Starter corals

[bst5017]

Hello everyone,
I am new to the site and was just wondering what suggestions you all had for some good starter corals. I talked to mojo this week at coral reef, and he got me hooked!! lol, but anyways....I have a 40 gallon tank that currently has 25 lbs of liverock. This weekend I am planning on getting another 10lbs. The tank is only about 24 inches tall and I will have 6 T5HO on it (3 6500k and 3 10000k). I am ordering a kit for ca, mg, alk, with some tests friday. I am using those little bioblocks right now that regulate ph and put some minerals in the water. I have been doing some reading and I think will start with a soft coral (SPS??). I think with the soft corals i do not need super high ca levels or anything like that yet and i am assuming that is the same with mushrooms? But I was just kind of wondering what kind of advice you guys could give or if there was a way you would do it differently.

 

[Miasma_F]

Almost any leather or mushroom make good starters. Make sure you find one you really like though. My first coral was a leather that grew a lot but I decided a year later I didn't like it and cut it out of my tank.

-Matt

 

[bst5017]

This is kind of a silly question, but with the mushrooms is having 6 T5's too much light? I have an area of the tank that is kind of sheilded by live rock...but I have been reading that some of the stuff you can give too much light to and they will bleach out or something. I was also reading the forum about the frag swap and there was talk about a coral dip or something. Could you shed some light on to exactly what that is or if you quarintine frags?

 

[King Neptune270]

if i may make a suggestion! before you get to involved either buy some or check some books out, read up on any corals before you start..... there is alot to research in this hobby!!!! if your just starting out don't spend alot of money right now. alot of LFS will tell you anything to make sales, try to get good advise first! this will save you alot in the long run. everything is about water perimiters....

 

[LornaS]

I second the advice to research your additions. 24" is quite tall and depending on how much lighting you have you may have trouble keeping really light demanding corals alive even with t5 lighting.....mushrooms and leathers and other soft corals and polyps are good starters that are not overly demanding for light and flow such as SPS (which are small polyps corals such as acros and montis etc) they are the hard corals you see and need high calcium and really stable parameters to keep successfully. Start slowly, research your additions as to husbandry requirements and above all remember nothing good happens quickly in saltwater. Welcome to the site and our club

 

[Fireworm]

You won't like the color of the corals with the bulb selection that you posted. You will wnat more blue bulbs. Is your tank 4' long. If so, I have a few of the day bulbs you can have. I have at least 2 65k and 1 3000k bulb.

 

[bst5017]

My tank is only 24" long, it is square. What does the 3000K bulb do? I do not plan on putting corals really soon, but I am trying to get an idea of what to go with so I can start researching. I had another question too, do you suggest anything for keeping temp stable? Mine bounces, it is 78 which I know is a little low, but I have a marine stealth in there that is rated for 50 gallons, and also a hagen fluval heater rated for 50. They are the kind you can set the temp, and I can put 81 on them and they never go higher than 76-78. I think this is because the aquarium is glass. I read how glass is less insulated than acrylic so it will give off more heat.

 

[mojo~]

3000k bulb = lol it is a very orange light will make everything look orange or brown. Good for plant growth though. around 6500k for your chateo and 10k and up for marine life in your tank. around 12k to 14k is what most like and a 20k look (blue) is becoming more popular as we are able to get the par values need and still keep a blue color in the tank.

 

[mojo~]

Your bulbs will be way off color. You will want a mixture. I have owned a t5 bulb or two. lol. I would go with 3 ati blue plus and 3 ati aquablue specials for starters . that will give a nice color on anything you do. thats 3 22k bulbs and 3 12k bulbs if that helps.

 

[bst5017]

Sounds good. I will have to look into those. Thanks again.

 

[JCR's Reef]

Stealth heaters are off a little bit according to the dial. I run mine at 80 and it keeps my tank at 77. As coraline algae starts to build up on the outside it starts to be off a little more. Glass tanks arent good insulaters, but if you buy a little bigger heater than what is needed you dont have anything to worry about.
Soft coral are just soft coral when it comes to what type coral it is. SPS stands for small polyp stony corals. They are the most demanding coral in my opinion. You have to have pristine water conditions for them to grow. Save your money on these until you get your tank balanced out for awhile.
You dont really have to worry about the mushrooms bleaching out. Just start them out on the bottom and they will flourish everywhere with time = ) They are very hardy and can adjust pretty rapidly. Start all your new coral out on the bottom and work them up to the higher light in weekly intervals and you shouldnt have any problems. I would also get good at weekly water changes. The best part of the hobby! LOL. Most newbies that have problems with their tanks dont do regular water changes. Not doing weekly water changes allow things to go unstable in a tank and cause problems. Sure a few get away with it though.


Here is some good helpful links for people new to the hobby if you dont have any books.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074