Whats the best starter corals?

[Dt524]

Hey all i just wanted to know what is the best starter out corals for a noob to reefs and what type of light in wpg should I have with them?

TIA

Dt

 

[Scottm]

Can't go wrong with zoas and mushrooms. They don't require much light either.

 

[melosu58]

Mushrooms and soft coral and leathers are good starter corals. If you look in my gallery and see my tank you`ll see a whole tank of good starter corals. I dont mess with the hard ones that need high lighting. I only have a 3 WPG tank.

 

[mazilla]

im now running 4+ watts PG, is that good for anything that does not need MH? what corals need MH?

 

[Dt524]

Thanks scott I really like zoas I always thought they looked great in tanks. Do you have any zoas or mushrooms?

WOW melosu those are some great corals I applaude you! Are all of those in the same tank and low light corals? Im gonna seriously gonna have to get some.

 

[melosu58]

No they are moderate light corals most of them. A few are low lights.

 

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!
Corals and aquarium lighting is a pretty lengthy topic. However, most corals will do just fine with the appropriate amount of CF, VHO r T5 lighting. There are a few corals (most SPS), clams and anemones that do need MH but they are in the minority. For starters, mushrooms, zoas, polyps, leathers and some LPS corals are great options.

 

[packagerat]

I was told by lfs that mushrooms are a good starter. Very hardy they said

 

[beachbumin]

if you can find them gorgonians and brainiams(sp) can be very rewarding and are a lot less expensive than comparable sized corals. You may also want to look into some sponges. BTW nice avater pack!!

 

[melosu58]

Just remember if you do get sponges they can not come it contact with air. They are also very difficult to have according to LA

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=577

 

[hc8719]

suriveable ammonia levels?

some sponges can be easier

 

[flanque]

I only have 60 watts of NO fluros.. that's for a 55G tank, which has 45KG of rock in there (in other words, not truely 55G of water volume)..

I do have come corilamorphs which seem to be doing fine but are there any corals I could add? Anything at all??

 

[melosu58]

Some lowlight corals that you could have are orange sun polyps. They are low light and moderate care corals. The only problem is they have to be target fed. Here are mine

 

[mazilla]

neato sun polyps, i'm gonna add some of those next.

 

[flanque]

What do you target feed them with? I currently target feed some of my inverts (button pollops apparently) with mysis and other shreded solids like that. Do sun corals take that too? I've read they live in caves also so would that mean I should place it under a ledge in the tank or in light is OK given how low WPG I have?

 

[melosu58]

I've read they live in caves also so would that mean I should place it under a ledge in the tank or in light is OK given how low WPG I have?

Yes they do live in caves and I have mine under a ledge. I feed mine brine and mysis with a turkey baster

 

[dankent]

Pulsing Xenia is another one that is easy to grow in low light.

 

[flanque]

Really?? Those are awesome corals!! What is a recommended WPG for them? I guess I'd need to keep these closer to the surface?