What do you suggest

[agoodloe]

I am looking to purchase my first piece of Coral. I currently have a 75 gallon tank with a 4 bulb TEK T5 setup running ATI 48 inch bulbs. What coral do you recommend?

 

[gofor100]

Well, assuming that all is well in the tank (meaning its all cycled and the water/params are in order), I would go with something relatively easy like some mushrooms or something. Although, some will say that mushrooms can become a nuisance when they spread.

One of the first corals I got was a hammer coral and torch coral... but you just have to make sure your water quality is good and your params are in order.

Others would suggest zoanthids...

It all depends on your preference though.

Good luck!

 

[johnanddawn]

a 75 with that light set would be suited to most zoas, mushrooms, softies, and many LPS so your choices are quite numerous
most zoas and shrooms tendto be quite forgiving for beginers so i would recomend that you look at those first a good place to start is here:
Diver's Den® Corals: WYSIWYG Polyp, Mushroom, and Soft Corals

 

[gar732]

I wouldn't advise it now but in due time those light will support sps. A nice lime green or yellow leather would be nice as a first coral.

 

[Johnthebaptist]

kenya trees are quite easy and will give you some movement in the current.

 

[swannyson7]

Just make sure you don't get something that you'll regret later on if it hits plague proportions. I'd stay away from GSP, Anthelia, Xenia, kenya tree, yellow colony polyps, and mushrooms for this reason alone. While some of them look nice, they rapidly reproduce and can choke out other corals that you may want to add later on.

 

[gar732]

Just make sure you don't get something that you'll regret later on if it hits plague proportions. I'd stay away from GSP, Anthelia, Xenia, kenya tree, and mushrooms for this reason alone. While some of them look nice, they rapidly reproduce and can choke out other corals that you may want to add later on.

lol, Ask him how he knows. Anthelia anyone?

 

[swannyson7]

lol, Ask him how he knows. Anthelia anyone?

:beat_brick:

 

[fab1971]

Mushrooms and zoos are the hardiest imo. If you get mushrooms, I would only get something that looks really really nice and you wouldn't mind multiplying.

 

[butts182]

xenia!! haha, j/k. like other - zoas, mushrooms, or other soft or large polyp stony (lps) corals

 

[florida reef]

I would do zoas or a kenya tree.

 

[KLR]

There are some nice softies,but a bright acan lord would be nice looking aswell

 

[CJO]

Kenya trees have a way of getting out of control too, so I would stay away from them. Some bright hardy zoas or a nice acan would add color to your tank.

CJ

 

[luke33]

I'd agree, stay away from the kenya, it can become a major plague. I'd get a few nice ricordia's as they are pretty forgiving and have nice color.

 

[Johnthebaptist]

One way to somewhat control a coral that can grow like crazy is to isolate it. If you have sand space on your tank bottom, put a single rock not touching anything but sand with a coral on it.

I have a lot of mushrooms in my tank but have never been bothered by it. When I get to many I cut some off and give them to a friend. Sometime a beneficial trade can result. I don't have any now because my water is too clean but I used to love Xenia. They add movement and interest and are pretty. Just find a way to decide where they go rather than letting them make the decision. Star polyps, clove polyps, yellow polyps, and encrusting pink corals that I cannot remember the name for are the same way.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Rather than simply randomly throwing a bunch of suggested corals in the tank, and then deciding down the road that you really wished you hadn't done that and you wished that you would have added this or that coral, I recommend that you spend some time doing some research into exactly what type of reef you want down the road. If you want a mixed reef, than a random hog podge of different corals is ok. If you want a softie tank than many of those suggested will be ok also. If you want an SPS dominated tank, I wouldn't add most of those that have been recommended; instead I would start with some of the hardier sps, like birdsnest and monti caps. But again, you need to do some research. If you throw monti caps onto the top of your reef, eventually they are going to expand and shadow out much of the lower regions.

Additionally, there is the question of fish, what fish are you looking at or thinking about adding down the road? If you want tangs or angel fish then spending a bunch of money on zoas is silly, because these fish think they are a tasty treat.

John's suggestion on adding some of the corals and keeping them isolated is an excellent suggestion. I personally have kept colt corals, GSP, mushrooms and xenia in this manner. When they overgrow I trim em off and either give them to somebody getting into the hobby who wants them or visit my LFS for some local credit.

Anywho, some additional info on the direction you plan on going would be good in order to insure that you get the right advice. Just my $.02 worth

 

[Reef Keeper 18]

zoas and Paly's are nice coral who can do well in cruddier water conditions. Don't go with any high end ones obviously some bam bams are always nice or anything like that.

 

[Tabasco1]

Following along as I will soon be in the same boat. I feel like it is a catch 22. You don't want to put anything in that is going to be a pest later on, but seems like that those attributes that make a coral hardy and a good candidate are exactly what make it a pest later on! :neutral:

WY-Tangs will snack on z & p? I knew about angels, but thought tangs were ok?

 

[Wy Renegade]

WY-Tangs will snack on z & p? I knew about angels, but thought tangs were ok?

Nope, I've had both a yellow tang and a scopas tang snack on Zs-n-Ps, and a buddy lost a bunch to a blue or hippo tang and a purple tang. The blue was hilarious to watch, it would go take a bite then starting swimming at super high speed from end of the 210gal tank to the other smacking into the walls. Then when it had settled down, it would go back and do it again. You would have thought it was on drugs or something, and maybe it was from palytoxin :squigglemouth:.