Beginners guide to coral?

[NicoleIsStoked]

I'm currently running a 50gal FOWLR setup and I was interested in potentially changing it over to reef in the new year. Problem is that this is my first SW tank and I know NOTHING about coral. What is the absolute min (read: least expensive) lighting I could have to keep some hardy corals? What are the dif types of corals and aside from lighting and fish compatibility, what are the big differences I should be aware of with coral? Thanks

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

I should mention: I currently have 2 24" t8 lights. My tank is 4ft long. Are there ANY corals I can keep with this minimal cheap ugly lighting?

 

[Khij159753]

You might be able to do some Xenia mushrooms or Zoas. But idk for sure

 

[Saratj1]

+1 maybe some low light zoa's but it's kinda hard to say what are low light zoas. Mushrooms would be your best bet, but with the 2xt8's your going to need to upgrade those before you really think about corals because there's probably a 50/50 chance that even zoa's or shrooms won't do well under those lights. You could get a basic light for that tank that would support mushrooms and zoas for sure for around $125, and you may be able to find something cheaper on eBay or Craigslist. I'd look for a 2 bulb t5ho light, that's probably the cheapest light your going to get that will support low light coral for your tank.

Here's a light that would work, about the cheapest your going to get and be able to get some low light coral. This light will probably have 4 times the power of your current light. You could Buy this light, buy some decent bulbs later down the road, and have a decent light to get you started. Or buy a 4 bulb fixture and grow all but the most light demanding coral.

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=160747694143&index=6&nav=SEARCH&nid=09917444032

 

[Schism]

Be aware that with a 2 bulb t5 zoas and mushrooms are gonna be about all you can grow. It you want way more options such as higher light softies and LPS then you will be much happier with a 4 bulb T5.

To answer whats different about coral compared to fish only. Well for one water quality has to be much cleaner. This means 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and near zero nitrates, most coral wont handle anything over 20ppm well. Some even more sensitive than that.

Also with reefs calcium, alk, magnesium and all other trace elements come into play so they need to be at proper levels and stable.

Large or sharp fluctuations also become more serious when corals are involved. Temp, salinity, ph, all must remain fairly stable and in acceptable ranges.

Generally softies will be your easiest to keep corals, with SPS (Small Polyp Stony) generally being the hardest and LPS (Large Polyp Stony) falling in the middle.

Softies include xenia, leather, polyps, zoanthids, mushrooms etc.
LPS include acans, frogspawn, brains, trumpets, torches, chalices etc.
SPS include acroporas, montiporas, porcillapora, porites, millieporas etc.

Hope that helps a little bit. Not a small subject and tons of info so read as much as you can on the subject.

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

Wow great info. Thanks guys. Lets say I just wanted to keep an anemone or two. What's involved with that?

 

[Rosseg]

Definately 6 bulb t5 for most anemones. They require more light then even most sps.

 

[Jtisle506]

If you are really 100% convinced you want to do a reef, trust me you want LED's. I'm bot talking about those really gimpy LED lights, im talking about real 3 watt a bulb LED's. Yeah I know they are really pricey but let me explain to you why to go this route. You probably are going to start doing soft corals and will get sucked into hard corals. Most people do this as of a fact I know some people who actually got 8 t5's and was going to do only softies but after a month or so, he wanted to do hard corals and got rid of his t5's and got LED's. Another reason I would get LED's is they get replaced every 10 years instead of every other light every year. So by the time 10 yrs comes around you will prob spent more money in changing bulbs than just buying the LED's from the start. You get to grow everything and will save money in the long run.

P.S- Don't buy ecotech radions, they are way over priced. Either build them yourself 200-300$. Or buy off brand ones like i did for 249 a piece. They have the same wattage but is a LOT cheaper. I hope this helped.

 

[Gregcoyote]

If you are really 100% convinced you want to do a reef, trust me you want LED's. I'm bot talking about those really gimpy LED lights, im talking about real 3 watt a bulb LED's. Yeah I know they are really pricey but let me explain to you why to go this route. You probably are going to start doing soft corals and will get sucked into hard corals. Most people do this as of a fact I know some people who actually got 8 t5's and was going to do only softies but after a month or so, he wanted to do hard corals and got rid of his t5's and got LED's. Another reason I would get LED's is they get replaced every 10 years instead of every other light every year. So by the time 10 yrs comes around you will prob spent more money in changing bulbs than just buying the LED's from the start. You get to grow everything and will save money in the long run.

P.S- Don't buy ecotech radions, they are way over priced. Either build them yourself 200-300$. Or buy off brand ones like i did for 249 a piece. They have the same wattage but is a LOT cheaper. I hope this helped.

I agree. Look at Taotronics on EBay. As long as the total wattage adds up to what you need, you are good to go.

 

[adam petty]

Sorry to jump in on this. Are aqua beam 600 leds lighting any good then? For corals? Thanks

 

[Gregcoyote]

Sorry to jump in on this. Are aqua beam 600 leds lighting any good then? For corals? Thanks

Those fixtures use Cree LEDs, which are good LEDs, but their claims seem to be way too optimistic. .6 watts per gallon for hard corals is pretty misleading. Most of their fixtures are 60-90 watts total. The Cree LEds are more efficient than most, but not this efficient. I would suggest this fixture for only a smaller tank, like a 30-50 gallon. I have a PAR meter and measure PUR. The cheaper fixtures without lenses are only good for shallower tanks, while those with built in lenses work great for deeper tanks. I haven't tested but a few popular fixtures and can tell you there is variation, but you can do a hard coral tank with inexpensive LEDs, you just need more of them.

 

[adam petty]

Ok. So i have 3 aquabeam 600, 1 is 5 blue leds, use this for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the even.
And for the day lights i got two marine reef which is 3 leds and 2 blue ones in each fitting hope these lights are good enough cause they cost alot of money. Thanks

 

[Gregcoyote]

Ok. So i have 3 aquabeam 600, 1 is 5 blue leds, use this for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the even.
And for the day lights i got two marine reef which is 3 leds and 2 blue ones in each fitting hope these lights are good enough cause they cost alot of money. Thanks

Tank size?

 

[adam petty]

Sorry. Its a wall hung aquaruim which is 40 litres so think its about 10 gallons.
Stock is
2 cleaner shrimp
4 turbo snails
4 hermit crab
2 wild clowns
1 royal gramma
Live rock
Zoas
Mushroom

 

[Gregcoyote]

That fixture should be more than adequate for that size tank and that live stock.

 

[adam petty]

Thank you so 3 aquabeams 600 for my tank is fine. Will anemone do well in there to?

 

[Gregcoyote]

Thank you so 3 aquabeams 600 for my tank is fine. Will anemone do well in there to?

It should do fine. You have quite a bit of light in your 10 gallon.

 

[adam petty]

Ok thanks very much .

 

[LadyQuorra]

Nicole,

Don't know if your still shopping around for lights but I've had my eyes on these as an upgrade for my tank.

Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting

This gives me way more then enough light for almost any coral. But since your tank 50g I think it would only provide at max moderate lighting. Though I've read a person using a Duo & Quad side by side on a 55g reef.

GL!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Sorry. Its a wall hung aquaruim which is 40 litres so think its about 10 gallons.
Stock is
2 cleaner shrimp
4 turbo snails
4 hermit crab
2 wild clowns
1 royal gramma
Live rock
Zoas
Mushroom

For a 10 gallon, both of those fish won't do well. Clowns need 20 gallons minimum and royal grammas need 30 gallons. You are also overstocked. In a ten gallon you can only have 1-2 fish depending on bioload. It just won't end well. For a 10 gallon I'd recommend firefish, some of the smallest wrasses, and gobies like clown gobies or watchman gobies. If you want to keep the clowns and gramma you'll have to upgrade. Also four turbo snails is a lot for such a small tank. They'll eat away the algae so fast they'll end up starving. I'd drop the number down to two.