What will i need 4 coral

[m.rogers]

I am going to get some coral soon. what i do not know but have heard that i will need to add some things to my water. I was talking to a guy at my lfs and he was saying i will need this a i would need that .I have not had coral before and have done some reading on it and would like to get some so i am asking people that are not after my $$$$.I have 2 books on corals and am starting to read them.But all the help i can get will make it go better.

 

[blondenaso1]

Well first tell us about your setup. What size tank, type of lighting, filtration, how long has it been setup for, and other stuff like that? Then we will be able to tell you some of the basic stuff you need. As far as addatives, you will need something to maintain your calcium and alkalinity levels, there are a few other things but first tell us about the tank and we can go from there.

 

[m.rogers]

tank is a 72 bofront - lighting is 2 40W Marina-glo and 2 55w not shore but the guy at the lfs said this is what i would need - filtration is a biorocker and a hangon the back prizm skimmer.

 

[m.rogers]

for got powerhead 802 and this is a pic of filter

 

[dinhouse]

I'm not trying to tell you how to spend your money but you may want to invest in more lighting before you buy any coral. With the lighting you have you could only keep mushrooms and that would be pushing it.

 

[m.rogers]

why i am asking abouy coral is i have this in my tank and it does not look that good. what is it and is there any think i can do to help it look better and i will post a pic of my lights the guy at my lfs said it would be all i needed.

 

[m.rogers]

this is what my lighting looks like.

 

[worm]

it looks like sea mat to me....
those would need better lighting to survive. as mentioned earlier, I would invest in lighting before corals.

 

[m.rogers]

what would you say i would need for a 72 bofront in lighting. something that will not kill me but i am not going to cheap out something in the middle

 

[azonic]

That coral you have in your tank is some sort of sea mat or button polyp. Palythoa sp. would be the most likely scientific name for it.
By the look of it, you have 110 watts of power compact lighting...and 40 watts of normal output flourescents. If this is in fact your lighting you could do fine with most soft corals...colt, leathers, mushrooms. Your polyps which you have in your tank should do fine under those lights....I had some in my tank under worse lighting then that and they did great....
As for what else you would need....it all depends on what you want to keep...for soft corals you are fine...if you wanted LPS corals I would suggest adding more power compacts and getting rid of the marine-glo's. OR you could get rid of everything you have and get all VHO lighting. If you want SPS corals, you will need metal halide.
Additives and Supplements, it's completely up to you. calcium, iodine, strontium are required by all corals so adding them would be a good idea. I simply use Seachem Reef Plus. It's got a little bit of everything, i follow directions on bottle. For calcium I use Kent's liquid calcium....I just pour a couple capfulls in when I notice my calcium levels are down.
If you could take a close up shot of the writing in the bulbs it would help you positively identify your lighting....they could be power compacts....or they could be just fancy flourescent lights that walmart sells
hope this helps somewhat...

 

[azonic]

by the way, I think your tank looks great!

 

[m.rogers]

The small one has on the light 700 in the hod it said replace with 55 watt , 2g11 lanp only
The big one has 2 - 40 watt Marina-glo

 

[azonic]

Yep, you've got power compacts. 2g11 is the german style base style for power compacts.
What kinds of corals were you interested in keeping?

 

[m.rogers]

got 2 book to read first then i will pick some. What would you say is good for a starter. thank for all the help and thank for the tank looks great. it is my first sw.

 

[azonic]

To start, i'd suggest some sort of mushroom....any type will do pretty much....go to your LFS and pick whichever you like the most. Also...a colt coral is a very hardy beginner coral.