Beginner coral suggestions?

[dreamwalkers626]

Hello! I'm going to be getting a reef tank in a year or so and have looked into a few verities of different corals to include. The tank will be somewhere between 40 gl to 55 gl and the company my husband works for which set up and maintain salt and fresh water tanks ranging from a 20 gl to a 700 gl are going to help me choose and get the equipment, but I wanted to get existing reef owners input on what type of coral would be good for a beginner. So far I'm loving the brain corals, button polyps, mushroom coral, and green star polyps. I'm extremely open to suggestion and ideas of what else I can add. Thanks for listening!

[cgthebeast]

Zoas!! So many colors! And you can form a little zoa garden, also Duncans. Mine grow better than my Gsp and will be such a center piece in a year

[dreamwalkers626]

Those sound cool! I'll keep them in mind

[Sniperhank]

Avoid star polyps. They are so good at growing they become invasive.
Though I do enjoy my zoas and duncans, it is hard to not enjoy scoly and chalice as well.

[Barliman]

Mad Hatter's Reef has a recent video on beginner corals:

[bribo12]

That guys list is whack...yes a lot of those sps are beginner in a way busy still require a lot of light and flow.

Chalices can be pains depending on the kind you get...
I don't even see Duncan's on his list which imo is the best beginner coral.

[raccioppi83]

The corals you like are great beginner corals

[cgthebeast]

Originally Posted by raccioppi83

The corals you like are great beginner corals

Not quite, corals are a very diverse group. Usually they get broke down into three broad sections (softies, large polyp stony, and small polyp stony). All corals require certain needs to be met, with the needs of SPS to be the most challenging

[dreamwalkers626]

Originally Posted by cgthebeast

Not quite, corals are a very diverse group. Usually they get broke down into three broad sections (softies, large polyp stony, and small polyp stony). All corals require certain needs to be met, with the needs of SPS to be the most challenging

So should I figure out the lighting and water flow rate I'll have in the tank first then pick out beginner corals that are compatible with that specific setup?

[cgthebeast]

Originally Posted by dreamwalkers626

So should I figure out the lighting and water flow rate I'll have in the tank first then pick out beginner corals that are compatible with that specific setup?

Oh yeah, you also want your tank set up for at at least a few months before you start adding corals too. Don't want to dropped a lot of money at the star only for a swing to take them out

[dreamwalkers626]

Originally Posted by cgthebeast

Oh yeah, you also want your tank set up for at at least a few months before you start adding corals too. Don't want to dropped a lot of money at the star only for a swing to take them out

What would you recommend to have in the tank those few months? I know with freshwater you need some type of biological life in there for the cycling process to actually take hold. I'm not going to be in any rush to stock my tank once I get it up and running so I'm pretty patient about the whole thing

[cgthebeast]

Fish, clean up crew, stuff like that but don't over load it, go slowly with stocking

[dreamwalkers626]

Originally Posted by cgthebeast

Fish, clean up crew, stuff like that but don't over load it, go slowly with stocking

Are pajama cardinals or green chromis be a good choice? I also love gobies, would those be better to start with? Thanks for the input