Friendly Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 with the questions I've been spamming out, I've been told repeatedly that my tank/lighting should be chosen based on the livestock I intend to keep. since I'm brand spanking new to SW, what are some good starter corals I can/should look at? TYVM for your wisdom, kind aquarists! Link to comment
chrisinator Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 There are three different categories of photosynthetic corals: Soft Corals - Easy LPS - Medium SPS - More Advanced Soft Corals are easier to start with because they're more forgiving with water parameters, flow and lighting. LPS can be fairly undemanding, depending on how your aquarium is setup. SPS are more advanced because they usually require higher flow, lighting and low nutrient content. I personally have a mixed reef with all of them, but I added things slowly to see how they fare. Link to comment
Friendly Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 yes, I am interested in the 'softies'. I'd just like to learn names of options so I can take a look and see what tickles my fancy. Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Zoanthids Palythoas Leathers Xenia (can become a nuisance rather quickly) Mushrooms Link to comment
dadummy Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 good beginner corals are anything you can get for free, or next to it Link to comment
Friendly Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 TKR, many thanks! now I've got some direction for reading. good beginner corals are anything you can get for free, or next to it I intend on being anal with my start up. I'm going to seed my own rock...and then get very specific coral's from breeders/growers(?) where there's no chance of pests tagging along. I will be slow, steady and very methodical. actually, another question. all all mushrooms easy to do or are there one's I should focus on as a beginner? Link to comment
righttirefire Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Like all reefers I enjoyed the pulsing xenia and green star polyps. But now... damn they are a pain... id recommend zoas, acans, torch/frogspawn/hammer, monti or birdnest. So I consider those easy for me and that what my tank looks like Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Like all reefers I enjoyed the pulsing xenia and green star polyps. But now... damn they are a pain... id recommend zoas, acans, torch/frogspawn/hammer, monti or birdnest. So I consider those easy for me and that what my tank looks like I can also vouch for acans and torch/frogspawn/hammer corals...I personally lump LPS into the "easy" category. They do fine in higher nutrient systems, so you don't need to be super on top of precision feeding. If you overfeed the LPS almost seem to do better. Just don't go wasting your time trying to get your pH perfect with pH buffers. Not only does it not do anything, it'll nuke your system, especially your LPS corals, if you use it a lot. Link to comment
spinycheek Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Montipora capricornis is a great stony coral, very tolerant of mistakes Green star polyps are very colorful and easy, just plan accordingly to they can't spread too far Zoanthids are always a favorite and theres a zillion different types. Link to comment
MainelyReefer Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Photosynthetic gorgonians, GSP, Xenia, zoas, mushrooms(not ricordea), euphyllias, Acans, trumpets, pagoda cup coral. Softies are great but limiting and eventually when you realize the hype about reef keeping being difficult is essentially just hype, you'll break into LPS. I have a few sps and don't doubt those take a very specific tank setup, but the corals I listed have all been maintained by simple weekly water changes no dosing and I have seen great growth. Link to comment
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