New to forums from Delaware

[Exzaber]

Hello all been looking at this forum for awhile just now registering .. Recently started a 20 long , 20 lbs of Carrib live sand ( Fiji pink ) 15 lbs of rock ( getting 10 more of live rock ) once things settle . For stock was thinking a pair of clowns and a gobi . Cuc of bumblebee snails ( wifes pick ) , some sexy shrimp , and some electric blue hermits . Now once things settle add my cuc then gobi then clowns .. As for coral this is where I have ? I never messed with them before so what are some good stater corals ? My current light is an marine land led light . I don't remember the model , I know it was good enough to grow FW plants .

 

 

Parts I have ,

 

AC 30 running sponge and filter floss

2 maxi jets 450 , gonna upgrade to hydro koralias (2) 250s

100w marine land heater

Marine land led ( will upgrade if needed )

[TFish77]

Hello all been looking at this forum for awhile just now registering .. Recently started a 20 long , 20 lbs of Carrib live sand ( Fiji pink ) 15 lbs of rock ( getting 10 more of live rock ) once things settle . For stock was thinking a pair of clowns and a gobi . Cuc of bumblebee snails ( wifes pick ) , some sexy shrimp , and some electric blue hermits . Now once things settle add my cuc then gobi then clowns .. As for coral this is where I have ? I never messed with them before so what are some good stater corals ? My current light is an marine land led light . I don't remember the model , I know it was good enough to grow FW plants .

 

 

Parts I have ,

 

AC 30 running sponge and filter floss

2 maxi jets 450 , gonna upgrade to hydro koralias (2) 250s

100w marine land heater

Marine land led ( will upgrade if needed )

 

 

Sounds like your off to a good start. Here is a list of some good starter corals and their negatives and positives.

 

Green Star Polyp: The standard starter. Easy and fast growing. Provides some nice movement in the tank. There are different intensities in coloration ranging from dim green to a bright highlighter green.

Clove/Daisy Polyps: Another pretty and easy to care for coral. Will grow fast. I would recommend paying the extra few bucks for the kaleidoscope cloves if you can find them :-).

Pulsing Xenia: Still one of my favorite corals. Some people don't like it because it does grow faster than most things in your tank and can take over if not pruned every couple months. Also make sure you get the actual "pulsing" type and not just the standard one. Much prettier

Starter Zoa and Palys (Radioactive Dragon Eyes, Eagle Eyes, Nuclear Green Palys, etc): Most stores will have some very beautiful zoas like these that are relatively inexpensive and easy to grow. Will add a nice splash of color.

Mushrooms: Start inexpensive and try and purchase some that are already firmly attached to a plug or another form of substrate. Be aware that shrooms have a very powerful sting and will pretty easily kill most other sps and lps corals. It has been hit and miss for me when it comes to shrooms stinging other sofites. They seem fine around other zoas but I would try and keep them isolated or fragged back.

Starter Euphelia (Frogspawn, Torch, Hammer, etc): These are a little bit harder but still pretty hardy. You should be able to find some nice green and pink tip varieties for $10-$25 a head.

 

There are a lot more but start there :-)

 

Here are some pics to give you a better idea. Good luck with everything!

 

[Pinner Reef]

Yeah, you'll want to upgrade that light in the near future if you want to keep anything more than soft corals. Until then get yourself some Green Star Polyps (crowd/wife pleasers) and zoanthids. You can also grow toadstools and, if you can find it, there is green Nepthea that are really good looking. But yeah, keep to the softies until you upgrade your lighting and get more confident maintaining water parameters. Good setup otherwise.

 

Edit: Tfish beat me to it/did a better job of answering

[Exzaber]

Thanks to both of you .. I've been doing FW for over 25 years , newer to SW , all of those corals are gorgeous. I was thinking softies from what I read .. Just set tank up last night ( had a little bit of Southtown milkshake but clear now ) gonna star cycling with some raw shrimp tomorrow. Dude at petco was telling me to get biosperia and toss a damsel in there lol . Trying to make that money .. I don't like damsels but not enough to do that to one ..

[Pinner Reef]

Yeah, no need to put a jerk damsel in the tank in order to get things started. A piece of shrimp will get things going. As for the biospira, that's an optional booster, again not necessary but will help move things along

[TFish77]

Thanks to both of you .. I've been doing FW for over 25 years , newer to SW , all of those corals are gorgeous. I was thinking softies from what I read .. Just set tank up last night ( had a little bit of Southtown milkshake but clear now ) gonna star cycling with some raw shrimp tomorrow. Dude at petco was telling me to get biosperia and toss a damsel in there lol . Trying to make that money .. I don't like damsels but not enough to do that to one ..

 

Biospera isn't bad but I would stay away from starter damsels. Also petco is really not the best place to be getting anything for salt water. Try and find an actual fish store near you. They usually have a much better selection and are much more knowledgeable. '

 

Also just an FYI. Everyone starts with these corals and says "Oh that's all I will ever need. These are plenty beautiful. There is no point in buying any of the more expensive/designer stuff." As time goes by though you will start to add more and more. Eagle Eyes wont be enough any more and you will switch them out for rastas and utter chaos. Your green tip frogspawn isn't quite doing it for you anymore and you switch it for an aussie gold torch. Then you discover places like Jason Fox signature and Tidal Gardens. Its the inevitable decline into coral madness.

 

This is more of an addiction than a hobby. You have been warned :-)

[Exzaber]

Yeah, no need to put a jerk damsel in the tank in order to get things started. A piece of shrimp will get things going. As for the biospira, that's an optional booster, again not necessary but will help move things along

Right , shrimp in a pice of pantyhose . I'm in no rush lol .. When you rush bad things happen even in FW .. He was also trying to sell me his tank water .. Was like nah brah I have my own ro/did unit lol

Biospera isn't bad but I would stay away from starter damsels. Also petco is really not the best place to be getting anything for salt water. Try and find an actual fish store near you. They usually have a much better selection and are much more knowledgeable. '

 

Also just an FYI. Everyone starts with these corals and says "Oh that's all I will ever need. These are plenty beautiful. There is no point in buying any of the more expensive/designer stuff." As time goes by though you will start to add more and more. Eagle Eyes wont be enough any more and you will switch them out for rastas and utter chaos. Your green tip frogspawn isn't quite doing it for you anymore and you switch it for an aussie gold torch. Then you discover places like Jason Fox signature and Tidal Gardens. Its the inevitable decline into coral madness.

 

This is more of an addiction than a hobby. You have been warned :-)

Was in there getting kitty litter , I have a lfs that is family owned . And where I get most of my supplies .

 

As for the addiction - why do you think I came from my comfort zone ( heavy planted FW ) to this lol it wasn't enough lol

[Exzaber]

How do you guys feel about ordering corals online ? My lfs has some but not of all the ones I want .. I found a site that has damn near everything .

[DrPete]

Where are you in DE? There is a small shop in Marcus Hook with a good assortment at phenomenal prices.

[TFish77]

How do you guys feel about ordering corals online ? My lfs has some but not of all the ones I want .. I found a site that has damn near everything .

 

It can be hit and miss. There are some incredible vendors out there that truly offer good quality animals at reasonable prices. However there are also some really terrible vendors out there that doctor their pictures, mishandle the corals, and consistently ship crap out that not only dies but can come in with diseases and parasites.

 

Any specific vendor you are looking at?

[Exzaber]

I found a local reef club , they have a list of breeders throughout the club . Tank is cycling nicely .. Had some spikes and starting to lvl off , maybe next weekend it will be a go

[Exzaber]

Update on tank - cycle was completed and held stable - added a pair of clowns . In a week or so going to add some softies - however I need to upgrade my lighting to the next step for Frogspwan / Torch . My current light is a marine land LED but I'm afraid it's not going to be enough for the next level corals , I have a few T5 and T8 light fixtures laying around - or should I just splurge and grab a Kessil or Radion. ?

[Hammerstone]

I have a marineland LED. Does anyone see anything wrong with them. It said Reef Ready.

[TFish77]

I have a marineland LED. Does anyone see anything wrong with them. It said Reef Ready.

 

Can you post the exact one?

[Hammerstone]

 

Can you post the exact one?

we got it long ago, my husband bought it and I know it was expensive. It sucks there's no model number on it. I know it said reef ready, has a clock on it and a button for whites and a button for blues. I am resetting it thanks to another reefer on this site so it's automatic. A power outage changed the setting so some kind reefer found the instructions for me. I'll try to get more information. It is bright. Just the moon setting isn't so bright as I've seen on pictures here. The instructions say 10,000k and 1 watt per LED.

[Exzaber]

Mine is the cheaper one - it didn't say reef ready