Thinkin of corals

[kdogg85]

I know I have said I did not want corals, but as usual the bug has bit me and I want to give it a try. What would be some good starter corals. I want something that doesn't need alot of tending to start with. I believe someone told me mushrooms were pretty well self maintaing. What else would be a good set of coral to begin with. The tank is 180g(72x24x24) with a 8x39w t5ho fixture.

I do have a tiger and chestnut cowrie in there, I heard they can be a problem. Other than that I have 3 turbos, and assorted snails. The fish are 1 firefish,1 mcoskers wrasse, 2 clowns, 1 powder brown tang. Also, have about 230 lbs of live rock, the tank has been running for a couple months.

 

[melosu58]

Some good starters would be mushrooms, polyps, a leather coral and maybe a bubble coral.

 

[kdogg85]

Anything special to take care of them(supplements or anything) Would my lighting be enough to handle just about anything?

 

[melosu58]

In a 180 gallon tank I dont think it will do everything esp. because of the depth but it will handle all LPS and soft corals and some moderate light SPS. IMO

 

[kdogg85]

Ok, I don't want anything that would be exremely difficult to care for. Thanx for the advice. They are 12000k bulbs but I guess wattage determines the penetration.

 

[melosu58]

Nowadays Par or intensity is what matters. WPG is old school but I still use it as a broad guideline.

 

[thincat]

6' is a long tank for even 8x39w t-5 lights. How long is the fixture by the way?

 

[kdogg85]

6ft, I have them in 4 rows of two. I do have room for 2 more rows if needed

 

[thincat]

Yeah, I was thinking with two rows you won't have the spread of light you would need and your corals would end up mostly in the center and top.

 

[kdogg85]

So do you think the 4 rows will be ok or should I add two more.
Will either cowrie snail pose a problem
Will any of the corals other than mushrooms that mike suggested need supplements

 

[thincat]

I would go with what Mike gave you. I'm confused...What do you mean by 4 rows?

 

[kdogg85]

4 rows wide

 

[thincat]

The only problem I see is that 39w bulbs don't have the PAR to get enough light to the bottom of your tank. You should be able to do Zoa, mushrooms and leathers as well as Duncans with no problem.

 

[kdogg85]

Would a couple 54w bulbs placed in the center of the fixture do the trick. I don't really want any high light or extreme water flow corals. I am moving around 2300gph between the sump pump and the powerheads. Thanks for the help.

 

[melosu58]

Do these bulbs have individual reflectors around them on the fixture?

 

[kdogg85]

No, there is one big reflector for the whole fixture. If it would do better, I can fab up a reflector. Just let me know what material to use and I can do it. On a side note, I had to boil a piece of rock, I think it had red hair algae(red in color and looked like pillow stuffing.) Done a full range of tests and showed 0 for phosphate and nitrate,ammonia,nitrite.