Looking for ideas for new corals and where to place them in my tank.

wartooth1

wartooth1

Member
Greetings all... well after adding my first SPS coral yesterday I've woke up this morning with a bad case of coral fever today! I'm taking my wife's car to the mechanic today and I've found out (thanks google maps) that there are 2 LFSs that I haven't been to before within walking distance of the mechanic shop so I think I will be doing some coral shopping while waiting for the car to be fixed.
But rather than impulse buy... I'm hoping I can get some ideas from the community here. I'd like to know what coral(s) you'd suggest and where they would look the best/do the best in my tank. For your reference... here's a pic of my tank taken today:

So from left to right, here is whats in there:
Front left is a GSP. At the uupper left is a Frogspawn. In the middle are two different colonies of button polyps. The lower middle towards the right is a rock covered in some blue Mushrooms. Above that is a pink Fuzzy Bullseye Mushroom. To the far right is an Orange Digitata (my newest coral), and finally all the way at the front right (kinda hard to see) is a Duncan frag.
I think I would like a Brain of some sort to put on the sand, and I would also like to add a Pulsing Xenia (but I'm not sure where to place it). Would the Frogspawn sting a Pulsing Xenia if I got one and placed it on the ledge between the Frogaspawn and the GSP?
Looking forward to hearing your ideas... if its not too much trouble, I'd also appreciate a pic of any corals you guys suggest.
Thanks!
 
slice

slice

Active Member
I like that rockwork, when things get grown out and you get some brain and acans on the sand, that is going to look sweet!
How old is your tank? I think the experts may advise you taking it slow with SPS if your tank is younger than a year old.
It is easy to get SPS Crazy though...
Is some of your rock next to the glass? Its going to be tough to keep the glass/acrylic clean if rock is in the way.
Nice tank!
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
+1. I think you should wait just a little longer to see how your aquarium does with your corals. That frogspawn should be bigger than that... keep an eye on it.
 
prh123

prh123

Member
I think you need a theme, like corals that like what you have like high flow and HO light for example. Mushrooms are always at the bottom, they have many different colors and they don’t always like each other. Sure would be nice to have many different ones.
 
wartooth1

wartooth1

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///forum/thread/387153/looking-for-ideas-for-new-corals-and-where-to-place-them-in-my-tank#post_3404246
+1. I think you should wait just a little longer to see how your aquarium does with your corals. That frogspawn should be bigger than that... keep an eye on it.
So far so good with all of my corals... No need to worry about the Frogspawn... its small in this pic because a few minutes prior to taking this pic, I found it knocked over (I blame one of the turbo snails), so I shook the sand off of it an put it back up on what I hope is a more stable spot. The Frogspawn is normally 3x the size it is in the pic :) As a mater of fact... since I put it up on this new, slightly higher spot... it is currently the biggest I've ever seen it! :D
Anywho... the LFS I walked to from the mechanic today didn't really have anything spectacular, so I didn't buy anything. I actually don't mind waiting since I'm taking a trip in 2 weeks so when I get back I might get a little coral crazy lol.
As far as keeping the sides clean... I angled the rocks in such a way that there is a corridor with just enough room where I can sneak my magnet between the rocks and glass, so its possible for me to clean the side glass without having to move the rocks, and if there was ever a time when moving the rocks is necessary, its no big deal since none of the rocks on the sides are load bearing... just gotta move them inward a few inches, clean, and move back... done! :D
I'd love to do some acans or plate corals, but I think I need to wait for the tank to mature more... but there are some brains out there that look really nice.
And yeah, I'm not going to to any more SPS's for a while... I only got that Orange Digi because the price was hard to beat, and from what I was told, is a great SPS for "testing" the waters to see if my tank is capable of sustaining SPS corals. At the moment I'm feeling optimistic about it because in only 10 minutes of being in the tank, all the polyps opened wide :D
Still would love to hear some of your ideas though ;)
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
wow.. really nice tank! I like it a lot!
I think that some Acropora tortuosa above the button polyps (is the flow good there?) would look nice for a pop of blue...
frogspawn would look nice in the very front to the far right
but my favorite would have to be hammer corals...
 
wartooth1

wartooth1

Member
That acro is a beauty! Best thing is my favorite LFS currently has several to choose from. Defnately going to have to keep that one under consideration when I feel I'm ready for more SPSs. I think the top middle in my tank is where the flow is weakest, since that location is slightly behind my powerhead though.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
I think anywhere where there is light and flow and it will do good!
and it seems that your other corals are doing good, so I wouldn't see why this one wouldn't, but it is a more challenging one...
 
wartooth1

wartooth1

Member
Actually last time I was at the LFS the only thing that stopped me from considering one is that the owner said for that acro to thrive I need to consistantly keep the nitrate levels under 10ppm, and thats something I'm still working on ;)
Even with water changes twice a week it seems that nitrates don't go down much... they dont go up... they just stay at a constant 15-20.
Of course... none of my corals seem to be affected, and I'm aware that API test kits read more nitrate than there actually is... so I dunno lol :)
I think just to be safe I'm going to get a couple of nitrate eating filter feeders first, like a Pulsing Xenia or a clam, once I'm comfortable with the nitrates by then I will check out those acros :)
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
that sounds good.... but you know what I'm (and everyone else) is expecting, even if you decide against everything?
 
slice

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wartooth1 http:///forum/thread/387153/looking-for-ideas-for-new-corals-and-where-to-place-them-in-my-tank#post_3404366
So far so good with all of my corals... No need to worry about the Frogspawn... its small in this pic because a few minutes prior to taking this pic, I found it knocked over (I blame one of the turbo snails), so I shook the sand off of it an put it back up on what I hope is a more stable spot. The Frogspawn is normally 3x the size it is in the pic :) As a mater of fact... since I put it up on this new, slightly higher spot... it is currently the biggest I've ever seen it! :D
Anywho... the LFS I walked to from the mechanic today didn't really have anything spectacular, so I didn't buy anything. I actually don't mind waiting since I'm taking a trip in 2 weeks so when I get back I might get a little coral crazy lol.
As far as keeping the sides clean... I angled the rocks in such a way that there is a corridor with just enough room where I can sneak my magnet between the rocks and glass, so its possible for me to clean the side glass without having to move the rocks, and if there was ever a time when moving the rocks is necessary, its no big deal since none of the rocks on the sides are load bearing... just gotta move them inward a few inches, clean, and move back... done! :D
I'd love to do some acans or plate corals, but I think I need to wait for the tank to mature more... but there are some brains out there that look really nice.
And yeah, I'm not going to to any more SPS's for a while... I only got that Orange Digi because the price was hard to beat, and from what I was told, is a great SPS for "testing" the waters to see if my tank is capable of sustaining SPS corals. At the moment I'm feeling optimistic about it because in only 10 minutes of being in the tank, all the polyps opened wide :D
Still would love to hear some of your ideas though ;)
I apologize for not remembering your tank specs: size, lighting and such, but in time, you may be able to go mixed in varied/mixed levels. I have been able to have SPS in low levels and palys in high levels. A little thinking "outside the box" may yield many options.
For now, patience......
You have the beginnings of a work of living art.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
I think a nice group of red blastomussa's would look great in the center
Here are a couple pics of my red...and my green ones
 
wartooth1

wartooth1

Member
Wow meowzer I love that red blasto! Did you get it that size or has it been growing g for a while? If I find one like that I'd definitely snatch one up. What do you thinking I'd expected to pay for a piece like that?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
LOL...this is what the greens and red looked like when I first got them...they have grown A LOT...and I have to say I LOVE THEM
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
Yep blastos...AWSOME!!!! I dont have any but i have recently purchased a brain coral for my 20L center piece! I love it!
 
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