soft corals what to get first

lnarobbins

lnarobbins

Member
good morning everybody!
what in your opinion would be some good sort corals to start with. soon I will have 2 110wt. VHO lights on the 90g tank. Im going w/ one antinic and on 50/50 on the tank I already have 3 anenomies and 1 clump of dasie polips(I think that's what they are called)
open for input
thanx
Alan
 
hondo

hondo

Member
good to see another reefer from Oregon. As for which soft corals, start with mushrooms. they are easy to care for and colorful coming in many colors. Also they multiply fast and don't need much light (you really don't have much light for the size of your tank). Star polyps are also good. And leathers would probably be OK with that lighting, toadstool leathers are great looking and easy to care for as are finger leathers. How long have you had the anemone's?
 
frankl15207

frankl15207

Member
The first coral that I started with was a gold crown leather frag. It looked like a deformed sputnik satellite, but doubled in size in about a month and formed very nicely. It was a great start because it gave me some incentive to move forward. It now has a special place in the tank.
That was originally under 3 watts of NO light. You may be a little short on that right now. Someone with a little more experience with them may have some better insight with the lighting that you currently plan on.
 
bluemarlin

bluemarlin

Member
I don't know what kind of experience you have so I'm just gonna throw this out there. What kind of tank conditions do you have? It seems like you are moving into realtively new territory for yourself and you may need additional information. Lighting is not that important with mushrooms but yours seems very minimal at best. Watch out for water movement too. You do not want much water movement on the mushrooms themselves. You can move the mushrooms out of the stream but watch for currents that may be hitting them.
This is what I have in my mushroom tank. I have overkill on the lights but I have three 100 watt metal halide lamps and four flourescent 40 watt bulbs too. I have very little water movement. My mushrooms stretch up everyday towards the light and soak it in. But that is not enough. Mushrooms must be fed. There are plenty of commercial feeds on the market for them. Look for the kind that you can feed your mushrooms with via a little tube. EACH mushroom must be fed separetely. Mushrooms are beautiful and realitvely easy to care for but you must do at least the basics. Good water quality is a must too. I've rambled enough. If you ahve questions just message me here.
 
lnarobbins

lnarobbins

Member
hondo my anenomies have been going for several months and all are doing good except for the bubble tiped. I need more light. the tanks been up and running for about 3 years. it started as a fish only then a semi reef now when I get my lights a full blown reef. I just wanted to fish for some ideas and arm myself with a little knowledge before going to the LFS
thanx
Alan
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
I also would suggest leathers/mushrooms/polyps...all would do well under your lighting if the system is mature and the water is stable. They would be good corals to start with and as your experience increases....you'll want to expand into more diverse corals. At that point increase your lighting and continue to develope your coral selection. Sounds like you are already taking the patient one step at a time approach. Continuied good luck...and keep us posted on your progress.
:cool:
 
lnarobbins

lnarobbins

Member
will the mushrooms do all right with lo lights I currently have 2 40w. 48" bulbs one atantic and one power glow the tank is a 90g
thanx
alan
 
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