No corals, what do I need?

N

Nonfamous

Reefing newb
Okay, my tank is new. I have no plans to put any corals in the tank for another 10 or 12 months, however..... I mentioned to one of my sisters that my long term plan was to add a few select corals to my tank in time. I told her I didn't have the right equipment for corals at this point. So...... she mentioned it to my other sister, who talks to my father...etc... now everyone is asking me what kind of equipment I would like to put on my Christmas list!

I know the tank needs to mature and I need to learn a lot. That's a given. Unfortunately time can't go on my list. So what do I need to have for corals? Stuff I don't already have. My tank and equipment list is as follows:

90 gallon, one return drilled
125 lbs live rock
110 lbs of sand, about 2 1/2" deep
2 Koralia 750 gph heads
Sicce 3.0, 714 GPH pump
Eshoppes 120 skimmer
30"x18"x11" (water depth) sump with 10 lbs live rock
1, 48" stunner 2:1 white/blue LED strip. 12,000k
1, 12" stunner blue LED strip. ????K
1, 12" stunner 1:1 white/magenta LED strip. ????k
1 Coralife 48" T5 dual lamp, 10,000k/6700k
JBJ auto top off
5 stage RODI unit

What would I need to ADD to bring it up to coral quality? Sorry about the lighting info. Its not something I am very good at keeping track of. I know I currently need another power head. So what should I add to my wish list? Likely, unless it will do my fish any good, it will simply gather dust for nearly a year!
 
I would up grade your lighting, and that is really all you need to start adding corals. Many corals are easier to keep than fish IMO. I would start with some easy beginner corals like mushrooms, zoas, leathers, etc. You really dont need to wait.
 
Actually, with what you have I would think you could add coral now. You may want to add 1 or 2 more of the 12" Stunner strips as you progress up to corals that require more intense light. Maybe a bit more live rock as well.
 
Thanks! I have another 12" stunner on order already. Its a full Magenta but has been back ordered for 2 months. I'm a little weary of adding corals right now. Even hardy ones. I'm real new to this and tend to over test the water just to make sure my 4 little fish are doing okay!

Again, corals are going to be down the road somewhere. I have way too much to learn first.
 
you do not need metal halides to grow corals, quit saying that. Also low nitrates are fine for the easy corals you will be starting with, but when you get into the more difficult corals nitrates and phosphates will need to be zero.
 
I agree with fast. You could put either more stunner strips, or a nicer T5 fixture on your list - everything else looks good to me

You could also start with some easy corals. Mushrooms and most Zoanthids are very hardy - you really have to try to kill them. The are easy to take care of, and they add a nice splash of color to the tank.
 
Yup, def go with some Zoanthids or leathers or mushrooms. You don't need zero phos or nitrates really, low is preferable. Some corals, especially soft corals, tend to need some nutrients in the water column, or at the very least will tolerate them.

Adding some corals won't be harmful to any of your fish. Worst case scenario, the corals slowly melt away. A good benefit of adding them now would be that you could see yourself what sort of extra goodies you might want as you go.

I'd say DO NOT get a kenya, xenia, or green star poylps. They are pretty at first, but can grow to plague proportions and be hard to get rid of.

Since you are adding stuff to your wish list, some things I'd suggest:

Calcium/Alkalinity/Magnesium test kits (for when you progress to SPS and to some extent, LPS)
Refractometer
Temperature Controller (like a ranco 2-stage) - helps keep temp rock solid
2 part aquarium putty to mount the corals
 
I started out with a hydrometer. It lasted until I tried testing my first bucket of saltwater mix. I promptly tossed it in the trash, drove to the LFS and picked up a refractometer. Best $60 I have spent so,far a testing goes!

So, you guys are talking about some "simple"" corals, what do they eat? Yeah, I lack THAT much knowledge on the subject! Never mind, how about just give me the name of a good book on the subject and I'll added that to my list!
 
I'm going to respectfully disagree with LF on this one. They have been found to feed fairly significantly on zoo and phytoplanktons, depending on species type. Some also have very good feeding response to oyster eggs or other microfauna.

But, I think LF already knew that and meant, more helpfully to you, that you don't need to feed them anything! They'll get everything they need out of the water column and light!

In the future, however, you may find that some of your easy corals will show feeding responses to various foods, and you can encourage them to grow faster with direct or indirect feedings.

Another benefit of some of the simpler corals in your tank is that they can give you subtle or not so subtle clues as to the overall health of your tank by their own behavior. If they are all closed up, that can be a good sign that something is off before you even have to test it. I noticed that my green star polyp would tend to close up en masse when pH was disturbed.

Hope that helps.
Alex
 
You folks got me thinking. I took a look at some Zoanthid when I picked up my Flame Angel. $15 frags were about the size of a silver dollar. That an okay price? They had stuff in there ranging from $15 to multiple $100s. So you really think I have enough equipment for some Zoas? They sure would add some much needed colour to my tank.

Do I just put them in, or do I need to attach them to something? The $15 ones come on a what looks like a ceramic disc. The $25 ones are on what looks like rock. I know they need to be acclimated a little differently which, from what I've read isn't a big deal, anything else I should know? Should they be placed high, middle or low? How about tank temp? Mine varies from around 78.1 at night to as high as 79.4 during the day. (Yes, I track it!) Its been getting .8 to 1.0 degree F hotter every day since I put on the t5 fixture. Is this an issue?
 
You have plenty of light for some zoanthids. With the lighting that you have, I would say middle to top of the tank would probably be best - but zoanthids are a very forgiving coral and do not need much in the way of light or flow. If you have a medium flow area, that is where I would put them.

I would not be terribly concerned about your temp swing, I think most tanks have a little bit of a swing.

You can attach the ceramic disc you your live rock using super glue (gel works best) or 2 part reef epoxy. I have not had much luck with the super glue myself, and have had much better luck with the epoxy. I would try setting the zoathids near where you want them in the tank and see if they open up after a few days. This will let you know if they are happy in the area that you picked out. Once they've opened and look happy, you can permanently attach them where you want them.

$15 for a Zoa frag is not horrible if it has several heads to it.

Acclimation should be similar to fish, acclimate to temp, and then drip acclimate. I would think that 45 minutes to an hour of drip acclimation is more than sufficient
 
IMO most corals, including sps, like having at least a trace of phosphates and nitrates, this means po4 of .02(most test kits dont go this low, but some do) or so, and NO3 of 2 or so. I saw this in the rew red sea line and decided to give this a shot. it took me a little to try to figure out how i was going to get the both of them up without letting it get out of control. i turned down my skimmer slightly as well as my phosphate reactor and everything is growing much better than when it had no nutruents in the water.

zoanthids will do great with what you have, go for it. sps, that I wouldnt say youre ready for, that takes more in depth chemistry. zoas, softies, mushrooms, go for it.

$15 isnt bad depending on color. they can get wayyyy more expensive
 
Thanks folks! Going to give it a shot. I have two plateaus that will work great and should look really good covered in something. I was hoping the Coraline algae would do it, a I guess it would given time. I have some purple and light green spreading already. I actually thought one of my shells had green slime on it until I tried to scrape it off. Its pretty hard and upon a closer look, appears to be the Coraline.

Is there a special name for the Zoas? The ones I'm looking at have a red to rust coloured center with a green "circle" around them. About 15 centers (heads?) per frag.
 

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