Looking For Reasonable Corals...

[new2saltyfish]

my tanks now done cycling and ive already added 2 fish in it, a clown and a damsel, and live rock is all set up. Im wondering where is the best place to buy corals and what amd i safe to buy. I have a 30 gal, and don't really like the look of mushroom corals or brown corals. i saw some bright colored ( yellow, pink ) frags for sale on drfostersmith for about 130 bucks for 5 but im not sure i can add them yet because it says you need an established aquarium. this is the link http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=2485 . If i can;t add these, anyone have any suggestions for something that looks like this? Right now i have a t-8 coral life coral sun actinc 420 bulb. so to make a long story short, what im asking is A. where is the best place to buy corals reasonable B. what can and can't i add for corals. and C. is my lighting and everything efficient enough yet to add corals?

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED

 

[Mr Miagi]

my tanks now done cycling and ive already added 2 fish in it, a clown and a damsel, and live rock is all set up. Im wondering where is the best place to buy corals and what amd i safe to buy. I have a 30 gal, and don't really like the look of mushroom corals or brown corals. i saw some bright colored ( yellow, pink ) frags for sale on drfostersmith for about 130 bucks for 5 but im not sure i can add them yet because it says you need an established aquarium. this is the link http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=2485 . If i can;t add these, anyone have any suggestions for something that looks like this? Right now i have a t-8 coral life coral sun actinc 420 bulb. so to make a long story short, what im asking is A. where is the best place to buy corals reasonable B. what can and can't i add for corals. and C. is my lighting and everything efficient enough yet to add corals?

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED

The corals you supplied pictues off in the DrFoster and Smith site are what is termed SPS, or small polyped stony corals. In short, dont buy them, they need high flow, very consistent water parameters, and high lighting.

A: I prefer to buy offline. NOT online, LOL. This way I can see the coral im purchasing. Unless the catergory is WYSIWYG, or What You See Is What You Get, I wont buy from now on, ive had some bad experiences from online stores here in Aus. Maybe thats an option for you.

B: What you can and cant add? Well that might roll on for pages. A good general rule, but one which isnt in stone, and can be broken or bent, is soft corals and LPS might be for you.

ie:
Soft Coral (Leathers, Mushrooms, Sinularia)
Polyps (Zoas)
LPS (Caulastrea, Trachyphyllia, Cynarina, Euphyllia

Another option is to buy a Book. Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History by Eric Borneman

C: Your lighting would probably be considered low. It is still efficient enough to add corals though, but just low light requiring specimens.

 

[new2saltyfish]

thanks for that. that pretty much cleared everything up. I guess ill have to get some better lighting before i really get into the corals. To bad about the sps corals but as i was looking through the lps corals some aren't that bad. thanks for all the help.

 

[steelhealr]

HI...don't take this the wrong way, but, you are not ready to add coral. Your tank needs to mature. It is very possible in the next few weeks that you may be greeted by aptaisia, cyanobacteria or hair algae. I'd advise you that you should focus on getting your nano tank skills down. Now that you've added fish, you've added a bioload to your tank....fish food and fish poop. Take the time for a few weeks/ months to see if you can keep your nitrates down. Add corals now and, if you get cyano or your nitrates climb, you'll zap your corals.

The key to a beautiful and successful nano tank is: PATIENCE. Avoid the following post:

"Help, my corals are dying".

SH

 

[new2saltyfish]

lol i no. after seeing that i would need new lights and everything anyway which can get kinda pricey, i did decide to wait a year or so to make sure i know what im doing like you said so i don't just start wasting money and killing things. but with a salt water tank PATIENCE is HARD lol. i think im gonna wait another week and add another fish and hopefully try to get some pics up. I was told after that it might be safe to get a condi anenome because they don't need a great deal of lighting. If im wrong let me know.

 

[steelhealr]

Have you read any posts here on anemones in nano tanks? SH

 

[new2saltyfish]

no not yet i guess i have to.

 

[n3ont3tra]

One of the most important things I've learned here so far is READ.

 

[new2saltyfish]

yea lol. with salt water it seems like theres soo much more to learn. it makes freshwater looks real easy, which it kinda is but it for me anyway got boring fast. Where exactly are the articles on anenome's?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, since anemones are technically invertebrates, the article is pinned atop the invertebrate and coral section