Brain coral

[Wbartsch]

Thinking of getting a brain coral for my 20 gallon. Got t5s 10000k daylight and 18000k atinic. Can i get some advice on which ones might be easier to support. I have crushed coral substrate

[duromega]

you will be fine whit those lights but do you know your water parameters?
do you dose additives?

what's your light fixture 2x24w bulbs ?

[Wbartsch]

Yes two 24w. I do dose additives. Calcium strontium iodine and a couple other things. Its all together in 1 bottle. Water paramiters are all pretty good. Im not sure of the exact numbers.

[Wbartsch]

80 degree water 20g tank

[duromega]

you should be good !
you're in the right path what kind of brain coral you getting ?

[Wbartsch]

I havent looked around yet! I wanted to make sure that i was able to support one before i got my heart set on anything haha any ideas?

[carey]

I dont think a dual bulb fixture is going to be enough to have a brain coral do very well. It may do "alright" and not die but to have it grow and thrive will require in my opinion 2 more bulbs.
I've had pretty good luck with alot of coral and the smallest fixture I have is a 4 bulbs t5.

As far as dosing, a really good rule to follow is to not add anything you do not test for. Almost no tanks need iodine additions and calcium and magnesium are only dosed when you have a full tank of corals that are sucking down those elements before you can do a water change. A good water change is all you need to do to elevate those levels again as most salt mixes contain enough of every trace element that you wont have any issues with running too low. I am running 8 tanks right now and rarely if ever dose anything. I have a 125g with a good amount of coral including some very large ones and have no need to dose regularly. When I had SPS and hard corals I used to dose for alkalinity and that was it.

Adding things to your tank just makes you play catch up and sometimes does more harm than good.

Just my 2 cents!

[melosu58]

I agree. No dosing is necessary esp. In a 20 gallon tank. PWC's will do all you need as far as replenishing trace elements. I too would add a few more bulbs.

[Wbartsch]

Buying another fixture isnt really on the menu right now haha i know that there are some brains out there that dont require high intensity lighting

[bribo12]

Originally Posted by Wbartsch

Buying another fixture isnt really on the menu right now haha i know that there are some brains out there that dont require high intensity lighting

Light acclimate it to your lights than move it towards the top of the tank and it should be ok. Expect super slow growth if any at all. Also, don't dose iodine unless you are testing for it. If you overdose it you can nuke your tank.

[Wbartsch]

Ok. I was told it would help bring the color back in my zoas

[Wbartsch]

Pretty much a friend put them in my tank when he was getting rid of them but i didnt have the right lights for them so they browned out

[duromega]

if your zoas aren't doing good in your tank right now, don't add that brain coral