New corals for starter reef.

[Sniper308]

Could anyone please suggest beginner level corals for a new reef tank. I am trying to stock a 46g Bow Front tank containing the following:
1-Marron Clown
1-Firefish Goby
1-Green brittle star (aprox. 9")
1-Arrow Crab
5-Turbo snails
6-mixed red & blue leg hermits
100lbs. live rock

Water Parameters are as follows:
PH 8.2
Temp 76F
Amonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate->3mg\l

The Tank is lit with the following
55w PC 50/50
55w PC 10,000k
30w actinic 03
30w 50/50

The tank has been running since Oct. 2000
Live rock is totally encrusted with coraline algae and all tank inhabitants seem healthy.

I am new to the reef scene although I have had much experience with freshwater and FO marine tanks. I am interested in corals that would be a little forgiving of inexperience and also be somewhat easy on the price. Any suggestions of reputable mail order dealers would also be appreciated. There are only two LFS in my area dealing with coral and one sux the other is very over priced.
Thanks in Advance.

[ August 04, 2001: Message edited by: Sniper308 ]

 

[horge]

Hi s308,

You can 'cheat' and get corallimorphs, more commonly known as shrooms. They're particularly hardy, easy to propagate, and don't require as much lighting as their skeletoned cousins.

For true sony corals, consider Favites (Favites abdita is IMO close to bulletproof if you have the lighting AND an established tank) or Favia corals. Caulastrea 'trumpet' coral is another choice. Those ones love light, and can actually be hand-fed.

Steer clear of Goniopora.

There's tons more to be said, but, hth.


horge

 

[2poor2reef]

I agree on the mushrooms. With your lighting you will need to stick with low-light coral animals. I would add zoanthus and parazoanthus to the list, as well as what are commonly sold as green star polyps. Current is also important with corals and you didn't list anything in regard to that. If you pick up a good book it will typically give you info on the habitat of the specific species and you can check your system against those requirements.

 

[davelin315]

Those are all good suggestions (especially the one about not getting goniopora). Basically, my suggestion is the same, but I'll make it broader. Pretty much any soft coral that has a single large polyp is going to be easy to do. My first tank consisted of zooanthids, mushrooms, and various encrusting polyps with a few colt corals mixed in after a few months. After a long time, I started to add elegance, and other LPS corals like hammer/anchor, and bubble corals. Start small, and work your way up. As a rule of thumb, anything that has a membrane over a calcerous skeleton, avoid for now. Anything that is just a polyp, that should be okay until you get the hang of it. Anyways, there are so many types of mushrooms out there, you could do a dedicated mushroom tank with your fish and have a beautiful set up.