Picking Coral

[curiousclam120]

Hi everyone. I've been trying to pick out coral for my 90 gallon mixed reef tank. It isn't set up though so I'm not putting anything in there right away.
I was wondering about Sea Fans. I read the little info from liveaquaria, but I still have questions.
I have 8 HO T5 ATI bulbs on a sunlight supply T5 fixture for lighting. I think it is 3 blue 1 purple and 2 whites and 2 blue/white. I kind of forgot though Also I have probably more than enough flow,(flow accelerators, up to 400x the package claims).

I'm still confused Is the aquarium you put a sea fan all dark because it needs little light? So if you could give me some feedback, facts, or if it will work for my system, I would appreciate that a lot. Thanks.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Sea fans tend to be a advanced coral because of their care. Many are deep water and are filter feeders. I would recommend concentrating on corals that feed mainly from symbiotic algae they carry as they will get most of their requirements from the lighting. I don't think a new tank would sustain sea fans without some very specialized feeding. JIMO.

 

[curiousclam120]

Thanks I won't get a sea fan until I have an established aquarium and know exactly how to care for them. Thank you for your feedback.

 

[curiousclam120]

Any more about sea fans..advice...personal experience?

 

[Gregcoyote]

They are filter feeders for the most part. So any regime that you would use to feed polyps would be what you would need to do. They also sway a lot in the current (they are sea fans after all) so I would guess current is important. I tried to keep some years ago, but had a personal realization that I wanted to have a life. That meant giving up on a few things that consumed time...polyp feeding was one of those things. So now if it isn't mainly photosynthetic, I am not interested...I am sure some varieties can be kept just fine with the proper setup. JIMO

 

[bigben2057]

How about some zoas ? They are very hardy. I bought some the other day and they are doing well.

 

[curiousclam120]

Haha I will definitely get those. I should have a zoa garden. Thank you for everyone's input! I really want success instead of death obviously! I'll probably get a book on certain types of advanced corals...because I'm nerdy like that

 

[Gregcoyote]

Coral Magazine is great.