First tank, large

[Diskusting]

I recently just got all my levels to what I would like them to be at in my 75. The fish are fine and I think I will be able to add coral soon. Since this is my first reef I have never had corals/anemones so I would like some suggestions on some that are the easiest to take care of.

 

What type of corals are the most hardy and low maintnance?

 

What type of corals and anemones do you have to hand feed weekly and which corals dont need to be hand fed?

 

Also is a pink tip anemone reef safe or will it over run my tank in time?

 

And my biggest question is which corals need the most light and water circulation which would most likely be placed higher on the rocks and which kind may be put on the Bed or lower rock levels.

[Nuhtty]

Its all about the lighting. What sort of lighting are you thinking about?

[Tangman1218]

What type of corals are the most hardy and low maintnance?

**Brown Button polyps, Green Star polyps(GSP), Xenia, Kenya tree(capnella). There are many others, but these will be good additions for starting.**

 

What type of corals and anemones do you have to hand feed weekly and which corals dont need to be hand fed?

**Long, long list here my friend. Until you get used to keeping corals, stick with the aforementioned, as all (Kenya tree also likes other treats) are photosynthetic (host zooxanthellae) and get most of their nutrient needs from light**

 

Also is a pink tip anemone reef safe or will it over run my tank in time?

**Pink anemone (i'm going to assume an RBTA or Rose bubble tip anemone) will be fine in a coral tank. When it finds it's comfy spot, it will usually stay put unless conditions in the tank change, such as lighting, flow, etc. BTW, you'll want 4-5 watts or above for this little guy in CF or MH lighting**

 

And my biggest question is which corals need the most light and water circulation which would most likely be placed higher on the rocks and which kind may be put on the Bed or lower rock levels.

** This is where it can get tricky, Disk. Rather than say where they should be placed, I'll give you some examples and I would suggest you get a few coral books and internet search for usual placement of certain corals. Brown button polyps do fine in any placement and do not require much flow. Low-Med flow will be fine. GSP require Med-High flow and lots of light, so med-high placement. More on your lighting in a second. Xenia and Kenya Tree also enjoy lots of light and Med flow. Remember, these are generic but most commonly effective patterns.**

 

Now, my questions to you are;

1) What type of lighting do you have now. In the picture, it looks like Fluorescent only? Or is it Compact Fluorescent? If I am way off my mark here, i'm sorry. At bare minimum, you will want CF or better yet, Metal Halide. Lighting for corals is key.

 

2) How much flow do you have going in the tank? This is actually the most vital part of a reef tank. Based on your 75 gallon, I would recommend 1000-1500 gph (15x-20x the tank size) in your tank. I know someone will chime in and say that is too much, but trust me, the more you have, the more the corals will thrive.

 

Finally, grab some coral books and look at some of the types you would like to have. The ones I listed are softies. You also have choices in the lines of Large Polyp Stony (LPS), Small Polyp Stony (SPS), etc. Given the questions you asked, there is way to many avenues we could go down. When you have figured out some you would like to have, let us know and we can guide you a little closer to the individual coral's needs, likes and dislikes. I hope this helps you.

 

Tang

[Insalubrious]

Good luck with your big tank! I just got 90 gallon acrylic tank that my friend found ABANDONED at a job site he worked at with the an overflow prebuilt into it and I'm going to set that up soon. My little 24 gallon nano-cube might just become my sump (please don't flame me for this nano-reefers!!!)