reef tank where do i start with corals

[funkmaster]

i have a 150 gal with 300 lbs of live rock .....my tank was fish only and i just went out and got my first coral a green toad ......what do i need to do next i have the equipment i need some info on chemicals and what direction to go in
thanks
eric

 

[skimmerman100]

u have to test the water for calcium, alk, nitrates, ph, salinity( usually people make the fish only tanks with lower salinity), magnesium, and copper should be tested unless the tank was never dosed with copper. then go from there as far as dosing. if u see that alk is low u dose for alk, etc. if ur keeping mainly soft u want to dose iodine, and theres other stuff out there but its up to u to test them. water changes usually replenish the tank with trace element

 

[dubs]

its good u start out with soft and easy corals first leathers/shrooms/xenia/zoos/plays till ur tank is ready for the crazy stuff try keeping ur salinty betwwen 1.24 and 1.26 and keep ur temp steedy also any were from 75 to 81 do normal water changes according to what ur tank need and in a little time ur going to get every thing down pat ohh and by the way if u loose a few things along the way dont let it get u down every one on here killed a coral or too before

 

[mr_X]

provided you have ample lighting to keep corals, water changes usually replace the tank with everything, provided you use a decent reef salt mix.
you just have to keep the tank a bit cleaner to keep corals. and a salinity of .026,

do not add any elements to the tank that you haven't tested for and are absolutely sure you need them.
i don't ever add anything to my tank, instead i rely regular water changes and keep a large amount of sps and lps healthy and happy.


btw, people are going to tell you to keep "easy corals" or soft corals first, but i have a warning- some of the "easy" corals are quite invasive and a PITA to get out of your tank once you realize you don't want them any more.
research the corals you like, and don't add anything to your tank unless you are well aware of it's behavior.

 

[dubs]

mr x thats some really good advise

 

[funkmaster]

all of my levels are where they need to be ....iv been getting ready for this for about 2 monthes ....my mag and alk was low and i did a water change so i wanted to wait till everything was where they need to be ...after reading i think i need to raise my sil. a little bit more ...i will do that aver the next couple of days ....also what is part a and b and do i need to worry about iodine ????????i use tropic marine salt.....
eric

 

[funkmaster]

i also want to add im very perticular with my tank im not some one who does it half A*s

 

[funkmaster]

this is my tank

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

all of my levels are where they need to be

And what are they specificaly?

 

[funkmaster]

Calcium 420 ppm
Alkalinity 11 dKH
Salinity 1.023
Temperature 79? F
ph 8.2
Magnesium 1200
Phosphate .25
copper 0

 

[funkmaster]

do i need to feed the green toad that i just got

 

[SevTT]

i have a 150 gal with 300 lbs of live rock .....my tank was fish only and i just went out and got my first coral a green toad ......what do i need to do next i have the equipment i need some info on chemicals and what direction to go in
thanks
eric

It depends on what you want to do. Soft corals are easy and look wonderful in a tank full of them, but having more than a few or not coralling them so they don't grow out of control could preclude your keeping SPS. LPS looks similarly wonderful, and has higher requirements, in general, than soft corals, but lower requirements, in general, than SPSes. And then there're the wonderful colored sticks, plates, and encrustations of SPS tanks, which have the highest demand for light and supplementation -- generally. Clams generally have requirements similar to the stereotypical SPS.

What you really need to do is read some books, look online, and see others' reef tanks, and get an idea of the kinds of corals and such that you like -- and get an idea of their care requirements. If your lighting's lacking, you could probably still go with many soft corals, but SPSes and clams, in general, would be out.

Generally though -- mushrooms, zoas, acans, and plate corals are pretty hardy. (The latter two because you can make up for deficits in lighting through feeding.) The common pink digitate and shelf forming montiporas are hardy and usually cheap, if you want to see if you can get SPS to survive in your tank.

 

[SevTT]

do i need to feed the green toad that i just got

In general, no. But you can try. Some types of mushrooms basically ignore larger food items, others, like rhodactis mushrooms, feed greadily on anything meaty you put on 'em. Targetted feeding's not generally required for mushrooms, but if you can find something that they'll eat, it'll increase their growth rate.