New to coral questions

[LordHelm]

Hello I am a long time reader but first time poster. Used this site a lot for setting up my first saltwater aquarium. The tank has been set up now and have 2 clowns 1 royal gramma and 1 blue sapphire damselfish. My aquarium is 45 gallons so done for fish for a while.

I am looking to add my first corals. I am looking for some soft coral. I have a Fluval Marine 3.0 46 watt aquarium light.

My first thoughts were to create 2 islands on each side of the aquarium using the below frag rocks
Oceans Wonders Coralline Purple Frag Hub 5.0 Coral Frag Plug Holder with 5 Plugs https://a.co/d/bvXqPJI

I really love the look of green star polyp, pulsing Xenia and firework clove polyps. Really so many of the polyps look amazing. My main concern being a newbie is that I don’t want something to completely overtake all my rock which is why I’m thinking of going the island approach.
Am I on the right track or on track for disaster? Rather be safe than sorry to start off.

 

[mdb_talon]

You picked a few pretty invasive corals so your concerns are justified. GSP and the clove polyps can grow fast and spread but generally are less likely to just end up everywhere all the sudden. Islands are a good approach but pruning will still be needed.

Xenia on the other hand has more of a tendency to break off and float around and pop up everywhere and in my opinion is much harder to control. If you stay on it then no big deal. However if life gets in the way and you neglect the tank a couple weeks its very possible you will have xenia all over the tank in my experience

 

[Kathy Floyd]

If you don't want something taking over, do not get the pulsing Xenia! A lot refer to it as a reef weed. lol.

 

[LordHelm]

Ok have read a lot about the Xenia being that way. Cross them off the list. Another thing I was thinking was adding just 1 frag to each of the rocks. I’m thinking that should give it some time to spread. Without me having to really do a lot of pruning. Yea will look boring maybe for some time but not about to rush anything

 

[aggrofish]

What are your thoughts on zoanthids op? They grow like the weeds you've mentioned but come in a variety of colors. I find them impossible to kill and goos for a beginner

 

[LordHelm]

What are your thoughts on zoanthids op? They grow like the weeds you've mentioned but come in a variety of colors. I find them impossible to kill and goos for a beginner

I have seen some that look really nice. World wide corals had a few that were eye catching. Campfire and pink cat eye. Would I have to worry about them “leaving the island”

 

[aggrofish]

I have seen some that look really nice. World wide corals had a few that were eye catching. Campfire and pink cat eye. Would I have to worry about them “leaving the island”

No you could make a cool zoa garden with that rock you were thinking about with the frag holes. You might check Facebook for reefing groups in your area. If you want to check out s variety of zoas check out zoanthids dot com. I’ve purchased from them but only when they were doing free delivery to Las Vegas from a group sale.

 

[LordHelm]

No you could make a cool zoa garden with that rock you were thinking about with the frag holes. You might check Facebook for reefing groups in your area. If you want to check out s variety of zoas check out zoanthids dot com. I’ve purchased from them but only when they were doing free delivery to Las Vegas from a group sale.

Thank you for the recommendation. I am going to grow 2 zoa gardens. I purchased:

Spiderman
Purple Fairies
Pink Palys
Sunny Ds
Orange BamBams
Utter Chaos
Super Saiyan
Punk Rocker
Acid Trip
Pink Constellation

Going to put 5 on each rock

 

[Aqua Man]

Spiderman
Purple Fairies
Pink Palys
Sunny Ds
Orange BamBams
Utter Chaos
Super Saiyan
Punk Rocker
Acid Trip
Pink Constellation

Great choices!! Just keep in mind that not all Zoas grow at the same speed. So it’s possible that one of those may spread over the rock quickly and choke the others out. The one that takes over is usually the one that’s NOT your favorite!

 

[LordHelm]

Great choices!! Just keep in mind that not all Zoas grow at the same speed. So it’s possible that one of those may spread over the rock quickly and choke the others out. The one that takes over is usually the one that’s NOT your favorite!

yea the guy at the LFS was giving me some pointers. said that the more you get for cheaper the price typically means they spread the fastest and you probably dont even want them. only thing i ended up buying from him was the utter chaos because his stock wasnt great.

 

[Dkmoo]

yea the guy at the LFS was giving me some pointers. said that the more you get for cheaper the price typically means they spread the fastest and you probably dont even want them. only thing i ended up buying from him was the utter chaos because his stock wasnt great.

Remember to use full PPE when you are pruning the fast growers and maintaining the islands, esp if you are taking the rocks out.

work them gently with a scalpel, Absolutely no scraping them off.

 

[aggrofish]

Thank you for the recommendation. I am going to grow 2 zoa gardens. I purchased:

Spiderman
Purple Fairies
Pink Palys
Sunny Ds
Orange BamBams
Utter Chaos
Super Saiyan
Punk Rocker
Acid Trip
Pink Constellation

Going to put 5 on each rock

Very nice. As the poster above stated be aware that if left unchecked some can take over. This happened to me when I glued 10 frags to a rock. As was stated the least favorite took over and smothered the others out. Also just be careful with palys if they’re actual palythoa (some are mislabeled and actually zoanthids). Look up palytoxin. It may not be a big deal but it’s definitely something you should be aware of.

 

[kevgib67]

I started a zoa garden at the end of last year. My rock is about 75% covered. I love it. Google zoanthus coral care from Tidal Gardens, great information!