preferance just looking for vivid colour and variety of shapes.

I would prefer lower light demandi g corals as i have t5 lights and a deep tank. I will add an led fixture at a later date.

Any tips appreciated.

 

[Scottshopinc]

Check liveaqueria.com I choose mine from the beginners list.

 

[BigEZ77]

Check liveaqueria.com I choose mine from the beginners list.

+1, that's a good start. Zoa's and mushrooms are a good start. I wouldn't buy too many toadstools or soft corals as I read they are nutrient sucks and spit toxins (def want carbon in a reactor if they're close to other corals)...and eventually you'll want LPS and maybe even SPS after that.

 

[Natereef]

I am looking for some suggestions as to which corals would be good candidates to start with. I have had the tank up and running for 5 months now and am anxious to dress up my rocks with some colour. I have no preferance just looking for vivid colour and variety of shapes.

I would prefer lower light demandi g corals as i have t5 lights and a deep tank. I will add an led fixture at a later date.

Any tips appreciated.

For low lights.
Softies: Zoanthids, Discosoma mushrooms, pulsing xenia, star polyps.
LPS: blastomusa, euphylias
Sps: leptoseris

 

[nereefpat]

Oh, you can grow many things with t5s. And if you have individual reflectors and high quality bulbs, you can grow about anything.

Good suggestions so far. I would add candy canes and favia to the mix

 

[Ztous]

I really like the encrusting soft polyps either Green star or Jasmine. They spread quick and will live in alot of conditions.

Put them on a single rock or one that you can move easily they spread quick and you may not want them everywhere. It was one of my first corals and it tripled in size in a month or two.

 

[chefbill]

Duncan, montis, rics yumas. Tons of variety

 

[JammyBirch]

My vote is for a hammer or torch coral, both are LPS and will require calcium, alkalinity and magnesium to grow and be happy but they will not use much if they are the only one in there.

I started with an LPS Hammer coral, it was exactly what i wanted vivid color and motion, to be honest i had been looking at still rocks for a few months so the motion was a great addition.

Good luck, it gets really fun from here on out.

 

[oseymour]

My vote is for a hammer or torch coral, both are LPS and will require calcium, alkalinity and magnesium to grow and be happy but they will not use much if they are the only one in there.

While you had good luck with yours I wouldn't recommend any Euphyllia coral to a beginner. They can get infected easily and some species do not tolerate fluctuating water parameters well.

 

[Fishmas]

I like the idea of adding motion to my selection criteria.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

 

[JammyBirch]

While you had good luck with yours I wouldn't recommend any Euphyllia coral to a beginner. They can get infected easily and some species do not tolerate fluctuating water parameters well.

I guess any coral could do poorly, but if the water parameters are managed correctly the coral should be just fine. I had the same concern at the LFS when getting my first corals, basically the reponse i got was that the coral knows what it's doing all we have to do is manage the water.

Anyway it made sense to me and i like that approach. Water quality is everything in this hobby and we need to stay on top of it, especially in the beginning.

 

[Mr.Tan]

star polyps, most mushrooms and button polyps are very easy. I have not really done much of anything with my tank lately (bi weekly water changes and i just top off my ATO bucket) and the GSP is growing like crazy and the button polps are super happy and mushrooms look great.

i'm also running a 4 bulb t5 from aquaticlife for lighting that i'm pretty sure needs the bulbs changed. the tank is still only just about 4 months old and is being overrun with GHA at the moment.