First Reef Coral Placement advice

[thedraque]

Hello,

My first reef has been running for a little over 2 months and i placed my first coral order, though I am not sure on where to place them. Can someone use MS Paint or something to help?

Its a 20g AIO tank, 24"x14" x14" i have a single AI Prime 16 and a single Nero 3 on the right side of the photo.

I have a pulsing xenia on its own rock on the left side.

My order arriving tomorrow contains one Zoa, one Duncan, and one Gonistrea. In the next few weeks i also want to get a hammer and a frogspawn. So how should i place my first 5 corals ?

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Remember that no matter where you place them, they will grow, multiply and either sting other close by corals or send out toxins. It looks like you have at least as many rocks as corals coming in. Mount/glue one per rock then as they grow you can move them. Especially your xenias and you far reaching euphilias. Nice tank. Good luck

 

[MaxTremors]

I would place them all on the sand bed until they are acclimated to your light. None of us can guess how your flow is directed around your tank, so it’s impossible to tell you exactly where to place them. After light acclimating them (if you have a drag rack you can slowly move up from the bottom over a few weeks, that would be ideal), you’ll need to just use your best judgment about lighting and flow. Here are some general recommendations for the corals you’re getting:

Duncan’s like medium flow and medium lighting, the can tolerate somewhat higher and lower lighting but I would aim for mid-tank. For flow, you want them gently waving in the current, you don’t want them just sitting there, but be careful that flow isn’t so intense that it rips their flesh. You’ll notice when they have the right amount of flow, they’ll fully open. Duncans are not aggressive and they like to be fed

Hammers and Frogspawns are similar to Duncans, only slightly less flow. They are aggressive, so make sure to give them space (you can put them closer if the direction of flow ensures that sweepers won’t be able to touch any corals).

Goniastrea should be in medium-medium low lighting with medium flow. It has fairly long sweeper tentacles and is aggressive. Likes to be fed.

Zoas are a little tougher in terms of lighting, some morphs like more light, some like less. I would start them out low or in the middle and if they start stretching towards the light, you’ll know to move them up. As far as flow, they like medium flow, too little flow and detritus can build up under them.

Xenia can go pretty much anywhere, but it will look better and pulse more in lower flow. They can tolerate most lighting, but in general I would recommend medium light.

I generally consider low lighting to be 50-80 PAR , medium to be 80-150, and high to be 150+, but again, most corals can tolerate higher or lower lighting than what is ideal, that’s why it’s so handy to have a drag rack you can slowly move up, you can observe where corals seem to be happiest.

 

[thedraque]

I would place them all on the sand bed until they are acclimated to your light. None of us can guess how your flow is directed around your tank, so it’s impossible to tell you exactly where to place them. After light acclimating them (if you have a drag rack you can slowly move up from the bottom over a few weeks, that would be ideal), you’ll need to just use your best judgment about lighting and flow. Here are some general recommendations for the corals you’re getting:

Duncan’s like medium flow and medium lighting, the can tolerate somewhat higher and lower lighting but I would aim for mid-tank. For flow, you want them gently waving in the current, you don’t want them just sitting there, but be careful that flow isn’t so intense that it rips their flesh. You’ll notice when they have the right amount of flow, they’ll fully open. Duncans are not aggressive and they like to be fed

Hammers and Frogspawns are similar to Duncans, only slightly less flow. They are aggressive, so make sure to give them space (you can put them closer if the direction of flow ensures that sweepers won’t be able to touch any corals).

Goniastrea should be in medium-medium low lighting with medium flow. It has fairly long sweeper tentacles and is aggressive. Likes to be fed.

Zoas are a little tougher in terms of lighting, some morphs like more light, some like less. I would start them out low or in the middle and if they start stretching towards the light, you’ll know to move them up. As far as flow, they like medium flow, too little flow and detritus can build up under them.

Xenia can go pretty much anywhere, but it will look better and pulse more in lower flow. They can tolerate most lighting, but in general I would recommend medium light.

I generally consider low lighting to be 50-80 PAR , medium to be 80-150, and high to be 150+, but again, most corals can tolerate higher or lower lighting than what is ideal, that’s why it’s so handy to have a drag rack you can slowly move up, you can observe where corals seem to be happiest.

I do have a magnetic frag rack, can i just place the frag rack very low in the center middle and place them there? How long should i leave them in one spot before moving the frag rack or moving the corals ro the live rock?

 

[MaxTremors]

I do have a magnetic frag rack, can i just place the frag rack very low in the center middle and place them there? How long should i leave them in one spot before moving the frag rack or moving the corals ro the live rock?

Yes. I would move it up an inch or two every 2-3 days.

 

[thedraque]

Yes. I would move it up an inch or two every 2-3 days.

Ok thanks