MIXED reef help???????

[snaza]

i've tried the search function but it never works so here is my question

i've been reading lots on RC and i can't decide what reef i want. Is a mixed reef possible with all corals. i really like SPS,ZOA's,softies and RIC's,mushies. i want to know if i can keep them all succesfully or what corals cant be mixed. i'm worried about chemicals, stinging and fighting. should i put carbon or anything else in the water to help? thanks

aaron

 

[SilverBack27]

I am not an expert so dont take what I say to heart but a mixed reef is possible if you leave enough room to keep things from stinging each other. I currently have a 75 gal with sps, lps, shrooms, leathers, zoas, and other softies. along as you have enough light for the stonies and you acclimate the softies to the light instead of just throwing them on the top shelf you shouldn't have any problems. Of course the size of the tank does matter on how much you can keep though untill you reach capacity. hope this helps but I don't know much specifics. sorry

 

[Mike 1911A1]

How old is your tank?

Mike

 

[snaza]

i've just set it all up. im not planing to put in any corals for few months yet. just wanted to keeps mushies',zoa's with some SPS up the top if that ws possible

 

[Kinetic]

Mushrooms will become a problem, they are pretty toxic towards other corals. Zoanthids will overgrow and battle with SPS.

So this is what I'd do:

Make sure all SPS have plenty of room to grow, and that all zoanthids are grown on a separate island. I would put mushrooms far away as well. Just make sure nothing gets too close to each other.

 

[IanInDC]

Several of the most impressive tanks in my area (DC) are mixed reefs. In fact, those fancy SPS tanks are great but mixed reefs have always captured my imagination much more.

The counterargument is that the water and lighting conditions needed for hard vs. soft corals will mean that you have to make some sacrifies on optimal growth for at least one kind of coral. It is an major myth, however, that zoas and softies like "dirty" water: ALL corals like clean water: The main issues are lighting spectrum and intensity, flow placement and intensity, and salinity and alkalinity.

That said, just do your research, and I second koden's motion about using separate islands.