? First coral for 30g tank ?

[Ice Man]

What coral would you recommend for a first time reef keeper?

Little data:
30 gallon tank
10g refugium with macro algae and red mangroves
200W power compact light, 50/50 10k/actinic

So far I got 2 clowns and 3 Bengali cardinalfish, bristle starfish, lots of hermit crabs, few snails, 2 peppermint shrimps an one cleaner skunk shrimp.

I probably wanna start with frags, something that would grow fast.

Also if anyone could recommend good article on corals for beginners.
Thanks.

 

[fort384]

Consider some xenia or mushrooms - they are good starters.

Zoas can also be good.

Thanks for sharing the pics!

 

[Beengirl]

Your tank looks great! And the pics are really very good! Your one hermit's shell reminds me of the hat Napoleon wore!! random, I know, it just came to me as soon as I saw it. Lol.

 

[Crystal A]

They are some good pics should post one of the hermits in the potm thread. My first was a hammer coral. Still with me now. Next it was zoas and mushrooms. Good starters.

 

[Ice Man]

Thank you all so much for your advices.

What do you think about anemone? I would like to have one for my clowns. Any thought?

 

[Ice Man]

Your tank looks great! And the pics are really very good! Your one hermit's shell reminds me of the hat Napoleon wore!! random, I know, it just came to me as soon as I saw it. Lol.

LOL

Thanks, you just made my day!

 

[spoonman]

I dont think most corals or especially a nem would not do well under power compacts. I could be wrong, but that doesnt seem like enough light for corals.

 

[Ice Man]

I dont think most corals or especially a nem would not do well under power compacts. I could be wrong, but that doesnt seem like enough light for corals.

I always thought that most reef aquariums need at least 4 wats per gallon. Mine is about 6.6wats per gallon. Person who used this setup before me (I bought it used from a friend) had no problem keeping corals.

 

[Rutrag]

I always thought that most reef aquariums need at least 4 wats per gallon. Mine is about 6.6wats per gallon. Person who used this setup before me (I bought it used from a friend) had no problem keeping corals.

I probably would not do an anemone until you had some easier photosynthetic inverts under your belt as they can be tricky. I'm not sure the lighting is strong enough either.

I'd advocate for some zoas. If they're happy, they grow fast and some varieties are quite colorful. The frags are generally easy to sell or trade as well. They're also tolerant of lower light.

 

[Beengirl]

Some easy corals: zoas, Xenia, mushrooms, ricordia.

 

[LaWoWee]

I always thought that most reef aquariums need at least 4 wats per gallon. Mine is about 6.6wats per gallon. Person who used this setup before me (I bought it used from a friend) had no problem keeping corals.

Nice tank! You can't really trust the 4watts per gallon rule. Power compacts are usually higher in wattage than what is equivalent in T5/LED/MH's and will only apply more to LEDs or T5's. it might be possible to keep a nem in PC's but it will need to be kept up higher and/or receive supplemental feedings. I had my first nem under PC's but it was until i switch over to LEDs that it began to thrive.