Buying a established tanks that was neglected and trying to ID a CORAL?

monster 911

New Member




Ok I am buying a 120 gallon tank that has been neglected for quite some time and trying to ID what the top image is. Could it be a mushroom coral? If so,what kind. I added the other pics to show you what I am working with. This will be my first saltwater tank so any help would be great.
A little about the tank. Its a 120 gallon with 2 overflows with a lot of live rock. A couple hammer corals, clown fish, and a couple gobys. Its has a 55 gallon sump under it with only a skimmer as the filtration besides the live rock. The tank has a brown/green slime on all sides but the front. It has plenty of water movement and wave maker.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
Welcome to the site and congrats on the new tank. You will find a lot of help on these boards! Yes, that is a mushroom polyp. Looks like the tank has a little cyano problem. I'm sure it can get back to ship shape with a little TLC. Be sure to post pics of the move!
 

monster 911

New Member
Im going to be picking it up on the first weekend in August. Got to get a few supplies ready for it first. RO/DI system, test kits, salt, and a trash can for aging the water.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by monster 911 http:///t/395819/buying-a-established-tanks-that-was-neglected-and-trying-to-id-a-coral#post_3524930
Im going to be picking it up on the first weekend in August. Got to get a few supplies ready for it first. RO/DI system, test kits, salt, and a trash can for aging the water.
Hi,
Welcome to the site!
I do see a little cyano...but also lots of great purple coralline algae. Those covered rocks are to die for awesome! Good find!

The large coral in pic 4, and smaller coral in pic 3 = hammer coral...another awesome thing to get.
I can't make out pic #2, but pic #1 is a faded mushroom coral.
Have you gotten the RO/DI unit yet? If not...I would suggest getting just an RO unit. You must not drink the RO/DI water, it's for the fish tank only
. However an RO unit is not only good for your fish tank, it's great for humans to cook with and drink as well. You will get much better use from an RO unit.
 

monster 911

New Member
one more question. I have another light fixture that I was using on my freshwater tank and I was wondering if these lights will work with a reef tank. IT has 2 96 watt daylight 12000K bulbs and 2 96 watt Actinic bulbs. The fixture is 72" long to give you and idea how long the bulbs are. The tank is a 120 gallon long at 72".
Thanks
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by monster 911 http:///t/395819/buying-a-established-tanks-that-was-neglected-and-trying-to-id-a-coral#post_3525463
one more question. I have another light fixture that I was using on my freshwater tank and I was wondering if these lights will work with a reef tank. IT has 2 96 watt daylight 12000K bulbs and 2 96 watt Actinic bulbs. The fixture is 72" long to give you and idea how long the bulbs are. The tank is a 120 gallon long at 72".
Thanks
Fluorescents? Depends... Regular fish lights are fine if you have low light corals, such as the chili and mushroom corals. As well as any Non-photosynthetic
coral. Those corals are drop dead beautiful, but they need lots of flow and food, which pollutes the tank and requires lots of water changes. Do a google search to see some of the tanks....they are just awesome to look at.
A regular reef with Xenia type soft corals, LPS, and SPS corals will need Metal Halides, T5HO (6 to 8 light fixture =2 actinic and 4 12000K) or LEDs. They are very light needy, and require the top of the line lighting.
That means you either have to find corals that will match your system, or purchase equipment to get what you really want.
 
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