Building a Reef, What to Start with????

[re_vogel]

OK, I have a three year old tank with a frogspown, some mushrooms, a birds nest (SPS), a Clam, and a few Zoa. My water is finally stable, good lighting (250 MH) and flow (15-20X).
What I am looking for is suggestions on what to ad to the reef. I understand that everyone has different taste but I could really use some people with establisshed reefs to let me know what the top 5 or so corals (SPS, LPS, or Soft) in your tank are.
I am looking for color, growth and diversity. So, tell me were you wished you had started with.

 

[jackri]

I like acros or plating monti for sps and favia or candy canes to start with. Really though... it's your tank.. put in what you want to look at and not what someone else likes.

 

[vinny p]

serious, it's what you like and what you can afford.

 

[re_vogel]

Jackri, thanks for the input. What I am trying to get are some ideas for corals to consider. There are so many out there that I have not even thought about or seen and then there are others that because of different issues (i.e. aggression) I might not even want to place in my tank regardless of how they look.
I like candycane and plating montis, will check out the acros and Favia, thanks again

 

[snakeblitz33]

Pink Pociliopora, Blue Staghorn, Idaho Grape Montiopora, Lava Chalice, Rainbow Montipora, Superman Montipora, Checkerboard Montipora, purple pociliopora, Green Birdsnest, Pink Birdsnest, Nightmare Zoas, and Nepthia... pretty much.
It's all up to your tastes and preferences... and budget.

 

[re_vogel]

Thanks snakeblitz33 I have actuAlly looked at several of those. I can not purchase all at once so are there any particular ones you would suggest starting with?

 

[snakeblitz33]

20x flow is a bit on the low end for any SPS corals. I suggest increasing it to 40-50x flow rate. Make sure your temp does not swing either. You also have to have high salinity (1.026) to keep most of the corals that I listed.
Also, keep in mind that you have a lot of softie corals, (I.E. Mushrooms) that use chemical warfare, so I suggest constantly running carbon in your system.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Oh, barely answered your question: Start cheap, then work your way up. All of those corals that I listed (besides the nepthia) are not easy corals to keep.