First coral

B

beanoil

New member
Hi,

I'm new to reefs, but I've had a FOWLR for 10 years, and I'm trying to figure out the easiest to keep beginner corals. In addition to specific coral recommendations, I'm also hoping for a good source of information regarding the care of the specific species, whether it's websites, books etc.

The tank is a 58RR Oceanic, w/ 20L sump. Urchin Pro skimmer, Eheim 1260 return (no other flow yet, will get more if necessary), 156 watt T5HO lighting (the Nova Extreme, not the Tek--no flames please; I did the research and made an informed decision).

SG-1.023
temp-79
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0
phosphate-0 (although something's causing the hair algae)

So, any help on beginner corals would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Grant
 
Get Zoa's. They are really easy to take care of and they grow really fast... It makes it more fun to see the quick progress. IMO they have the best color variation of any LPS too.
 
Zoa's are not LPS, plus they are not the easiest things to take care of. They are prone to pests and random melting, not to mention toxic if not handled with care. Plus the price of them right now is kinda high.

If you want simple go for mushrooms, Yuma's, Florida Ricordias, Xenia & Kenya Tree Corals. You have to really try to hurt these :)
 
Thanks guys. Any other types (not that that's not enough to get me started)? And where should I look for info on care for these?

Grant
 
Excuse me... Sorry I put them in the wrong catagory! I'm pretty new to the hobby as well... I just found them very easy in my tank. Plus they're growing like weeds.

You know what I've found out about some peopleon this site is that they are very judgemental, and a lot of them like to point out when people are wrong.
I've gotten a lot of good info off of RC, but please take it easy of the way what you talk to others. We're all on here cause were learning and helping others.
 
Go for mushrooms. You can get multiple different colors and they also grow like weeds in an established tank. The lighting should be just fine for them. They can tolerate "not so clean" water and most fish will ignore them. Ricordea are also fun and are part of the mushroom family.

LiveAquaria has great groupings of beginner corals and the warranty is awesome.

-=E=-
 
Usually leathers are good beginner corals also except for fiji yellow.
I wouldnt recommend LPS for a first coral as they are a bit more sensative than softies although 23 yrs ago my first was a bubble coral which I still have lol.
Alot of softies would be a good beginner coral to start with and get your feet wet.
Leathers, shrooms, zoa's are all good choices but do agree about zoa's as to they can have nudis and such so read in the zoa forum before purchasing.
There are alot of different forums here you can read on specialty corals and find what you like.

I have a 6 bulb T5 54 watt HO on my 55 gal WITHOUT the individual reflectors lol and love it so certainly not gonna flame.

kass
 
I am all about the BLASTOS!!!

blasto.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8236459#post8236459 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mchllmarsh
Excuse me... Sorry I put them in the wrong catagory! I'm pretty new to the hobby as well... I just found them very easy in my tank. Plus they're growing like weeds.

You know what I've found out about some peopleon this site is that they are very judgemental, and a lot of them like to point out when people are wrong.
I've gotten a lot of good info off of RC, but please take it easy of the way what you talk to others. We're all on here cause were learning and helping others.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I totally did not intend to make you mad by my reply and it was not a shot at you. Just thought I was pointing out a few things that would help the poster in deciding what to go with.

I think they are a good beginner coral but only after knowing the danger of their toxicity (which I've never had a problem with), the pests (which I've never had a problem with) and how to prevent problems (like doing dips).

The joys of a message board, you never know the way something will be taken. Again, sorry.



P.S. - If I am doing something wrong in this hobby I would like someone to point it out to me ;)
 
I would highly recommend "Aquarium Corals" by Eric Borneman as a reference book. Tons of information from taxonomy to care req's and not too tough a read. Its my primary coral reference.

I'd also recommend mushrooms as a first coral- beautiful and fairly easy to care for.

Best of luck!
 
Thanks Elorian (and everyone else). That sounds like a book I should have.

Incidentally, and I didn't mention this, I'm partial to soft corals that give you that swaying in the current look, like xenia. But, I've read that they can overtake your tank....

Grant
 
I would look into a local club in your area. I got some my best frags from club members. In my opinion I would start with leathers, mushrooms, zoa's, ricordeas, and then move on to LPS and other harder to keep corals. My reasoning for this is two fold, these are great corals to learn with and they grow rather fast. They grow fast enough for you to have frags to trade or make money from to buy the more expensive harder to keep corals. Always research before you buy anything, I have learned this the hard way and do not blindly trust any LFS.
 
Indy,

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't know if there are any local clubs around here, but I'll see what I can find because that does seem like a great place to start.

Grant
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8236378#post8236378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by colinadam
Zoa's are not LPS, plus they are not the easiest things to take care of. They are prone to pests and random melting, not to mention toxic if not handled with care. Plus the price of them right now is kinda high.

If you want simple go for mushrooms, Yuma's, Florida Ricordias, Xenia & Kenya Tree Corals. You have to really try to hurt these :)
Click to expand...

IMO, rics are MUCH more prone to problems than zoos.


Zoos are like weeds, IMO. Theres nothing easier.
 
A easy coral and a real beautiful one is the long polyp toadstool.I love the way they sway in the flow and a clown will host in them.
 
I love the way my clove polyps sway. They are a hardy coral, but a bad shipper. Better to find them locally.
 
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