I'm a Coral Noob. I need Help!

JaySea20 said:

Howdy,

I am new to the reef scene. I like the colors.

Just kiddin... I am new, but I would like to change my 16 gal FOWLR to a reef tank. I have don a tone of research but I don't know what to go with. I have a mushroom rock and a Kenya Tree. Both of them are doing great. My water is pristine, but I was curious what corals to add next. Any help would be great!

-Jay

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What kind of lighting do you have?

Additionally, what sort of water motion do you have? How long have you had the current corals? What are your actual water parameters, including calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium (need something more quantitative than 'pristine')? Are you currently dosing anything?

Baring the answers to amphs questions and your lighting is good enough I suggest some nicer lps ... something like frogspawn or my favorite of that family the torch coral. I'm not a fan of mushrooms, I prefer zoas. Then if you have the money chalices are my favorite corals there are, and then scolys are very nice too

Flow?

With that light, the sky is pretty much the limit. Assuming you do frequent/regular WCs using a good salt mix, I would think your trace elements are in good shape currently since you only have 2 softies. However, you should get an alkalinity test kit and observe your Ca and alk at least once per week for about a month to get a baseline. Once you get a feel for things you can test as needed, keeping in mind that the more corals you add, the more elements will be used up. In a 16 gal softy and LPS dominated tank, weekly 10-20% WCs should keep things in check without the need for dosing. If you decide to go heavy on SPS you may need to consider dosing. You may also want to grab a Mg kit as well.

Back to your original question, I am not a big fan of softies or LPS that grow quickly like frogspawn, torches, etc. They grow quick, can get large, and can sting pretty hard. In a 16 gallon this is going to limit placement. The good thing about these corals is they are easy to frag so you can keep them trimmed. If it were me I would go mostly LPS (acans, chalice, favia, etc.) and a couple nice montipora and easier SPS. Basically think of this tank as a grow out tank with some nice slower growing frags to give you more room.

you might want to be careful using a 150 watt MH on your tank if its a 16 gal I think you well overheat your system

Gl M8