Which coral to add?

neotrin17

Member

So my tank is fully cycled, parameters are great, and my lighting is great.
55 gal tank, 60 pounds of live rock that is beautiful now!
Which corals are great to start off with. I am looking for a reef tank so I don't have any fish at this time.
Any suggestions.
Thanks guys/gals.
Jeff
 

neotrin17

Member
4 VHO 10,000 K and 2 actinic
I was told this was good lighting, let me know if I need more or need to change.
Jeff
 

tonya-sr

Member
well i'm no expert , i started with the same lights, and they were good, but i found that there was a whole lot of stuff i couldn't put in my reef, i kept the vho's for three years, and i lost quite a few corals, i was still learning. i started doing alot of home work to find out what corals needed what light,
Bang Guy, can help you better than i can on this matter,
plus there are several, several,people out there that can help you.
i know you can't keep hard stoney corals, and no clams, and most anemones, with vho's.
i went to mh's and now all my corals look healthy and happy.
i'll send you a before and after picture.
but if you have a chance to be able to switch your lighting and you want to have a reef, your best bet is to go with MH's. i wish you luck, and maybe someone else can give you better info.
tonya
 

neotrin17

Member
Wow that is amazing. I think I am going to go shopping tonight.
:0 Thanks for the pics they really show the difference.
 

neotrin17

Member
So for the MH what do you recommend.
I am very new to MH so any help would be great
What are you using, where is a great place to buy them. Etc.
Thanks guys!
JB
 

tonya-sr

Member
your very welcome,
but remember, with mh's comes heat, lots of it. you will need cooling fans, i went with ice caps,they don't get as hot, but the lights them selves will heat your tank considerably. also you need to check the highth of you canapy, mine is twelve inches on the inside. i am running 4 fans on the top of the canapy 4 inch fans 65cfm's i started with 85cfm but they were very loud, so i went with the 65cfm and my tank is at 80 degrees, which is almost perfect for a reef, i have them on a timer,i have two attinics which come on with the fans a half hour before the mh's come on, then when the mh's go off, the fans and attinics go off a half hour latter. i hope this helps you.
tonya
 
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