Starting Reef Tank Tips

[chawk413]

Hello!

 

I recently started a small desktop aquarium (Fluval Evo 5g) and am hoping to get corals in the future. I had saltwater tanks growing up, but am a little rusty especially on coral/ invert care. 

 

What do you feed corals (copepods, phytoplankton)? 

What coral species are forgiving for beginners/ small tank set ups?

Do I need to purchase any trace elements/ supplements? (I get my water from my local aquarium store) 

Does having coral impact how often the water should be changed? 

I just got a cleanup crew for my tank with turbo snails, hermit crabs, and a brittle star. What are the dietary requirements for the starfish? 

 

Thanks for any tips! 

 

[A Little Blue]

If you’re aren’t sure of your reefing abilities, go with soft corals. They are hard to kill and very forgiving. You don’t need to dose or be spot on as far as water parameters are concern. 

And be patiant. It will get you farther in a long run, it is going to be cheaper and more enjoyable. If you wanna go on deeper waters with SPS/LPS corals...we’ll that’s another story. Forget about the starfish for now. As far as water changes well, that depends on number of things. 

More poop, more water changes. If you won’t neglect your tank and follow regular maintenance schedule, you should be OK with one to two water changes of %25 total volume per month. 

You will need to test the basics and keep those stable (salinity, Alk and temp). I will skip the ammonia, phosphates or nitrate as those have to be at minimum possible level anyway. So I am not going to get into the obvious. 

Most softies and LPS corals will accept reefroids. Phytoplankton is also very good food source and I use that a LOT. 

[Clown79]

I have a 5g. Very simple basic system. No bells or whistles on this tanks

 

 I do waterchanges every 1-2 weeks, depends but my nutrient levels are low so I can let it go longer.

Your waterchange schedule depends on many factors. Bioload, over feeding, husbandry, water source etc. 

10-20% weekly is the most common answer and most realistic in a new tank.

 

I don't dose anything in this tank. 

 

You don't need to dose vitamins etc your waterchanges replenish these.

 

Elements like alk and ca should only be dosed to replenish it due to coral consumption and if the consumption isn't significant, it's best to not dose.

 

I prefer feeding corals foods for them like Reef roids, coral frenzy, aquaforest food, mysis, lps pellets, cyclops. 

I don't feed all of these and it will depend on the corals you keep.