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Top 5 Best Corals for Beginners
11 Comments | Posted by gerard in Aquarium Discussion, Coral
Ok so your new to the saltwater aquarium hobby and now you want to start to build your reef and load it up with coral frags. That’s awesome! You are going to love it. But as with my “Top 5 fish for beginners” post I will also state here to take it slow.
Here’s what you shouldn’t do first. Go out and buy a 150W-250W metal halide or T5 lighting system for 300+ dollars so you can put some hard corals in your tank. If you have a basic setup with Power Compacts that is fine for soft corals. Let’s start with some soft corals and work our way up.
This list of coral’s all have a few things in common. They are all pretty hardy. As long as you keep your water parameters good, you shouldn’t have any issues. Just remember a couple things when it comes to care and food. Buy yourself a bottle of Seachem Reef Iodide (I have been putting about 1.5ML in my 29 gallon biocube 2 times a week for the past year) and a bottle Two Little Fishies Marine Snow. (I have been doing 1 capful 3 times a week in my 29 gallon biocube.)
These coral’s do not require calcium to live. They do not need high powered metal halide or T5 lighting. A stock 29 gallon biocube can support all these coral’s.
Do your water changes every 2 weeks and your coral will spread like wildfire. Take your time, work slowly until you feel comfortable with your corals. If they are thriving then great. Then you can work your way up to the hard corals and upgrade your lighting system.
Top 5 coral’s for beginners:
- Zoanthid’s
- Star Polyp’s
- Xenia
- Leather
- Mushroom Coral
Balistes vetula, also known as the queen triggerfish, is a reef dwelling fish of the Atlantic Ocean. It is occasionally caught as a gamefish, and sometimes kept in marine aquariums.
Appearance
It is a large fish that reaches 60cm in length. It is typically brown with blue lines on its fins and head.
In the aquarium
As one of the largest and most aggressive of the triggerfish, this fish is rarely a good choice as a resident in a marine aquarium. It is however a hardy fish for those who can provide it with a proper environment. Because it grows so large and so quickly the ideal aquarium for this fish is a 500 gallon aquarium, although some sources argue they can be kept is as little as a 125 gallon aquarium when it achieves its adult size of two feet it is unlikely to thrive.
Its diet consists of invertebrates. In aquariums shrimp, squid, clams, octopus, scallops, and crab are all good choices of food.
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Top 5 Best Saltwater Fish for Beginners
0 Comments | Posted by gerard in Aquarium Discussion, Saltwater Fish
I have been working on saltwater fish tanks for about 20 years now as a hobby. Through this time I have tried many different approaches to fish and reef keeping. When you first start a saltwater tank, during the initial setup most people will tell you to buy some cheap damsels as a sacrifice to get your cycle going. If the damsels do actually make it then your ready for some real fish.
I don’t like to go that route. I usually make sure that the nitrogen cycle is complete and then start off with some hardy fish. Once your tank has 0 ammonia and nitrites you are on your way. The only battle left to face is nitrates. I have been fighting them for years but that’s another post.
Now, onto the fish. One of the reasons you chose saltwater over freshwater is that the fish are way cooler. The colors are more vibrant and the overall look is beautiful. I have found the following 5 fish are perfect for beginners. They are all very hardy, will eat most everything from pellets and flakes to frozen food. Last but not least they are all reef safe.
I really think you should check out these fish as starters. If you are just getting into the hobby you don’t want to start out with a flame angel or a triggerfish. You need to take it slow and work your way up to those fish. Get your feet wet with a few of these hardy fish. They wont disappoint.
Top 5 saltwater fish for beginners:
- False Percula Clownfish
- Bicolor Blenny
- Purple Pseudochromis
- Firefish
- Orange Diamond Sleeper Goby
IceCap LunarLite – Blue LED Retrofit
The LunarLite LED tubes have the same look of a standard T5 tube, but they are powered by a low voltage transformer, not a fluorescent ballast. The T5 form provides better spread of the light over the entire aquarium. Encasing the LED’s inside a T5-style tube protects them and their circuit boards from the harsh, salty, humid environment that is your normal saltwater aquarium. The IceCap LunarLites have an aluminum heat sink on the back side of the tube to dissipate what little heat they generate.
Wait till you see what they do for your corals!
LunarLites are highly efficient and very reliable but we know the reason you’ll want them is what they will do to the appearance of the corals. They are designed to excite the green fluorescing proteins in corals. They particularly bring out yellows, oranges, and greens. If you think your corals look good under actinics, you haven’t seen anything yet! Mushrooms, Zoanthids, Ricordea, and most any fleshly large polyp stony corals look amazing under the LED’s.
The LunarLite retrofits ship with mounting clips to secure the LED Tubes to a canopy, commercial hood or existing fixture. The weight should not be an issue because the 2-foot unit is only 4 oz. Power connection to the LunarLite is a power tail with a quick connect to a low voltage power supply, no hand wiring required.
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