What about these corals

[dad&son]

hi 55 gallon here 85 lbs live rock 6 gallon refugium6 lbs live sand CC substrate in tank Skillter 400 ( I know ) 265 watts PC 2 aqua clear 402 PH one 210 gph sweeping PH tank parameters nitrate less than 20 ppm ammonia 0 ppm pH 8.2-8.4 nitrite 0 ppm calcium 480ppm Tank is 3 months old.
I am thinking of ading some corals to tank like an elegance and a candy cane and a Montipora purple encrusting are these corals ok for a 55 and i might get a pinaple brain coral as well.
I am thinking of using some marine snow for nutrition and I all ready add sea chem reeef plus supplement 2x a week and add 40 ml calcium and 40 ml alk every 3 days.
What else should I be doing or planning on I am also getting a 250 w metal halide for additional lighting that will hang about 18 inches from tank top

 

[smarls]

The question is not are these corals OK for a 55...corals don't really care about the size of your tank in the same way fish do. Rather corals care about the specific requirements they have...namely (i) light, (ii) water quality, (iii) flow, and (iv) food. This assumes you tank is mature enough for certain corals (as certain corals require mature tanks).
Based on your lighting (which is the roughly same as mine with PC lights) you can keep lots of softies, and some LPS corals. As a basic rule (and yes, this is a generality) you do not have enough lighting for SPS corals and clams. While you are planning on getting an upgrade to MH, until you do, stay away from anything that needs MH...these corals will starve fast without the required lighting.
I do not have a monti, so I have no experience with them, but I would assume they need more light than you have (although I believe they are on the low end of the SPS scale for lighting needs). Stay away from elegance corals, they have in recent years been dying of a mysterious disease.
I do not know what your expereince is, but if it is limited, then I would try some easier corals first. The candy cane would work in your lighting, but research it using the "search" button to get an understanding of its flow requirements, placement, and whether or not it needs supplemental feedings.
I would try some zoanthids (most of my tank is zoanthids), ricordias, maybe a corals of the family euphillia (hammer, anchor, torch, etc.) There are tons of intersting and colorful corals that are suited to a PC lighting tank. As such, I would honestly stay away from more tricky corals until you get some experience with the easier ones.
For feeding, I would use cyclopeese rather than marine snow or else I would buy silversides, and squash them in the tank between your fingers, releasing the tiny little particles (not the big bits) (I have a few corals that love this for whatever reason).
I think the first upgrade I would do to your tank (and I do not know your bioload form fish etc) is to add a skimmer. With the skilter and the CC base, you are going to have a hard time keeping your water quality OK in the long run without a skimmer...and you will clearly see the effect of poorer water quality on corals.
HTH,
Stewart

 

[dad&son]

Thanks for the input I ws under the immpression that the corals that I had mentioned were ok for pc lighting but i did some more reasearch and it all depends on what the source is. will look into it some more

 

[smarls]

Like I said, the candy cane is fine, the monti I think needs more (although again, I have never kept one, so your research will tell you more than I know), and the elegance...well for the elegance it doesn't really matter as they do not survive well in a home aquarium.
Also, lighting is only one requirement, and I think flow is just as important. An SPS tank (maybe including the monti) needs a lot of turnover on the flow (like 20 times the tank volume) whereas a softie tank needs less (maybe like 10 times tank volume).
So in many ways there are no hard and fast rules about what you can do...it depends alot on the environment you create in your tank as a whole (water quality and feeding), and then also the environment in each specific area within the tank (lighting and flow in a given place within the tank).
I have tons of zoas in the middle of my tank in a high flow area, and then LPS corals (hammer and a frogspawn) at one side in a lower flow area. The LPS like light and lower flows, so I have them about 1/2 and 2/3 of the way up the tank on the rockwork. The zoas in my opinon are very tolerant of lighting, but they like flow...thus I am not that concerned about their height in the tank, but I do put them in the middle where the flow is the most.
Again, no hard fast rule about your tank, each tank is different, so in some ways you just ahve to try and see what happens!
Until you get a skimmer though, I would avoid corals that need supplemental feedings as this is only going to speed up any degredation in your water quality.
Stewart

 

[dad&son]

have you any info or opinions on the top fathom brand of hang on skimmer I am looking into them or what other type would you reccommend

 

[smarls]

I don't have much experience with different brands, except the HOB that I use...a Prizm Pro Deluxe.
Do not buy it...I am sure there are better ones out there.
I keep hearing about Aqua Remora C, but I have never used it myself.

 

[dad&son]

thanks

 

[loon]

The Aqua C Remora Pro is what I have on my 55. It is amazing. Would reccomend it without reservation. Would suggest that you get the skimmer box with it.