Yet Another Turning To Marines

[seffieuk]

but it looks so soft and squishy

Oh well, will more than likely go for overtank t5's though as im guessing it wont be long before water gets in the other unit and that goes ca-put

that's what I like to hear, positive thinking! Euphyllias do have 'soft squishy' tenticles but their skeleton is hard

Seffie x

 

[TigerIssey]

You are probably thinking of SPS like acropora, montipora etc when you say hard corals.

LPS are good, Euphyllias are a favourite of mine as well as Seffies.

 

[john.o]

What about MH have you considered that option?
There’s always loads of good quality second hand units kicking about on the forums and on eBay , in fact there is a set of AquaMedic Ocean light 2 x 150w metal halide lamps on there now for £150,

 

[Musho3210]

I have found Euphyllias do much better in low light and low current situations, as do most LPS. I put my LPS in my bottom corners of the tank and they receieve the least amount of light and barely any flow, and they flourish.

Many soft corals require MORE light than certain LPS corals, and most soft corals require more flow. Its complete bull IMO when people say soft need the least light and are the easiest, LPS need more light and are moderate, and SPS are extremely hard.

Anyway, I am a much bigger fan of Metal Halides than T5HO, mainly for aesthetic and space reasons, you may want to look into them a little more.

 

[Ian H]

What does LPS and SPS stand for? Maybe I will try one then, although won't get any corals until I get at least my other 2 tubes working. I don't really want/trust lights hanging over the tank though

 

[TigerIssey]

LPS are Large Poly Stoney and SPS are Small Polyp Stoney. These are not hard and fast rules though as Eric Borneman points out in his coral book.

Have a look on Live Aquaria, it will give you some idea of which corals ffit into which "traditional category".

The distinction between Softies, LPS and SPS is used as "general rule" for the intensity of lighting you will need although as Musho says, some don't typically fit the category for lighting requirement. It is a guide and should be taken as so.

Most of my favourites are LPS, there are some SPS I really like, mainly pink and purple ones, but yes I am a girl. I think they add a beautiful colour to your reef.

Mant LPS are brightly coloured too. There are many different Euphyllias (mine and Seffies fav's) which not only add colour to your slice of reef, but movement too. Personally I think it is the colour and movement together that attracts me.

Live aquaria should give you some idea of the corals you would like to keep which you can then tailor your lighting to.

 

[Ian H]

i hate getting my head around new stuff

Whats pulsing xenia then? what kind of light will it need? what about zoas? Are there any that dont make/take their energy from strong lighting? ie ones that need to be fed?

On another note, my 2 powerheads arrived today They are HUGE but nice and quiet when running and shift 1500gph so im happy with them also came with magnetic mounts so nice and easy to place. Just keeping an eye out now for other bargain powerheads to increase the flow, but i think i got enough just to start with.

Next on the list is either sand or an RO unit (second hand unit) should be good to go in a month or 2

 

[TigerIssey]

Those corals that need feeding and do not rely on light and their symbiotic algae for food are actually the much harder corals keep alive.

The exception is probably the Sun Coral, but that is not easy so to speak. You have to be able to coax it to spot feed in the first place.

Xenia, zoas and mushrooms come under the traditional softie category needing lower light than most. The zoas are more colourful under stronger lighting however.

 

[Musho3210]

Zoas and Mushrooms arent technically corals, of course, they are so similar to soft corals that most just say they are soft corals, but they are somewhat in between anemone and coral, so they do have little bits of both worlds, hence how they have similar (slightly similar) structure to anemones.

The problem with soft corals is that some arent really soft corals (ie Zoas and Mushrooms), some are non-photosynthetic (ie Dendronephthya species), and some like higher light and much higher flow (ie Sarcophyton species).

Sarcophyton species can be kept in low light, but do much better in high light and high flow, especially Sarcophyton Elegans. Zoanthids can be kept in low light low flow, but are generally more colorful in higher light, flow isnt a big deal for them, medium is about best. I'm pretty sure other leathers such as Sinularia species do better in higher light and higher flow, but will survive and grow in less than ideal conditions, but that could be incorrect. Corallimorpharians (mushroom corals) vary as well, most can be kept in almost all conditions, except Ricordia Yuma, which do better in low flow low light conditions.

As you can see there are many variables within soft corals, so make sure you look into individual species.

Oh yeah, and many pest corals are in the soft coral category, well not a pest to everyone, but definately to many. Corals such as xenia, clove polyps, and green star polyps are so hard to kill and grow so fast in some tanks, they often overtake the more valuable (money wise) corals. I have a green star polyp problem in my tank, and they have killed part of my monti cap and is now growing on the skeleton. They have also surrounded my candy cane, and while my candy cane has some strong stingers, those GSP just keep coming back. The only thing that my GSP havent started killing is my anemone, the GSP have my anemone surrounded but they cant beat it. I have also tried all sorts of methods to kill my clove polyps but they just wont die. I was lucky enough to remove the xenia from my tank by drying out the rock it was on and then cooking it (not literally cooking it, but cooking in a live rock term) it was a small rock thank god.

 

[Ian H]

Loads of advice on here, thanks guys

Refractometer just turned up, on the look out for a second hand RO unit now

 

[seffieuk]

Loads of advice on here, thanks guys

Refractometer just turned up, on the look out for a second hand RO unit now

Be careful with second hand ro units, you can end up paying more in the way of having to buy all new resin, membranes etc

Seffie x

 

[mark1979]

ian,good shout on the LR idea,anywhere between you and me would be ideal to keep costs down.

where in s.wales are you newport,cardiff?

i no off 2 ppl now down this way selling 100kg and 80kg respectivly.

what sand you going for? i need some next