Newbie, wanting coral

[Knamei]

Hey guys! I started my FOWLR tank back in December and I'm already itching for some coral. I've done research and have read up on some posts here but never posted myself. First about my tank. It is a 29 gallon w/ 10 gallon sump, about 35 lbs rock and sand, 2 ocellaris clownfish, six line wrasse, yellow watchman/pistol shrimp pair, blue sapphire damselfish, and CUC including red tuxedo urchin. I just checked parameters today and everything is WNL, although nitrates are a tad high at about 10 (I'm working on getting that down, just recently added sea lettuce to the refugium- didn't have luck with chaeto the first time). I've looked around and found 3 corals (Green toadstool mushroom leather, green polyp duncan, and pom pom xenia) that I read are good for beginners and I like the look of them but I have questions before I make that purchase.

1. I use Instant ocean sea salt, do I need to switch to reef crystals? If so when?
2. Is my lighting good for those coral or any in general? It is HIPARGERO LED aquarium light from amazon.
3. I unfortunately do not have space for a QT but I have seen videos about dipping corals and taking other preventative steps. I was thinking about doing a coral dip using Bayer and then followed by Coral Rx to really try and get rid of pests. Would that be too much for the corals to handle though? Also should I change the plugs they come on?
4. As far as placement in the DT. I have seen people place them directly where they want them but then others start them off at the bottom and then work their way up to where they want them. I assume the latter is better for the coral? For them to acclimate to the light?

I'm sure I have other questions that I can't think about so if anyone can give me just general tips about coral care that would be awesome.
TIA!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!!

#WelcometoR2R

I/O salt mix is fine for soft corals. You dont need to switch to reef Crystal's or anything unless you start getting into lps and sps. Not familiar with your light, but pretty much any light can handle soft and low light lps corals. Depended on the coral, starting off in the sand is the better bet. Xenia, green star polyps are ones you want to isolate to their own rocks or they can take over a tank

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Knamei]

Welcome to R2R!!

#WelcometoR2R

I/O salt mix is fine for soft corals. You dont need to switch to reef Crystal's or anything unless you start getting into lps and sps. Not familiar with your light, but pretty much any light can handle soft and low light lps corals. Depended on the coral, starting off in the sand is the better bet. Xenia, green star polyps are ones you want to isolate to their own rocks or they can take over a tank

Thank you! I may get into other corals but I gotta start off easy for myself. Do you have any opinion on dipping the coral? Using Bayer and coral rx?

 

[Dsnakes]

Welcome to R2R I dip with coral rx. I’ve never used bayer, but lots of people do.

 

[John3]

Nitrates around 10 is actually Great for softies and lps. That number is fine for sps too unless you have algae issues.

Buying something easy but that you want to keep long term. Most easy beginner corals also have growth control issues, so make sure you know what your getting into your tank. If you say beginner coral most lfs will push you towards gsp, Xenia, ect and never mention they can take over your whole tank.

If it were me I’d say look into shrooms. They are very hardy, very colorful, very forgiving. No need to buy anything expensive. Rhodactis shrooms are middle of the road as far as reproduction.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Thank you! I may get into other corals but I gotta start off easy for myself. Do you have any opinion on dipping the coral? Using Bayer and coral rx?

Coral rx. However lots of reefers have used bayer successfully

 

[SPR1968]

Hi @Knamei and welcome to R2R!

On the coral placement I personally leave my new additions at the bottom of the tank for a few days/week until I decide were they are going and this also gets them used to the new conditions

 

[reef lover]

Welcome to r2r!!

 

[Knamei]

Thank you everyone for the welcome! And advice!! I’m glad I decided to post on here, I will definitely continue to do so in the future with any questions. You guys are so helpful

 

[Fudsey]

Welcome to R2R ! ! !

 

[vic5hands]

Welcome to R2R

 

[ihavecrabs]

Welcome!

Great advice above.. good luck on your new adventure!

If you decide to use Bayer, proper disposal requires leaving it in sunlight for 24 hours in a sealed container (to stop any wildlife or domestic animals from drinking it) to breakdown the active chemicals.

Once it reaches the ground, the halflife is significantly longer and typically ends up in water sources [emoji58]

It is a great dip though if used and disposed of safely!

 

[Palyzoa]

Welcome to R2R! You're off to a good start by asking questions and doing research before you buy. From what I've read your light should be sufficient with the corals you want to keep. Here is a thread on how to use bayer: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bayer-insecticide-as-a-coral-dip.100496/

As for the plugs, sometimes I remove them and sometimes I don't, it depends on how incrusted the coral is to the plug. Also, certain corals are hard to get back on plugs like mushroom for example.

 

[Knamei]

Welcome!

Great advice above.. good luck on your new adventure!

If you decide to use Bayer, proper disposal requires leaving it in sunlight for 24 hours in a sealed container (to stop any wildlife or domestic animals from drinking it) to breakdown the active chemicals.

Once it reaches the ground, the halflife is significantly longer and typically ends up in water sources [emoji58]

It is a great dip though if used and disposed of safely!

That’s good to know. I was not aware of that!

Welcome to R2R! You're off to a good start by asking questions and doing research before you buy. From what I've read your light should be sufficient with the corals you want to keep. Here is a thread on how to use bayer: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bayer-insecticide-as-a-coral-dip.100496/

As for the plugs, sometimes I remove them and sometimes I don't, it depends on how incrusted the coral is to the plug. Also, certain corals are hard to get back on plugs like mushroom for example.

Thank you! I will have to decide once my corals come in then! I’ve just seen videos and read about how people have found pests under where the coral is attached and I’m being a bit paranoid

 

[Palyzoa]

That’s good to know. I was not aware of that!




Thank you! I will have to decide once my corals come in then! I’ve just seen videos and read about how people have found pests under where the coral is attached and I’m being a bit paranoid

For sure, I've definitely had some hitch hikers sneak by before because I didn't remove a plug.

 

[Knamei]

For sure, I've definitely had some hitch hikers sneak by before because I didn't remove a plug.

I’ll take as much precaution as I can

 

[mike werner]

welcome,your on the right track man!

 

[Knamei]

Also before I add corals. I just noticed this on the rock and I want to make sure it isn’t going to be a problem in any way. Anyone know what they are?

It is focused just where the light is the brightest on the rock. Very rigid/branch looking even with flow on them. Do I need to remove them? How would I do that?

 

[Fudsey]

Hard to tell from the pic but it looks like bryopsis