What corals would you buy next?

[Mr Hughes]

I have a IM 14 Peninsula that is about 4 months old. I’m kind of stuck on what corals I should buy next. I don’t want anything known for taking over a tank, but need to add some more color variety. Reds, yellows, pinks and blues really. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

As an FYI - I currently have a purple tipped hammer, a purple tipped frogspawn and a green tipped torch to give some movement in the tank. I have two acans, two leptos and an encrusting stylocoeniella around the base of the rock work. Also added a birdsnest and an acro to ensure the tank is ready for that higher level (birdsnest probably not higher level depending on who you talk to). Oh, can’t forget the candy cane my son picked out. Lighting is provided by a single AI Prime 16HD, but I can always add more if necessary. I use Red Sea coral pro for the higher dkh and usually have nitrates in the 5-15 range at the moment. I hope that’s enough info to help with your recommendations.

 

[Paul31733]

Some nice blastos would be cool!

 

[Mr Hughes]

I realized those were really blue so here are a couple more shots. Don’t judge me based on the quantity of bubbles from my skimmer.

 

[tnewell]

If your looking for unique colors, try going for some zoas! Relatively fast growers and some are easy to care for!

 

[iamacat]

Zoas, ricordea, euphyllia.

 

[Reverend Turtle]

Zoas and mushrooms will give you the colors you're looking for. Just keep them on islands. Stick with non discosoma mushrooms. Discos spread like mad.

 

[Mr Hughes]

Some nice blastos would be cool!

I could definitely get more color from some blastos. I’ve never had one myself but care is similar to acans, right?

 

[Paul31733]

I could definitely get more color from some blastos. I’ve never had one myself but care is similar to acans, right?

Yes I have been reefing for under a year and have kept mine alive so far . It has grown from one polyp to 4 or 5!
I have seen different colors too!

 

[Mr Hughes]

Zoas and mushrooms will give you the colors you're looking for. Just keep them on islands. Stick with non discosoma mushrooms. Discos spread like mad.

Ricordea definitely seems like the way to go on shrooms now that I’m looking at them closer. I had stayed away from mushrooms only because I had seen it take over tanks quickly. Knowing the difference all makes sense now...

 

[Mr Hughes]

Zoas, ricordea, euphyllia.

I like all of these. I was thinking of having a rock dedicated entirely to zoas, but think I will wait until most everything is in and mature enough, then use the zoas as the carpet so to speak.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I've always been a fan of pink bubble corals. Had one for a number of years, till a small crash happened. Intend on getting another soon.
Looks like you've got the room available to compensate for the sweeper tentacles... would look sharp in your setup imo.

 

[Mr Hughes]

I've always been a fan of pink bubble corals. Had one for a number of years, till a small crash happened. Intend on getting another soon.
Looks like you've got the room available to compensate for the sweeper tentacles... would look sharp in your setup imo.

I am going to have to look into this more. I seem to get the pinks to pop more than any other color...except green. Green is easy.

 

[iamacat]

I like all of these. I was thinking of having a rock dedicated entirely to zoas, but think I will wait until most everything is in and mature enough, then use the zoas as the carpet so to speak.

I would stay away from plays and stay in zoas. I have found zoas are more compact and less invasive. They do take time to multiply but they can also easily be managed, they generally don’t cause problems to surrounding corals but are sensitive to others.
Acan lords are another excellent coral but are harder to care for than the ones I listed, not by much but if you’re new it is

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

I like all of these. I was thinking of having a rock dedicated entirely to zoas, but think I will wait until most everything is in and mature enough, then use the zoas as the carpet so to speak.

Zoas are a very good addition as they like slightly higher nutrient tanks with higher nitrate. There are different acans that you can find online with unique colors such as the rainbow scan (which is quite expensive but one of the more “cheaper” higher end acans”) . Go importa is also a great addition to a reef as it grows at a fair rate (also depending how wel you can maintain your parameters and feeding habits) . Gonipora is personally one of my favorites as they come in many colors. I don’t have a reef yet, but I do have my tank set up (nuvo20) and have done a lot of research on corals haha. Can’t wait to see your growth brother

 

[Mr Hughes]

I would stay away from plays and stay in zoas. I have found zoas are more compact and less invasive. They do take time to multiply but they can also easily be managed, they generally don’t cause problems to surrounding corals but are sensitive to others.
Acan lords are another excellent coral but are harder to care for than the ones I listed, not by much but if you’re new it is

I’ve done palys before and won’t do that again. I’ve never had trouble with acans so I’m definitely not opposed to more of these. Once zoas get going, they really get going in my experience.

 

[Mr Hughes]

Zoas are a very good addition as they like slightly higher nutrient tanks with higher nitrate. There are different acans that you can find online with unique colors such as the rainbow scan (which is quite expensive but one of the more “cheaper” higher end acans”) . Go importa is also a great addition to a reef as it grows at a fair rate (also depending how wel you can maintain your parameters and feeding habits) . Gonipora is personally one of my favorites as they come in many colors. I don’t have a reef yet, but I do have my tank set up (nuvo20) and have done a lot of research on corals haha. Can’t wait to see your growth brother

I’m excited to see yours! I find that my corals do better with a slightly higher nitrate level when I run a higher dkh with the coral pro salt. I haven’t looked into the research on that correlation so it may just be me.

 

[MarsWulf5]

I have a IM 14 Peninsula that is about 4 months old. I’m kind of stuck on what corals I should buy next. I don’t want anything known for taking over a tank, but need to add some more color variety. Reds, yellows, pinks and blues really. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

As an FYI - I currently have a purple tipped hammer, a purple tipped frogspawn and a green tipped torch to give some movement in the tank. I have two acans, two leptos and an encrusting stylocoeniella around the base of the rock work. Also added a birdsnest and an acro to ensure the tank is ready for that higher level (birdsnest probably not higher level depending on who you talk to). Oh, can’t forget the candy cane my son picked out. Lighting is provided by a single AI Prime 16HD, but I can always add more if necessary. I use Red Sea coral pro for the higher dkh and usually have nitrates in the 5-15 range at the moment. I hope that’s enough info to help with your recommendations.

I'd go with some Lobophilia (Brain Coral), I love fugia plate corals for the sand bed, and also Acans... Maybe Star Polyps but cool colored ones. Montipora offer some cool colors, elegance corals and bubble corals add a lot of texture - and you mentioned a hammer in there already... There are some cole blue hammers and some peach colored ones that are cool.

 

[Mr Hughes]

I'd go with some Lobophilia (Brain Coral), I love fugia plate corals for the sand bed, and also Acans... Maybe Star Polyps but cool colored ones. Montipora offer some cool colors, elegance corals and bubble corals add a lot of texture - and you mentioned a hammer in there already... There are some cole blue hammers and some peach colored ones that are cool.

I could go with a brain coral. I have heard they can be difficult to keep as far as LPS go, but I am always excited for a new challenge. I love me some euphyllia for their movement so I am sure there are a few more in my future. I gave away a 6 head dragon soul torch along with my last tank when I moved. I am working on getting a head back for this tank, but it has been given to another person a few hours away.

 

[Mr Hughes]

Any showstopper sticks you would be comfortable placing in the setup? It's the tank in my home office so I would love something to keep me distracted from working all day...

 

[footgal]

Since you already have a hammer, I suggest making a hammer garden. They are quite stunning and come in a variety of colors

as others have already mentioned, a zoa garden is also a great idea and offers even more options. I wouldn’t put them on your rock work down because you will likely run into issues in the future with being unable to remove them