Long term coral plan for a 32.5g mixed reef tank

[icereef]

I've had a problem with impulse buying livestock in the past, sometimes with not so great results. My solution to implement self control is to plan every living thing that will go into a particular tank in detail with species, number of individuals and timing of purchase.

Now I'm writing up a plan for corals in my 32.5g tank. I'm reading as much as I can but so far it seems like a jungle of information out there so I need help. I plan to have a mixed reef.

Here are my criteria:

- I want to start with something easy but with only slow to moderate growth rate so it doesn't take over my tank and leaves room for other corals.

- I like challenges so I also want something that is more difficult on my list that I can add later on when I have gained experience.

- I want a mix of colors, shapes and textures.

I like the look of mushrooms, chalises and the more fleshier corals such as open brain coral. I'm not a fan of the star polyps.

I will be adding a high end LED light and I'm prepared to add the necessary equipment to keep more challenging corals down the line.

What corals should I have on my list?

 

[KonradTO]

I am doing something similar myself, the tank is 12months old and I still have something like 10-15 frags, as I can buy only a certain amount every month. Also few frags died obviously.

My suggestion is to proceed from easy corals like:
Duncans, GSP, Ricordea, Rhodactis, Zoas, Acans, leathers, clove polyps etc
To medium difficulty corals like:
Hammers, frogspawns, chalices (Hollywood stunner is easy), gorgonians, cyphastreas, plate corals, easy montiporas etc
And finally sps corals and torches ($$$)

I tried sps so far twice and they always ended up bleaching for one reason or another, so if you can start trying sps slowly with some cheap frags.

Also my strategy is to buy the cheap "version" of corals I like, and if they do well I get the cool ones. (E.g. cheap hammers vs golden nuggets or so)

 

[KonradTO]

I am doing something similar myself, the tank is 12months old and I still have something like 10-15 frags, as I can buy only a certain amount every month. Also few frags died obviously.

My suggestion is to proceed from easy corals like:
Duncans, GSP, Ricordea, Rhodactis, Zoas, Acans, leathers, clove polyps etc
To medium difficulty corals like:
Hammers, frogspawns, chalices (Hollywood stunner is easy), gorgonians, cyphastreas, plate corals, easy montiporas etc
And finally sps corals and torches ($$$)

I tried sps so far twice and they always ended up bleaching for one reason or another, so if you can start trying sps slowly with some cheap frags.

Also my strategy is to buy the cheap "version" of corals I like, and if they do well I get the cool ones. (E.g. cheap hammers vs golden nuggets or so)

P.s 32.5g means you have the fluval flex?

 

[icereef]

I am doing something similar myself, the tank is 12months old and I still have something like 10-15 frags, as I can buy only a certain amount every month. Also few frags died obviously.

My suggestion is to proceed from easy corals like:
Duncans, GSP, Ricordea, Rhodactis, Zoas, Acans, leathers, clove polyps etc
To medium difficulty corals like:
Hammers, frogspawns, chalices (Hollywood stunner is easy), gorgonians, cyphastreas, plate corals, easy montiporas etc
And finally sps corals and torches ($$$)

I tried sps so far twice and they always ended up bleaching for one reason or another, so if you can start trying sps slowly with some cheap frags.

Also my strategy is to buy the cheap "version" of corals I like, and if they do well I get the cool ones. (E.g. cheap hammers vs golden nuggets or so)

Great advice! Thank you

 

[icereef]

P.s 32.5g means you have the fluval flex?

Yes an old tank I converted from freshwater. At least to start with while I'm figuring out if saltwater is for me

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I have a 32 gallon. I would suggest to stay away from the weed corals (xenia, cloves, etc...).

Stay away from aggressive corals, its a small tank so dont want to lose space for sweepers.

Personally, I like acans, blasto's, candy cane, chalices, basically the fleshy type corals. Also need to have a few wavey corals in there to create motion, so hammer and frogspawn are good. I also like goni's and gorgonians.

A few colorful easy sps's also look nice, monipora's and digitata are good. Stay away from acro's until you are more experienced.

 

[icereef]

I have a 32 gallon. I would suggest to stay away from the weed corals (xenia, cloves, etc...).

Stay away from aggressive corals, its a small tank so dont want to lose space for sweepers.

Personally, I like acans, blasto's, candy cane, chalices, basically the fleshy type corals. Also need to have a few wavey corals in there to create motion, so hammer and frogspawn are good. I also like goni's and gorgonians.

A few colorful easy sps's also look nice, monipora's and digitata are good. Stay away from acro's until you are more experienced.

Yes, I had been warned about the "weeds" and thankfully don't like how they look either.

I really like the candy cane. Would that be a good first coral?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

a good first coral will be the candy cane. its almost unkillable, and fairly cheap, and comes in many colors.

 

[KonradTO]

Yes, I had been warned about the "weeds" and thankfully don't like how they look either.

I really like the candy cane. Would that be a good first coral?

They say so. My first toxic green candy cane frag died within a week. Now I have a bicolor blue version and looks quite healthy and plump.
I also agree with @LordofCinder. Stay away from corals like galaxea, the tank is much smaller than it looks once stocked a bit. Also BTAS are a bad idea I think.

 

[icereef]

They say so. My first toxic green candy cane frag died within a week. Now I have a bicolor blue version and looks quite healthy and plump.
I also agree with @LordofCinder. Stay away from corals like galaxea, the tank is much smaller than it looks once stocked a bit. Also BTAS are a bad idea I think.

BTA as in bubble tip anemone? What other kind would you chose? I had planned to keep clowns and would like to see them host

 

[KonradTO]

Yes an old tank I converted from freshwater. At least to start with while I'm figuring out if saltwater is for me

I also converted mine. The freshwater version was much cheaper and I did not want the fluval led anyway. Great tank aside from the bent glass, which is nice-looking but I totally hate the fact that every picture comes out blurred from the front glass.

 

[icereef]

I also converted mine. The freshwater version was much cheaper and I did not want the fluval led anyway. Great tank aside from the bent glass, which is nice-looking but I totally hate the fact that every picture comes out blurred from the front glass.

I agree! I will probably upgrade after a year or so I last in this hobby. I have other freshwater tanks but it would be tempting to buy a fancy reef tank

 

[KonradTO]

BTA as in bubble tip anemone? What other kind would you chose? I had planned to keep clowns and would like to see them host

I would not personally keep an anemone there aside from the rock flowers (and those do not host clowns I think). BTAs get enormous. One BTA would fill most of the rockwork dedicated for the corals and will sting them. If you want BTA you could make a nem-clown only tank with some corals placed away from the nems once they settle.

 

[icereef]

I would not personally keep an anemone there aside from the rock flowers (and those do not host clowns I think). BTAs get enormous. One BTA would fill most of the rockwork dedicated for the corals and will sting them. If you want BTA you could make a nem-clown only tank with some corals placed away from the nems once they settle.

I see... would a mini maxi work instead? I could maybe switch out clowns for a porcelain crab og sexy shrimp if the clowns wont host them

 

[KonradTO]

I see... would a mini maxi work instead? I could maybe switch out clowns for a porcelain crab og sexy shrimp if the clowns wont host them

In absolute honesty, I don't know. From what I got from other threads about nems, mini maxi can potentially eat fish. And they also move. The safest of all should be the rock flowers because they stay quite still where you put them.
Consider that clowns can host a lot of other corals (like torches) or even pieces of equipment.
I have a porcelain crab and sexy shrimp. The shrimps do well without hosting, the porcelain crab hosts different corals from time to time. He had a torch "phase". Than the torch died and it hosted the duncans for a while. Then I added an hairy green mushroom and he fell in love with the mushroom, spending all the time beneath it. Now its back to hosting the rock above the mushroom. Beautiful animal, strongly suggested!

 

[Surf985]

I started with a 20 gallon I converted to test out the hobby, so good plan with the budget! I think the best advice is to go classic and shoot for maybe one or two oddballs when you find them as your differentiator.

Definitely Acans. Some grow faster than others, but I had good luck with them early on and there are vast color options and prices. Same with Favia, though acans may be better earlier on, at least from my experience. Blastos are another good option for a smaller tank as single heads can multiply without getting massive too fast. Fairly hardy too. Reds and Purples are still cool. Duncans are pretty fun too, even if they aren't the brightest color wise. I'd second Candy Canes as well, and am fond of the electric/toxic greens. There's a good reason why all of these span beginner to instagram tanks. They're reliable and enjoyable.

Mushrooms are bulletproof once they attach, though if one starts splitting, your rock will basically be a mushroom rock eventually. Zoas can be the same way, and some are slower and harder to grow out than others.

I LOVE my purple pocillopora. Great entry SPS and it does noticeably grow because they're relatively easy to keep happy once established. Even if it gets large, it's a good fragging coral if your shop will give you credits for it. Have had good luck with psammacora too. Chalices are cool, but do be mindful they tend to have some color change, especially if you aren't an expert. I've rarely had one that held the colors I wanted if parameters weren't a perfect match.

I LOVE lobos and have recently started buying smaller colonies. I've noticed the right environment may bring out more color in some of the drabbier ones too, so they can have surprises at times. I'd caution you away from the small brain frags though. I've had FAR better luck with colonies.

If you want a nem, my favorite has actually been the long tentacle. From PetCo, of all places. Will it take up half your tank? Yes. but it's easy and not going to reproduce like a bubble tip. My clowns love it too. IF you do one, put a tall rock behind it and secure whatever you put on the rock so it doesn't fall on the nem. I haven't had issues and didn't loose too much real estate that way. Then just pray it doesn't decide to walk.

Good luck!

 

[Tired]

Clowns will host all sorts of things. If you can find a xenia you like, some of that on a rock island might make a good fake anemone for them.

 

[icereef]

I started with a 20 gallon I converted to test out the hobby, so good plan with the budget! I think the best advice is to go classic and shoot for maybe one or two oddballs when you find them as your differentiator.

Definitely Acans. Some grow faster than others, but I had good luck with them early on and there are vast color options and prices. Same with Favia, though acans may be better earlier on, at least from my experience. Blastos are another good option for a smaller tank as single heads can multiply without getting massive too fast. Fairly hardy too. Reds and Purples are still cool. Duncans are pretty fun too, even if they aren't the brightest color wise. I'd second Candy Canes as well, and am fond of the electric/toxic greens. There's a good reason why all of these span beginner to instagram tanks. They're reliable and enjoyable.

Mushrooms are bulletproof once they attach, though if one starts splitting, your rock will basically be a mushroom rock eventually. Zoas can be the same way, and some are slower and harder to grow out than others.

I LOVE my purple pocillopora. Great entry SPS and it does noticeably grow because they're relatively easy to keep happy once established. Even if it gets large, it's a good fragging coral if your shop will give you credits for it. Have had good luck with psammacora too. Chalices are cool, but do be mindful they tend to have some color change, especially if you aren't an expert. I've rarely had one that held the colors I wanted if parameters weren't a perfect match.

I LOVE lobos and have recently started buying smaller colonies. I've noticed the right environment may bring out more color in some of the drabbier ones too, so they can have surprises at times. I'd caution you away from the small brain frags though. I've had FAR better luck with colonies.

If you want a nem, my favorite has actually been the long tentacle. From PetCo, of all places. Will it take up half your tank? Yes. but it's easy and not going to reproduce like a bubble tip. My clowns love it too. IF you do one, put a tall rock behind it and secure whatever you put on the rock so it doesn't fall on the nem. I haven't had issues and didn't loose too much real estate that way. Then just pray it doesn't decide to walk.

Good luck!

Great information! Thank you

 

[Pkunk35]

Some good advice thus far, I’ll put in my 2cents as I have a 32 cube:

- 32g fills up so fast with frags and in no time the colonies start touching. Plan sections of the tank where compatible coral live, this can maximize space (like a acan/micromussa garden)
- in light of the above point also, pick species that aren’t going to kill things around them. For example I have two amazing favia and I won’t add any more bc they can get pretty aggressive with sweepers. I however do have like 10 frags of blastos all right next to each other since they can touch (which are awesome and can be challenging!).
- sps and nems are awesome…be frugal with both of them if the tank isnt dedicated to them (I would avoid nems personally just bc they can reproduce when happy)

I really like blastos, gonis, scoly, acans for the reasons above as well as for variety, color and frag-ability (not for the scoly, but they are just sweet!)

GL!