Sps Corals For Noob

[carlos413]

I have a 55 Gallon reef tank, been up and running for six months now. I have about a half dozen soft and lps corals. I like to get some colorfull sps corals. what kind are good for bigginer? My friend gave me a green bird nest coral frag, looks ok but I only had it for about a week. I have seen some verry colorfull acros frags in my lfs. I dont want to buy anything out of impulse and thats why i am here. Any comments or advise will be appreciated. I have a HO T5 54 watts x 4 bulbs. Thank you.

 

[reefkprz]

some good begginner level SPS are montipora digita, capricornis and spongodes, they come in all kinds of colors you can get puples, oranges greens, reds, and anything between. they would grow fine under your T-5's and are hardier than most other SPS. (I would steer clear of the rare capriconis like the supermans untill you know your tank can support the more common varieties)
some others to look into would be poccilopora or deep water acropora both are generally more forgiving than some of the shallower water acropora.

 

[nycbob]

i think beginners should try the capricornis. i find them hardier than acro or monti digitata. make sure u hv enought flow around the tank, since this is crucial for sps. low nitrate level is also important. beginners should really stick with aquacultured sps 1st.

 

[carlos413]

THANK YOU GUYS

 

[truperc]

FWIW - I think a monti cap is a great beginner SPS as well.
IME they are tolerant, and IMO attractive.