How do I put corals in the tank?

[BigShakka]

ok so today i bought my first corals and anemones. i had no problem setting my green brain coral and the other corals that had a rock base. I had a very hard time with my anemone tho. it keeps on floating, so what do u guys use to hold your anemone in place. right now i positioned its pink base in between some rocks so it wouldnt go anywhere. i also have what i think is a colt coral?? i dunno it looks like a purplish slimy tree haha. and that one is also soft and i cant get that to stay in place either.

Please help!!

[graveyardworm]

What kind of anemone? The purplish soft coral can be placed between some rock work like youve done with the anemone until its attached. Your tank is not mature enough for an anemone. So you can either return it or risk killing it. Read the anemone FAQ at the top of this forum.

[masterqaz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7750649#post7750649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by graveyardworm
What kind of anemone? The purplish soft coral can be placed between some rock work like youve done with the anemone until its attached. Your tank is not mature enough for an anemone. So you can either return it or risk killing it. Read the anemone FAQ at the top of this forum. depends on the type, odds are its a pink tip which in my oppinion are as hard as aptasia to kill.

[graveyardworm]

Bigshakka said pink base, could be an LTA which should be placed in the sand, also requires intense lighting, and a mature stable environment.

[BigShakka]

ok guys im going to take some pictures of the corals that i bought today and how i set them up, theyre new so one of them isnt quite opened up yet

[BigShakka]

ok well heres the anemone and the rest of the corals. can you guys also help me identify them, i forgot to write the names down when i bought them..

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/shakka7/100_1213.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/shakka7/100_1212.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/shakka7/100_1211.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/shakka7/100_1210.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/shakka7/100_1208.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/shakka7/100_1206.jpg

[Dubbin1]

What kind of lighting do you have over this tank?

[BigShakka]

100 watt, the manager at the LFS told me that it should be more than enough for the corals they sell at the store

[graveyardworm]

100 watt? What kind of light?

Pic#2) Goniopora - difficult to keep, has special feeding requirements, prone to brown jelly infection. Probably shouldve been left at the store. Research especially posts by JenNKerry, they have been able to keep these.

3)Colt coral - this one also enjoys food as do all corals, but like the Goni isnt able to get all it needs from lighting alone.

4)Green star polyps - This one is appropriate, its a hardy coral and should do well, they seem to prfer moderate light and flow.

5) Lobophylia? ( brain coral ) - This one will mst likely need more light regular feeding may help it to overcome lighting shortfall.

6)Anemone - It does appear to be an LTA, acloser shot of the underside of the cap will help if there are white dots then it is LTA, this one prefers to be in a sand bed with its foot wedged under a rock, it requires strong lighting ( Metal Halide, or T5 ), Constant feeding may help it to overome lighting shortfall. Your tank is way too young for this, and the lighting inadequate, I would recommend you return it. Your clownfish will be fine without it. Wait 6 months while your tank matures and skills mature.

[BigShakka]

thank you gravey for the help. i will try to return the anemone and the goni and get something else for it, what other corals do you reccomend for a new tank?

[Dubbin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7752565#post7752565 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigShakka
what other corals do you reccomend for a new tank?

zoas, xenia, gsp, mushrooms should all do ok under your lighting. IMO I would remove the brain that you have in there now.

[BigShakka]

ok thanks alot guys , i will try to return them tuesday or wensday. The guy at the LFS is a really good guy and very knowladgable. He hand picked all the corals accept the anemone for me and he hand picked the lighting as well, so I dunno why these corals should be a problem

[Dubbin1]

Just remember that he may seem very knowladgable to you since you are still new to the hobby. There are some LFS's out there with people that really do not know as much as they think they do.

[graveyardworm]

You'll find when it comes to making a buck, they are very knowledgeable, If that guy new what you had for lighting, and how old the tank was he shouldnt have sold you what he did. however if he takes the stuff and gives you full credit then he's probably not all that bad. Just research everything before you purchase. Get a good book about corals like Eric Bornemans Aquarium Corals, and try to plan how you want to stock your tank. Rather than just sticking a bunch of corals in the tank you may want to research different biotopes or reef zones, and try to emulate that.

[BigShakka]

I understand what you guys have been saying. He has prety much set up my whole tank for me from day one. I have been going to him since i bought the aquarium. He runs really nice show tanks in the store. however i know hes not trying to make a quick buck out of me cuz if he was he would be trying to push all the expensive stuff to a newbie, but instead he is telling what to get in a way as how we would buy it for his own tank, and he definently doesnt rush me with things and tells me whats not compatible or if something wouldnt fit in

[Dubbin1]

Well he did sell you some stuff that does not belong in your tank so I would watch out.

[BigShakka]

whats wrong with my tank? 0 nitrate 0 nitrite 0 ammonia water temp at 80... 8.3 ph, whats missing?

[sinder255248]

Whats missing, experience.... It takes time to get used to controlling the salinity etc and keeping the tank stable. Creatures like anemones are very sensative to rises in salinity, and high nitrates. I can defo speak from experience, I killed one BTA by rushing into things and wish I hadn't.

[dous]

Sometimes when a LFS sells you inexpensive stuff, that's their way of making money as in my case. They sold me all the inferior stuff as they said it was cheaper, but as you grow knowledgeable in the hobby, you realize you need to upgrade and had bought all the wrong stuff. Then you go back to them to buy all the stuff you should've bought to begin with. Of course they will not take back used items. That's marketing for you.

[Dubbin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7756651#post7756651 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigShakka
whats wrong with my tank? 0 nitrate 0 nitrite 0 ammonia water temp at 80... 8.3 ph, whats missing?

The only draw back I see is the lighting. As deep as that tank is and the type of light over it is really going to limit what you can put in it. If you want some colorful stuff that will do well under that light then think about getting some zoas and mushrooms. Pretty much anything else you will either need to up grade the lighting or keep them up at the top of the tank.

[rustybucket145]

Did I miss something? 100 watts of what kind of light?

[BigShakka]

its that 20" coralife system. the reason i chose that one is because my tank is a hex and that was the only thing that i saw to fit, however i just measured it and i can put a 24" fixture on it so the guy at the LFS said i could return the lights and get a different one. they have the 2x65watt coralife ficture with the moonlights i was thinking about getting . but can you guys tell me whats the best lighting system i can get for 250 or under??? that is also 24" or less in length???

[rustybucket145]

250w Metal Halide is what I would use. 14k bulb so it still looks good.

[BigShakka]

wheres a place where i can get a good price for that?

[Zanski]

MH lighting for sure, (thinking of the future) you can store anything under MH lighting. How deep is your Hex? Never trust just one person on things to go in your tank. The guy could be selling you the cheap stuff because it belongs in a scratch and dent section (bleaching ect.) The LFS I "trusted" sold me a hippo juvi tang for a 10 gallon and I didnt know how big they got. he is 1" right now but i guess its cool because i get to upgrade to a 75 gallon lol. But they lost my buisness for good.

:rollface: p.s. you should get BF2:MC for you 360.!:rollface:

[BigShakka]

the hex is 21" deep almost 4 feet wide. if i was to get a 24" fixture should i just buy a eggrate and put it over the tank, cuz the cover it came with has these 2 slots for the lighting and its only 20" long and 7" wide

[kingzeus]

There are only a small subset of questions that I can safely ask a LFS employee.
1) How much is it?
2) How long have you had it? (Though I'm confident some LFS employees BS this answer)
3) Will you please feed it for me?
4) Can you bag this one for me? *points to specimen for fear of the wrong one being bagged*
5) Who's the manager?

I also make it a habbit of asking LFS basic questions that they should know the answer to. Most recently, I asked an employee why I should select one substrate over another and what depth the substrate should be. Her answer? Aesthetics.