Best Beginner Coral

[MarineEddy]

Hi guys,

I was just wondering what the best (easiest) coral is for a beginner. I got my lights today and am about to start changing to RO water. I have read zoas and mushrooms but I don't know what to get. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance, Eddy

 

[Tmyboy]

What do you mean "about to start changing to RO water"?

Have you been using tap?

There's a lot of corals that are fairly easy providing you water quality and lights are up to par. Zoas, daisy polyps etc....

 

[MarineEddy]

I have been using tap water but am getting an RO unit for my birthday which is next month. On another thread someone said some hardy corals would be ok in the water but prefer RO. Is this true so I could get them now or not?

 

[melosu58]

Mushrooms, Bubble corals or brain corals are good starting corals.

 

[Tmyboy]

Hopefully some of the mods/vets will provide some insight because I'm curious as well...

IMHO...if you're getting an RO system, why not just wait a couple weeks and do some 20%-25% PWC with the RO water before throwing a coral in? That way, majority of your water should be of much better quality than you currently have in there.

1 last question....Are you getting the DI canister with the RO system? It's not expensive and it ensures you get all impurities stripped out for truly pure water. Just FYI...

 

[crister13]

I personally think colt coral is VERY hardy.

 

[ShooterRick]

Great thread for a newbie like me. I don't comment alot on other threads as I am still learning much. This thread I will follow.

 

[Sniperhank]

You borderline can't kill the "weed corals"...green star polyps, kenya tree...I'm a big fan of mushroom leathers and duncans. I have some Rics, a candy cane, colt, and a moon brain too.

 

[MarineEddy]

Yes Tmyboy it is DI aswell

 

[Heera]

You borderline can't kill the "weed corals"...green star polyps, kenya tree...I'm a big fan of mushroom leathers and duncans. I have some Rics, a candy cane, colt, and a moon brain too.

+1 to Sniperhank

I just switched to rodi last week.
I been using tap water for a year before And had no problems keeping;
Green star polyps, zoa, colt coral and mushrooms.

But rodi water will help with algae issues.

 

[joy13]

You can kill a kenya tree it takes some specialness on the part of the person that can but it can be done. I gave a friend my kenya tree that outgrew my 24 gallon tank with in a week it was dead. I can't get zoas to grow but I can give another friend 3 polyps from a colony and within a month his is a mini colony and mine is just struggling along.

Depending on your water quality you can do corals with tap water but it is better to wait until you get your ro unit. While you are waiting do a lot of research and shopping around.

 

[mr_X]

Be careful what you put in your tank. As you progress, things like mushrooms and kenya tree corals become a plague. Kenya tree corals are right up there with aptasia as far as I'm concerned!
I agree that a green sinularia leather might be a better option than a kenya tree. They are bright green at least, and stay mostly in one colony, instead of breaking apart and sprouting up all over the tank.
Here's a picture of one I put in a tank i maintain-

It seems to never look unhappy, no matter what's going on.
What lighting did you end up with?

 

[MarineEddy]

Heera are you switching to RO at the moment or did you finish switching last week? Did you have corals in before you were 100% RO or not?
Mr X I ended up with 2 T8s. One is called 'Marine Glo' and is actinic. I don't know what the other is called but the guy in my lfs said it could support corals. I do know it has a high colour spectrum for quite a lot of colours though.

 

[Leighton79]

You shouldn't really be using T8's to try and support corals, it's outdated technology, would be better off with a couple of candles at the waters surface.

 

[Fish-guy]

Heera are you switching to RO at the moment or did you finish switching last week? Did you have corals in before you were 100% RO or not?
Mr X I ended up with 2 T8s. One is called 'Marine Glo' and is actinic. I don't know what the other is called but the guy in my lfs said it could support corals. I do know it has a high colour spectrum for quite a lot of colours though.

Your corals might not die under t8 bulbs, but they will never thrive. It is just not enough light for corals IMO. T5 would have been a better choice. Your lfs is obviously not educated enough in keeping a reef tank.

 

[Sniperhank]

I run a T5 setup with my corals. I have some that are doing straight amazing so far, my Duncan is growing a new head, my ric continues to flourish even though it has almost 0 base for over a week and was knocked all around my tank. I have 2 mushroom leathers, one I've had since my first corals arrived in the tank and it is doing well, standing tall and polyps fully extended. That is my green one. The other one I got last week and is showing signs of doing well as well, just adjusting. That one is purple. Cool thing is that when I bought both of them they were tan under LFS lighting. I splurged and picked up a moon brain coral that has done well. I had him on the sandbed for a month and saw he was irritated and moved him this week onto rock.

Zoas were covered earlier too and I am gravitating towards the same mindset. They were open and looked fine for the longest time. They closed up last week and don't really want to open all of their heads. I moved them up another level in my tank hoping it would help. Colony has 15-20 heads.

As for the "weed" corals that I keep...My kenya tree was the first coral I placed in the tank. It has shown no signs of throwing more of itself around my tank, it has only gotten taller. The green star polyp...well I got it last week off reefs2go. It is still nothing more than looking like purple paste on a rock...I'll keep you informed on that.

You should return your T8 setup and get a T5. Pretty much everyone I have run into in the hobby runs them unless they are into SPS and do metal or LED setups...haven't gotten there and you aren't there either so I sure wouldn't be worried about it. T5 or bust IMO.

 

[MarineEddy]

I didnt buy a new hood I used my original hood and replaced the lights. Would I be ok if I added an LED strip?
Also I knew it couldn't support many corals I had just planned on some low light corals. Would they not be ok without any more light?

 

[mr_X]

Not unless it was a quality LED strip with decent output. Not all LEDs are created equal, and chances are, if this is a 50 or 100 dollar strip, it's nothing more than eye candy.

Hank- you will soon see what I mean about the kenya tree coral!

 

[Sniperhank]

I know X, you have been warning me 5 minutes after I threw it in the tank!

It really is cool looking...I seem to have a soft spot for softies. Maybe rather than a Kenya tree one of the others in the "tree" family would be good? Have done 0 reading into it, just know that they exist.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Start with the easy ones, after you switch to RO/DI water. Kenya is okay, just clean up any frags it drops. Any of the brown soft corals would be okay. Zoas are a bit harder, but you should try those pretty soon.