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How much space between corals


Gobynose

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Hi all,

 

I am in the process of setting up my first saltwater tank. It is a 20 gallon high. I know that I like cup corals (tubinaria) and chalice corals (Echinophyllia) and when I read about them I see that “adequate space” should be left for growth but I can’t find anything about what that might begin to look like. Should I be planning my rock work to accommodate future potential corals? Are the corals I listed just a terrible idea for a 20 gallon tank?

 

Thanks!

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24 minutes ago, Gobynose said:

Hi all,

 

I am in the process of setting up my first saltwater tank. It is a 20 gallon high. I know that I like cup corals (tubinaria) and chalice corals (Echinophyllia) and when I read about them I see that “adequate space” should be left for growth but I can’t find anything about what that might begin to look like. Should I be planning my rock work to accommodate future potential corals? Are the corals I listed just a terrible idea for a 20 gallon tank?

 

Thanks!

Chalice corals can be very aggressive with long sweeper tentacles, especially at night.  Just keep that in mind and leave plenty of space. My chalice killed a Cyphastrea colony that I thought was indestructible. 
 

I also have a large Cup Coral and it is quite peaceful. 
 

 

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I guess that’s my question though 🙂 How do I figure out what “plenty of space” is? 2 inches? 6 inches? 2 feet? 6” beyond the size of How big I’d like the coral to get?

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Just now, Gobynose said:

I guess that’s my question though 🙂 How do I figure out what “plenty of space” is? 2 inches? 6 inches? 2 feet? 6” beyond the size of How big I’d like the coral to get?

Depends........on the particular coral in question and the size of the coral. It also depends on what you are placing near the coral.  There is no hard and fast rule......Each coral is different. 
 

Observe the coral at night to see how aggressive it really is..... 2 inches might work or it might need 6 inches.  Place another coral near it and see how it reacts. 

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Ok thanks. I knew it would be different for different corals but was trying to figure out what to base expectations on. Knowing to look for sweeper tentacles after dark is helpful.

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Gourami Swami

Yup pretty much just look, you will be able to see the little clear spaghetti-looking tentacles blowing in the flow. I find that higher flow = longer sweepers. My chalice coral is maybe 3" across and it's sweepers go out only about an inch. My favia however is about the same size and the sweepers go out probably 2-2.5". 

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