Need help choosing coral type(s)

[KnightlyBuzz]

I have a 40 gallon breeder with a 15 gallon sump. The lighting ranges from 90 par (bottom) to 160 (top of alot of flat rockwork). So most coral will be at around 140-150 par on the rock, unless I upgrade the lighting. So for this lighting, and considering I’m new to the hobby (9 months), what type of coral should I go for? Because I don’t want coral wars I was going to stick with just one type (rockwork is continuous, no breaks). I like chalice,
but they grow slow and aren’t hardy? Softies are ok, but worried about the toxins leathers give off? Acans look cool,
but not very diverse, might look odd with just Acans. Mixed would be fun, but again I don’t want coral wars in a few years. Thanks in advance for helping a newbie out.

 

[Mike N]

Obvious answer IMO is zoas/palys.

 

[Ghrommi]

If you like Acans and don't want your tank be very diverse, you can look into making an acans plus zoas garden.
Look at this video I found on Youtube for an example:

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

Wow, awesome video/tank! You both recommended zoas... do you have to wear gloves since they’re poisonous/toxic right? Also, I noticed other corals in your tank (not just zoas and acans), were they glued to the glass on the back? What types are those with branches? And what’s the wavy green one on the bottom right?

Ha, sorry so many questions, it just looks so amazing! Scared of the toxins tho, not for fish, but my personnel safety (yeah, i’m a wimp, ha).

 

[Mike N]

Wow, awesome video/tank! You both recommended zoas... do you have to wear gloves since they’re poisonous/toxic right? Also, I noticed other corals in your tank (not just zoas and acans), were they glued to the glass on the back? What types are those with branches? And what’s the wavy green one on the bottom right?

Ha, sorry so many questions, it just looks so amazing! Scared of the toxins tho, not for fish, but my personnel safety (yeah, i’m a wimp, ha).

Not at all.
The concerns about poisonous zoas/palys are WAAAY overblown. I handle them bare all the time, sometimes I forget gloves when I frag them, and I've never had an issue.
Most of the horror stories you hear about palytoxin involve people doing very dumb things. (i.e. boiling rocks with live palys indoor)
Handling them gently will never cause an issue for you.

 

[Palegic]

The long answer is everyone will have slightly different success rates with different types of corals based on many different reasons eg.. origin of corals, what the corals were used to previously, tanks they were fragged from, location in tanks, etc...Personally I have had HUGE (Rapidly Spread, wide open) success with Xenia, Mushrooms, Leather Corals, Plate Corals, Red/Purple Monti, GSP and a green/purple birds nest that within one year I grew from a frag to the size of an 8-10" round mass and had to regularly frag.. Medium success meaning below average growth rate with (Zoa's, Duncan, Candy Cane, and Torch/Hammer corals) Low success, relatively no growth some deaths (Ricordia, Christmas Monti, Acro, Acans)

Edit - The short answer is softies are the easiest. Generally accept the lowest flow, lighting, and swings in water quality, and generally don't require any dosing.

 

[Ghrommi]

First of all, that's not my tank, I just found it on YouTube, and I love it as well
I think the only coral on the back wall is GSP (Green Stap Polyps), most of others are attached to the rocks. Those corals with branches are some kind of SPS corals, hard for me to say. The green one near the sand on the right looks like Goniopora.

It is recommended to use gloves when dealing with zoas just to be on the safe side, but you probably overestimate the danger.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

Not at all.
The concerns about poisonous zoas/palys are WAAAY overblown. I handle them bare all the time, sometimes I forget gloves when I frag them, and I've never had an issue.
Most of the horror stories you hear about palytoxin involve people doing very dumb things. (i.e. boiling rocks with live palys indoor)
Handling them gently will never cause an issue for you.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

That makes sense, thanks.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

First of all, that's not my tank, I just found it on YouTube, and I love it as well
I think the only coral on the back wall is GSP (Green Stap Polyps), most of others are attached to the rocks. Those corals with branches are some kind of SPS corals, hard for me to say. The green one near the sand on the right looks like Goniopora.

It is recommended to use gloves when dealing with zoas just to be on the safe side, but you probably overestimate the danger.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

I will definitely be wearing gloves, at least the thin ones, if I get any Zoas. But yeah, that tank looks amazing.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

The long answer is everyone will have slightly different success rates with different types of corals based on many different reasons eg.. origin of corals, what the corals were used to previously, tanks they were fragged from, location in tanks, etc...Personally I have had HUGE (Rapidly Spread, wide open) success with Xenia, Mushrooms, Leather Corals, Plate Corals, Red/Purple Monti, GSP and a green/purple birds nest that within one year I grew from a frag to the size of an 8-10" round mass and had to regularly frag.. Medium success meaning below average growth rate with (Zoa's, Duncan, Candy Cane, and Torch/Hammer corals) Low success, relatively no growth some deaths (Ricordia, Christmas Monti, Acro, Acans)

Edit - The short answer is softies are the easiest. Generally accept the lowest flow, lighting, and swings in water quality, and generally don't require any dosing.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

Thanks for the basic rundowns on success rates. I’m surprised at the low success with Ricordia and Acans, since I’ve read their supposed to be “easy”. I see you had success with some Monti, I may upgrade my lights and go for those. Alot of diversity and they won’t fight other Monti (at least that’s what I think I read).

Any opinion on where Chalice fall in the Huge, Medium, or Low success categories?

 

[Palegic]

Not at all.
The concerns about poisonous zoas/palys are WAAAY overblown. I handle them bare all the time, sometimes I forget gloves when I frag them, and I've never had an issue.
Most of the horror stories you hear about palytoxin involve people doing very dumb things. (i.e. boiling rocks with live palys indoor)
Handling them gently will never cause an issue for you.

Agreed, way over blown. I handle them all the time. Granted I wouldn't recommend just because its easy to put on a pair of gloves. But, as far as I know it hasn't affected me so far.

 

[Palegic]

Thanks for the basic rundowns on success rates. I’m surprised at the low success with Ricordia and Acans, since I’ve read their supposed to be “easy”. I see you had success with some Monti, I may upgrade my lights and go for those. Alot of diversity and they won’t fight other Monti (at least that’s what I think I read).

Any opinion on where Chalice fall in the Huge, Medium, or Low success categories?

Like I said these are MY particular results. Everyones results are slightly different. I don't think I have ever had an Acan that grew, same with rics. Also, I didnt try multiple times. Once I knew they didn't do well in my tank I didn't buy any more. Never owned a chalice either.

Zoas are also super easy according to many. However they tend to grow very slow in my tank.

I did notice however that some of the other LPS corals I have owned like Duncans, Candy canes, and Hammer grew exponentially better when I stopped doing so many water changes.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

Good deal, thanks for the advice/info guys, I appreciate it.