Stocking help

[Reef Ruler]

Hey

Today, I am probably going to go to a LFS or two, and I was thinking it might be time to add a coral or two. Also, I was considering a skunk shrimp, but im not sure on that.

So, the tank is a 14g biocube, have two ocellaris, 1 electric blue hermit, and 1 turbo snail. I have stock everything, which is a 137 gph return pump, 24w Actinic bulb, and 24w Daylight (10,000K) bulb. I have a little rock shelf in there 6 inches under water level at most. Its also only a couple inches away from the return pump, which is my only pump for now. I also have a bunch of other spots where the flow is lower, and if zoas can have a fairly low flow, i have the perfect spot for them.

This would be my first coral, and I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions. I was looking at some zoas, but i really wanted frogspawn/torch corals. Anything easy to care for and adds color would be great. Thanks for the help

Brian

[weimers75]

Zoas are pretty good beginner corals, they usually so quite well but sometimes will melt away for no apparent reason. They also seem to do well in relatively low flow areas. If you notice them closing up for a day or so or getting a brown covering on them them you'll want to move them to a higher flow area.

Frogspawn and torch corals are also good corals, but like moderate flow (don't put them right in front of your powerhead). Keep in mind though that frogspawn and torch are lps corals which use calcium to build their skeleton, so you'll need to dose a two part additive (calc and alk) if you don't now.

[Reef Ruler]

Thanks....actually didnt know that about dosing. I did get a "Kent Marine Nano Reef--Part A-B" right off the bat when i was starting up the tank, and am going to start using it. I talked to the LFS guy and he said the same thing about the zoos. I ened up getting a toadstool leather, because thats what he suggested for a beginner.

I think there might be a stow-away though. Ill look at the coral for a few minutes without moving, and Ill see this thing pop out an open up into a feather duster like fan, easily within a second. Ill move to get a better view, and it dissapears. Its out right now, and has been for ten minutes. I just waved my hand by the glass, and it issapeared with the blink of an eye. Any ideas?

Thanks
Brian

[eaglesrx]

zoas and frogspawn are all great corals. I had a bunch of both in my old 24g tank (see the nanocube owners thread).

if you're looking for easy corals, you can also look at mushrooms. There's some nice ones out there.

Yumas/ricordias are great too. Definitely will add a lot of color to your tank. I wish I could keep a bright red or hot pink yumas as they need low flow and low lighting. You might be able to keep one if you're up to it. However, I would do some reading on it first. If you can find an aquacultured one, jump on it. However, they're very expensive. To start, you might want to look at some ricordias.

HTH