New to Corals, Any help appreciated.

redx113

Member
Right now i have a 37 gallon tank. it's kinda taller than usual, but is also a longer one at that. if that makes any sense...lol....but anyways i just replaced my bad lights and put in a fixture *Ultralight ballast* with:
1x 250w MH
2x 65w Pc's (using 2 actinics)
4x Lunar lights
i was wondering what kind of corals i could keep... right now
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates < 15
Ammonia - 0
PH - 8.2 - 8.4
temp - 78 degrees
I need to purchase a calcium kit i am aware of because corals require a designated calcium in the water i think. if there is any other tests / supplements i need to get let me know please. also, good items to feed the corals? or would the lighting be enough?...also i would love to keep another anemone, i had to return my other one for the time being bc my lights before these one's were NOT cutting it, and i did not want the little guy to die on me, so i was wondering if these lights would be ok to pick him back up. * LTA*. any additional coral / anemone tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
 

sac10918

Member
Definatley get yourself a calcium test kit as well as an alkalinity, at least to start.
Your lights sound good, I bet you can keep a variety of corals in there. I am not sure if you already have corals or not, but you could start with some easier corals like mushrooms, zoos, star polyps, maybe some xenia and see how those do. If they are successful, you can try your hand at a larger variety of corals.
You might want to try to bring your nitrates down a little as well. They are not too high or anything, but its always good to have them closer to zero I think.
Also, there are lots of things to feed the corals once you get them. Some of them eat pieces of meat like raw shrimp, mysis, etc. Others will "eat" phytoplankton which you can also buy in a refrigerated bottle (DT's phytoplankton)...
If you plan on keeping hard corals, you'll want your Calcium up to about 450ish. You might need to be adding a calcium supplement to get to that level, and for that you will definatley want to get yourself a test kit.
Hope that a helps a bit.... I am no expert, but thought I would respond since no one else had already....
 

sac10918

Member
I think its between 8 -12 dKh....
I am not positive, I know there was a thread on here a few days ago asking the same question. I do know that it is better to be on the higher side (like 10-12) of the scale than the lower side of the alkalinity scale (like 3 or 4). I think it helps to stabilize the pH....
 

redx113

Member
ok, yeah the nitrates weren't an exact reading or anything, i didnt check them that day, i checked them today and they were around 0 - 3 or so
 
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