list of good beginner corals plz

[NanoMan]

starting a reef tank

just need a list of beginner corals to start me off.
i am jumping from fowlr & inverts to a reef and just wanted some
helpful advice.

 

[OrionGirl]

What kind of lights do you have? This will make a big difference in what corals you can have.

Some to look at: mushrooms. Sort of the guppy of corals, shrooms come in a variety of colors, are fairly low maintenance, and reproduce easily. The problem is they can be very aggressive, and kill neighbors. In good conditions, they can reproduce very fast, and take over a tank. I'm a big fan of the fuzzy shrooms--love 'em! But they do appreciate higher light levels than the common green and purple varieties.

Leathers: Many kinds. Toadstools are pretty hardy, and attractive, if you find a good specimen.

Polyps. There are tons of kinds of polyps. Many will spread easily, some to the point of being a pest.

 

[NanoMan]

i have 2 65w compacts 10kbulbs
2 40w actinics
will this be enough or do i need more?

 

[mogurnda]

There are tons of kinds of polyps. Many will spread easily, some to the point of being a pest.

Yep. They are great to start with. Things like "yellow polyps" (parazoanthus) or "green star polyps" (pachyclavularia) are easy. They will spread and sting their neighbors, though.

I was excited to find out that rapidly-spreading polyps can be treated successfully with kalkwasser paste.

Leathers are good too, but can grow very large and will need to be pruned.

 

[OrionGirl]

If this is for a 55 or less, that's a decent amount of light and will allow you to have the above corals. I'd avoid stonies--many of them have very high light needs. The encrusting polyps would be a good choice, as would the mushrooms.

You'll also want to get an invert food. There are several around. DT's works well, and is not as expensive as some. Marine Snow is a good choice, too.

 

[NanoMan]

yes its a 55g
100lbs LR
thx for the replies
definately wont be getting stonies
i guess i will try mushrooms and some polyps
and see how it goes

 

[OrionGirl]

Sounds good!

BTW--happy birthday! :hi:

 

[NanoMan]

thx oriongirl

 

[Kit Walker]

Some of the corals which I've had success with using the basic combination of marine white/blue actinic include the nice "waving-hand" coral (aka golf balls), brain coral (many colors available), Finger corals and bubble coral. Luckily my LFS gives me very good advice and are happy to advise me on which ones require metal halides etc. Good luck with your corals, they make such a huge difference to the appearance of any SW setup!