Easiest Beginners Soft Corals?

[simonas]

I'm right in thinking soft corals less demanding than hard corals right?

as the question says really I;ve been reading up and have seen lots of info re xenia pulse corals and mushroom corals

could someone point me in the right direction for the above , what would you recommend as a beginners bearing in mind tank is just 16g and lighting is one t8 tube?

cheers for your patience with all my questions!

simon

 

[Morri]

Softies are ok leathers etc a bit dull imo Zoas are a nicer addtion with a wealth of diffrent colours the one thing to bare in mind with leathers is they should be run with carbon to reduce the chemical warfare.

LPS are fine once stats are stable and are much nicer I started on Zoas then went to LPS a week or 2 later

Rics can be a nice addtion Xenia is a good addtion albeit it grows out of control but fills in gaps and can be fragged to reduce size if gets to big.

Green Star Polyps are also a good starter and add a bit more colour

 

[simonas]

cheers pal

How about these S. glaucum ? theres a pic of some on Seffies thread about the species and they look great?

 

[Morri]

Sarcophyton glaucum is commonly called a toadstool these are fine starter corals I would recomend a bag of carbon in the tank these release a chemical into the water column to ensure they have space to grow (Chemical Warfare) its not essential to run carbon but a good idea

 

[ben1987]

toadstools are a great first coral, they grow quick too

 

[simonas]

toadstools are a great first coral, they grow quick too

how long would you advise me to leave tank settling before I cuold add one?

 

[Morri]

I would wait until your tank cycles so

Salinity 1025 - 1026
PH 8.3 ish
Temp 26 ish
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrites
>10 Nitrates
0 Phosphates

at this stage add CUC a few crabs and snails not to many to start
Wait another week then add a softie or 2
Check stats every week then you can add some fish a week later after softies thats just my approach slowly is good if you add to much to soon you may end up killing everything as your bacteria will not be able to keep up

 

[seffieuk]

>10 Nitrates

Morri of course means Nitrates <10 expect he was on the Ribena last night

you will get spikes of all three, when you have your nitrate spike do a 50% water change. Then test again 24 hrs later and if all tests are as Morri said then go buy your cuc woo hoo.....

Seffie x

 

[AdAndrews]

Wow, theres alot more choice than i thought then for my 125litre, i only have 2xt8's, i think i will add a third, and then i have my led light strip.. looking forward to more pics of your tank simonas