Starting on Coral

[BayTib13]

Hello, I've recently gotten my tank settled down, and gotten all the fish that I want. Now I'm looking to start into coral, and get a few of em. not too much though as I only have a 36g aquarium.

My question is with my setup what kind of coral could I get, and have success with.

Lighting : 1 14w T5 10000k, 1 14w actinic bluelight.
I don't have any powerheads yet, but was going to get one before I start coral. I found one on a vendor sight that does around 700gph, and the next one up was like 1400gph i believe. My fluval canister moves about 180gph, and I'm not sure about the aqueon 40x, I'm sure it's not much though.

Also, does anyone know if there's any kind of canopy that I could get, I have a 36g bowfront, that would allow me to have more lights?

I believe this is all the info, but if I left anything out just let me know.

 

[Nicksdc]

Start off with zoanthids, hammers, torch, mushrooms, leathers... check out liveaquaria.com, see what you like, and it'll tell you what the care level is. 28w will not be enough. You might be able to get away with 2x ho t5s which are 21w a piece, but personally I would feel more comfortable with 4. You probably only need 700gph powerhead, depending on how much coral you get. Cool thing is if you don't have enough flow, you can always change where the powerhead and the coral is. Koralias are awesome powerheads, great reliability. Not sure about the canopy, if you find one, im sure it'll be pricey.

 

[trackfast]

What you can do instead of a canopy is get a mesh top or egg crate and suspend the lights. 28 watts on a 36G won't be enough lights for most corals.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Any glass canopy will allow you to use whatever light you want. I suggest stepping up to at least a two bulb HOT5 fixture.

What is your nitrate concentration?

For powerheads I prefer the Koralia Evolutions. They are small and strong but most importantly their output is spread out (not just a a small jet output). This gets the whole water column, not just one jet stream.

What fish do you have?

 

[BayTib13]

Right now I have a dual HO T5 fixture,by coralife, that's all that will fit as there's only a small portion of the canopy that is glass, the other part is a thick plastic lid. Can I get higher wattage bulbs for this fixture?

As for the fish, I have 4 green chromis, 1 true percula and 1 false percula, 2 4 striped damsels, and a yellow-tailed damsel. I had a mcoscker flasher wrasse, but I think the stress got to him as when i get home today from school he was dead....

My nitrate level, is slightly above 0, but not much..I would say under one. I'm using the saltwater master test kit from petco, I believe it's API? not positive. It's a liquid test kit. My ammonia is around .25, and my nitrites are undetectable. Ph is ~8.0 and SG is ~1.024-1.025. I just checked them after I got home and got the wrasse out and did a PWC.

What do you mean by egg crate?

Edit: Would I be able to use these odyssey bulbs on my Coralife fixture? as long as length and diameter are the same? and would I need to get an external cooling fan for it? http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-24W-T5-Fluorescent-Bulb-p/62409.htm

 

[BayTib13]

I'm not sure why my reply didn't show up, but my parameters are

Ph ~8.0
SG ~1.024-25
Ammo <=.25
Nitrate <1
Nitrite Undetectable
Temp ~79-80

My lighting fixture currently is a 2x HOT5, it's just the bulbs are only 14W each, one is a 10000k and the other is an actinic blue light. Can I get higher wattage bulbs for this fixture or should I probably just return it, and get one of the odyssey 4x T5 2xMoonlight fixtures?

Also, is there such a thing as too much current flow? I was thinking about just getting the 1050 koralia, since it's only 10$ more, but I don't what to have too much current for my fish, since it's only a 36g.

Next, the mesh top, could I get some details on it? Is it just any type of mesh, cut to fit around filters, etc., and then just suspend the lights above it? What about the egg crate?

Edit: My fish are 1 yellow-tailed damsel, 2 4 striped damsels, 4 green chromis, 1 true percula, and 1 false percula.

 

[trackfast]

There are a lot of negative experiences with Odyssea fixtures; you can search this forum for the reviews. Even those who had good experiences with them hated the stock bulbs.
As for flow, you want to be in the 720/gph range. You will have to place corals according to their flow needs. Egg crate is the plastic grid that covers lights in some offices. It can be found in most hardware stores and you can cut it to fit. It does diffuse the lighting a little.

 

[BayTib13]

Ohhhh! haha that, I was thinking of egg cartons XD, Idk why haha, now it makes more sense. I'll probably just go that route. What do y'all think about coralife? I have a lfs that sales them, that's where I got my 2x, I may just see if they have a 4x I can exchange it for if it has good recommendations.

And thanks for the flow rate clarification, I'll just go with the 700gph PH then, seeing as how my fluval 205 adds another 180, that oughta be plenty.

 

[trackfast]

If your LFS will let you exchange it, you should try to get a 4x. More light will give you more options for corals. Some might tell you to go for a 6x if the LFS has one.

 

[BayTib13]

im not sure if they ha e a 6x, would that even fit over my tank? i believe its only around 15" wide

 

[uscamaro]

Check out "Current Nova Extreme T5 Pro", they sell a 6-bulb for 20" tank for $231. You could keep a lot of corals under that.

 

[BayTib13]

alright, so after talking to my lfs, i decided im goin to go with reef led's. theyre about 350, but theyre letting me do a 2 month lay away so it wont be too bad

 

[mr_X]

having detectable ammonia is a problem. ammonia is toxic to fish. i would be doing some large water changes to get that to undetectable levels asap. that most certainly had something to do with the death of the wrasse.

i suggest posting the brand and model of the LED fixture they are offering for 350. there are many LED fixtures on the market right now that aren't up to snuff. some are even considered a waste of money.

 

[BayTib13]

its a reef led, i believe is what she called it. she said they had sold several lately, and had good feedback, noticeable changes in coral, and are running them in their display tanks at the store if i wanted to look at them if before i bought them.

 

[mr_X]

is this the fixture?
Marineland Reef Capable LED Lighting System 36-48"

 

[BayTib13]

im not positive, as i havent been able to look at it yet. ive been in class all day. but i dont think it is. she said the one they sale comes with moonlights as well

 

[austinsdad]

Your immediate focus should be the source of the ammonia. Lighting later.

 

[BayTib13]

It's not a definite that I do have ammonia, but I think there is. It's hard to tell the color difference on the 0 and .25ppm with the test kit I have. It doesn't quite seem to be at 0, but it doesn't quite seem to be .25, I did a 5g water change yesterday, will check the levels again before bed and if it still looks like its not 0, i'm going to do about a 10g tomorrow

 

[Fishguy2727]

Are you sure you have the high output T5 light from Coralife? They also have a normal output (sounds more like what you have).

Ditch the plastic cover and get a glass canopy. This will let you have whatever light you can fit above the tank. I personally don't suggest getting too extreme. If you are just starting in corals you don't need enough light to grow acropora spp. and clams. If you have that much light you will probably get massive algae problems. Let the light grow with you and the tank. Start with a slim 2-bulb HOT5 fixture. As you and your tank grow add another one and even a third if needed (if it fits).

 

[BayTib13]

im positive its the HO, says it on the box.

also, im wanting to go ahead and get all the light i need, instead of having to keep spending more and more.

would a good cleaning crew and lighting about 6-8 hours a day be able to keep it under control?