Should I buy frags or grown?

[fishwater]

I'm about to add my first coral to my tank and was wandering if I should buy a frag or a grown coral. The frags are about half the price of the grown. How long do frags take to grow and is there anything special that has to be done with frags compared to grown coral? Thanks.

 

[ophiura]

THe answer depends very much on your tank set up, parameters, experience and the corals in question.
So if you could provide more about your tank, etc, that would help

 

[fishwater]

I have a biocube 29 with 30 punds live rock, 20 pounds live sand. I have 8 snails, 5 hermits and 2 clowns. Last time I got my water tested everything was 0 except nitrates were around 40. Ph was 8.2 and salinity was 1.026. My temp stays right around 80. This was before fish were added. They were added 4 days ago and I haven't had the water tested since. This is my first reef tank. I was thinking about maybe an xenia, frogspawn, or what looked like a brain. Thanks.

 

[payton 350]

i personally like to go with frags....they are cheaper ....bottom line.... if you have the patience to wait for your tank to fill out ...go with frags.

 

[the j.o.p.]

i like to watch the frags grow as i take care of them.

 

[ophiura]

I would go with frags as well. You don't have a huge tank to fill in. YOu can often get a lot of diversity in smaller pieces where the larger coral would be excessive in price. I would NEVER pay much for Xenia - which people are often giving away (always look for local reef clubs).

 

[nick76]

Originally Posted by fishwater
I'm about to add my first coral to my tank and was wandering if I should buy a frag or a grown coral. The frags are about half the price of the grown. How long do frags take to grow and is there anything special that has to be done with frags compared to grown coral? Thanks.
What kind of Lights are you running?

 

[fishwater]

I have the stock lights that came with the biocube. Are there any other water parameters that I should monitor if I get frag? Also, will I need any suplements for them to grow? Thanks for all the help.

 

[kroch3rd]

check your calcium, if you do a coral like a zoo they don't need much calcium but if you do harder corals they need calcium. but you should get a calcium supplement and a calcium test kit.