Soft & Hard Corals Don't Mix

[Tobman]

I have a new tank just now cylcling (65 gal AGA). I've wanted to have a mixed population of soft and hard corals, but a fellow reefer friend has told me not to do that and to go with either all hard or all soft corals. mainly becuase of the defense mechanisms that soft corals utilize (chemicals) and that will cause harm to the hard corals.

Can one set up a mixed tank, and if so what are good species of hard and soft to mix?

 

[seattlerob]

I believe the advice you've received is a good rule of thumb. Although I also believe you can be successful at keeping both in the same tank. I would speculate that if you did, neither would thrive quite as good as compared to if they were in separate tanks.

To help combat the chemicals released from the softies, it would be a good idea to position your softies downstream from the other corals, and of course to keep some distance between them as well. Running carbon is another common practice to help pull the nasties out of the water. And a really good skimmer wouldn't be a bad idea either!

hth,
rob

 

[benf]

Just becareful of placement! I have softs, LPS, and SPS in my 120. I keep the SPS on one side(in my case the left) and the LPS on the otherside with some of the softs on the bottom and center-to right side closer to the LPS higher up.

 

[djmuzzi]

The really massive soft corals are the dangeroous ones (Toadstools etc) they tend to slough off a defensive mucus that can really hurt sps especially. I have always kept SPS LPS & softies like leminelia (sp?) Nepspongodies & Kenya trees.

All corals have a chemical defensive mechinism of some sort. If you run carbon in the skimmer or sump you should be safe.

 

[awestruck]

Yes, I have softies and LPS because I didn't do enough research, thus, I didn't know the dangers; and, my LFS never explained that mixing could be a real problem. I keep the soft far from the hard and my 58 is not heavily stocked (which is kinda nice because my animals have room to grow). Wish I had known more prior to purchasing however...

awestruck

 

[scarter]

try to avoid the leathers. I have a tosdstool in my mixed reef and have seen no negative effects, but it has allwas been in there so I cant say if the SPS would grow faster without the leather.

 

[gasman059]

U CAN

U CAN

pLACEMENT PLACEMENT PLACEMENT