my coral wish list

[rDr4g0n]

ok guys, i dont have the lighting yet, and i sure as heck dont have the money, but ive compiled this list of corals i want to put in my 30 gallon reef tank:

sps
acropora
porite
montipora
merulina

lps
* wellsophyllia (open brain)
* green torch / anchor / frogspawn
* bubble
tube coral

mushroom
* ricordia florida

softies
yellow fiji leather
carnation tree (low survival rate in captivity)
carpet anemone (too agressive, too big)

polyps
* super colored zoos
* glove polyp


* indicates its priority.
red - removed from list for reason listed in parenthesis

so what do you guys think? forsee any problems?

[saltwaterfarm]

Space!!! LOL. Fundage...
And, carpet anemone...
Not sure about SPS... I don't have much...

[lcstorc]

I would not put a carpet in that size tank. They get huge and are very agressive. They also need very stable water paramaters which will be difficult in that size system. I would also avoid the bubble coral since they will sting your other corals.
Just some things to think about while you save the money.

[rDr4g0n]

Originally Posted by lcstorc

I would not put a carpet in that size tank. They get huge and are very agressive. They also need very stable water paramaters which will be difficult in that size system. I would also avoid the bubble coral since they will sting your other corals.
Just some things to think about while you save the money.

i wasnt sure about the carpet anemone as well, so thats easy to remove from the list.

[aquaman3680]

If i were you i would leave the SPS alone for a couple months. They are the most demanding of any type of coral... If you want you can do a carpet. They require space but fill it looking great!

JMHO

Matt

[SueT]

leathers and sps corals do not mix well. Toxins are given off by leathers which are killers for sps. The horn aka hydnopora will send off sweepers and they will sting anything within reach. The sting from a hydnopora is bad. Merulina is a super cool sps coral and might be ok, again if you leave the leather out. Or keep everything else and wait on the sps.

[rDr4g0n]

ok guys, if i drop the sps alltogether, should i still get MH lighting? or will t5 be enough?

[cheeks69]

Originally Posted by rDr4g0n

ok guys, if i drop the sps alltogether, should i still get MH lighting? or will t5 be enough?

If you take out the Carpet then yes T5's will be fine, how many watts ?

[rDr4g0n]

Originally Posted by cheeks69

If you take out the Carpet then yes T5's will be fine, how many watts ?

you tell me lol

with the 3 - 5 watt rule, id need 90 - 150 watts.

[SueT]

I think if you skip the sps and carpet then T5's would work just fine for you.

[rDr4g0n]

aight next question!

assuming i get my lighting, what else will i need to get to ensure a healthy coral tank? calcium test kit? phosphate test kit? additives? calcium reactor?

[lcstorc]

In addition to the normal ph, am, trites, and trates, I would add Phos, Calcium, alk, Mag, and probably iodine, and stronium those those are tested by fewer people. Additives or reducers for each. Dripping Kalc is a good idea that many use with or without a reactor. You may want UV as well but there are differing opinions on that.
That's what comes to mind quickly anyway.

[Cougra]

Don't bother wasting your money on the carnation tree as they wont live in your tank. They are non-photosynthetic corals that have extremely poor survival rates in captivity. When I say poor, I mean I haven't heard of one living more then a couple months, so that would be a 0% survival rate! They need good water flow, target feeding and it is uncertain what sort of target feeding they actually need. They will slowly starve to death in the tank. These corals are best left in the ocean where they grow naturally.

[rDr4g0n]

i looked into what SueT said... ive read that mushrooms are worse on sps than leathers ( http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...howtopic=61291 ). pretty much the only thing that i can keep with sps are zoos. i really really like the sps ive listed (especially the montipora shelves and merulina), but it just seems like i cant keep them

ok so this will be a softie tank...

[cheeks69]

If you get about 180 to 200 watts you can keep SPS at least Montipora's. Although lighting is a very important factor maintaining proper cal/alk levels are just as important. The test kits I recommend once your tank is established is nitrate, phosphate,calcium, alkalinity, magnesium. Everything else is very difficult to measure accurately even with the best test kits available and they will be replaced by regular water changes. Which skimmer do you plan to use ?