# NEWB Corals



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

What would you recomend for a beginner coral.

130w.
55g

4 fish:

2 Tangs
2 Clowns


----------



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

what kinda lights do you have, i know its 130w but what kind?


----------



## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Mushroom coral and possibly some polyps. They do good under lower lighting.


----------



## fishfingers (Apr 10, 2006)

Mushies and zoo's. You cant really go wrong with these guys.


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

2 tube T-12 florecents, 2 tube T-5 florecents


----------



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Stick with softies and you can't go wrong, excellent low lighting corals. Mushrooms, green starburst polyps, eh kinda iffy on zoa's they seem to really flourish under medium to high lighting.


----------



## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

mushrooms, hairy mushrooms, leathers, xenia


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

yes those are good for low light but are any of them low maintanance??

As for you who have read my other posts i am a beginner and i would need a begineer coral.

I have heard xenia's require expert care??


----------



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

Fishnewb1 said:


> I have heard xenia's require expert care??


you have heard wrong, the only thing ive heard is xenia's dont ship well, so moving them even from a lfs could be a problem, but once in a tank. they are weeds. grow like crazy. mushrooms would be great. there are many "low maintenance" corals, but you might be able to get something nicer. the t-5 are vho lights right? i think there are a ton of corals that dont require feeding. they simple catch food thats meant for fish. all the ones mentioned before. maybe some hammers, frogspawns, ricordia, these last three are "aggresive" corals, they need some space around them so the dont sting others. someone correct me if im wrong about any of this.


----------



## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

I just suggested most polyps and mushrooms because that's all I could think of lmao. The only real coral type thing I have are mushrooms, they are in a ten gallon under regular flourescent lighting and are doing great. You don't really need to do anything with them other than put them in a good spot right off the bat and make sure you turn on the lights. Heck, some mushrooms even die if exposed to too much high lighting.

From what i've heard, like said by level, xenias are only really hard to ship and the initial acclimation. If they comeback good they usually spread out and grow like crazy.


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You can expect good luck with any of the ones mentioned already. Xenia has a wee more maintenance need than the others in that it's rapid growth requires more trace elements additives, but it's SO worth it if you ask me. You can have a tank STUFFED full of the stuff in a year if you desire just by "replanting" the trimmings.

Keep the mushrooms a few inches away from anything else. They are toxic to their nearest neighbors.


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

leveldrummer said:


> the t-5 are vho lights right?


no they are just 2 26 watt bulbs


----------



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

are they just regular floueresants. or are they some kind of better light, a pic or a link to your ballast would help if you dont know.


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

im not sure where to find a link but they are just regular floreenents.

My whole tank has a total of 132w.


----------



## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

leveldrummer, T-5's are high output bulbs, they penetrate the water well... however, its still not a whole lot of light.


----------



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

im just trying to make sure, i dont want to tell him the wrong advice it he has lights that hes not sure of. just checking. some one could have told him they are t-5 when they arent. just making sure.

newb, all the corals reccomended should do great under the vho's you can probably get some low maintenence harder corals. im not familiar with those though.


----------



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

i say go MH you'll never regret it! I love the ripple effect i get from my MH's on my new reef tank


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

MH's....

That is my dream after i save up $700....

Unless you know where i can get them less than $250 it wont be happening soon.


----------



## fishfingers (Apr 10, 2006)

I don't know about the ways thigns work where you live, but is Aus it is dead easy to pick a good 150w MH and bulb for under $150. Try ebay, fish clubs and any second hand trading things and you shouldn't have to much trouble.


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You can also get them from sources other than the aquarium-related world. I got one for $75 once from a salvage company that tore down a home depot type of building and had hundreds of them laying around for cheap.


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

Yes i will try...

Tell me if you come across a deal:lol:


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

what about if I got just one HQI retrofit kit on one side of my tank....

could i have corals on that side?

Have you heard of the brand Odessa (spelling is probly wrong) they have inexpensive systems. Are they a good deal?


----------



## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

Fishnewb1 said:


> Have you heard of the brand Odessa (spelling is probly wrong) they have inexpensive systems. Are they a good deal?


Don't waste your money! They are made in China, Have no warranty and are not UL listed. If they burn your house down you can't even sue the company.

And there has been reports of them causing fires, Burning out in 1 week, Not working out of the box, Etc....


----------



## goodfortune (Mar 1, 2006)

For a low-light level tank, I would suggest going with Mushrooms and Leathers. Toadstool, Finger, and Cabbage Leather Corals are excellent starter corals. Green Star Polyps and Yellow Polyps may also do well in your setup.

I think that zoanthids and xenia will need a little more light than normal output flourescents can provide, but might do well if placed high in your tank.

If at all possible, I would upgrade the lights to power compacts; you can get a good 260w power compact light fixture for $225.00 - $250.00 new, or even less if you can find one used on one of the internet boards, like reefcentral. 

If you don't plan on keeping Small Polyp Stony (SPS) corals, anenomes, or clams, PC lighting is all you will need. In fact, I found that some of my Large Polyp Stony Corals (LPS), such as my hammer and frogspawn corals, stopped doing as well when I upgraded to MH lighting.

Lastly, the best source of frags are other reefkeepers. If you have a reef club hobby club, join it, attend meetings, and network with other reef keepers. Networking with other reefkeepers allows you to share tips and secrets to reef tank care that you wouldn't learn about otherwise. In addition, trading coral frags with other reefkeepers allows you to diversify your coral collection without having to spend lots of money.

Good Luck!!!

- Michael


----------



## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

I don't agree with this statement

"If you don't plan on keeping Small Polyp Stony (SPS) corals, anenomes, or clams, PC lighting is all you will need. In fact, I found that some of my Large Polyp Stony Corals (LPS), such as my hammer and frogspawn corals, stopped doing as well when I upgraded to MH lighting."

I've had them both under VHO's and Metal halides, the frogspawn/hammer/torches do well under both. But goodfortune is right about PC's you can get by with them if you don't want SPS/LPS or clams... however I would just grab another T-5 fixture like the one you've already got. 

Whatever you do... DO NOT GET ODYSSEA.


----------



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

i have frogs and hammers and even a candy cane under pcs everything seems ok.


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

But right now i would like to get my anemone up to full health...

So I was thinking about getting a retrofit kit from hellolights and putting it on my canopy and maby keeping my t-5 for atinics.


----------



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

sorry for asking again, but what wattage are the t-5 and how big is the tank? t-5's should be enough for an anenome, if you want to get a single mh, i would say mount it in the center and it should light a good bit of your tank. the anenome will move to where it is happiest. then you have the sides open for low light corals too. if you want to get 2 mh, just wait till you have the money for the whole setup, have you checked marinedepot.com or ebay? you can find some pretty good prices out there if you look in the right places.


----------



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

t-5 = evil, MH=Good


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

I just have 2 26w T-5 
2 40w tube florecents.

If I got 2 retros on my canopy it would be like 160...
I don't think there is any cheaper.


----------



## cheseboy (Aug 5, 2005)

Reefneck said:


> Don't waste your money! They are made in China, Have no warranty and are not UL listed. If they burn your house down you can't even sue the company.
> 
> And there has been reports of them causing fires, Burning out in 1 week, Not working out of the box, Etc....


Trust me, any Jebo/Odyssea is a big no no. If you were going to get one with a moon light don't even think about it because you can't time it because it only has one cord. The thought the chinese put into the fixtures amazes me. 

Here is a good place though.

www.marineandreef.com

Having a sale on lighting. I bought a nice satellite fixture there cheap.


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

look at my post about the ebay item and see if you think that the one there is ok compared to the price of this one??

Would sattelite be that much of a bigger price?


----------



## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

would it be that much of a bigger deal??

Dont pay attention to the last question sorry...


----------

