Starter Corals?

Discussion in 'Soft Corals' started by Anthos312, Apr 25, 2010.

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  1. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    sweet, corals are looking great I think im gonna move them up onto the rocks right now. Oh and my mushroom seemed to close up for a few minutes then i noticed something moved out from underneath it. I have no clue what it could have been, wish i had my camera on me at the time but it almost looked like a tiny starfish with only 3 limbs but missing the third. It was white and had 2 red dots in the middle. It eventually slithered down and disappeared.

    Also, anyone got a clue on the mushroom species?
     
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  3. Pelado

    Pelado Montipora Digitata

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  4. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    yup ive already researched these sights a lot, but vendors tend to say different things compared to actual reefkeepers in my opinion...
     
  5. CoralQueen

    CoralQueen Feather Duster

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    i believe that this is the mushroom species you are looking for: Speckled Mushroom
     
  6. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    So my LFS hooked me up with a variety pack of corals basically. Only ran me $30 dollars also. Basically i got a few zoa polyps, a pulsing xenia frag, 2 mushroom frags, pink star polyp frag, and a hitchhiker feather duster (WOOT). Pictures are attached. Im a bit worried tho, when i was acclimating them the bag fell in the tank about 30 minutes into the acclimation......And i had difficulty placing them in the tank so they are all closed and very stressed i think. Since im selling my 20 gallon long FW tank i took my T5 Setup off that and put it ontop of my SW tank to give them some better light to hopefully help them recover better. The T5 setup currently only has a 6700k bulb and a full spectrum bulb, was this a good idea and is it better than my 15w actinic flourescent that was on there before? I can buy new bulbs for the T5 tomorrow. I'm just wondering what i should do temporarily to get things better. . please help haha.
     

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  7. ingtar_shinowa

    ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

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    pretty cool dude. They should be ok until you upgrade their bulbs. have you looked at bulbs? I suggest ATI since i got mine just the one ATI blue+ has made a huge difference over stock bulbs! I'll put on my others soon-ish
     
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  9. Anthos312

    Anthos312 Millepora

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    im going to try to buy the bulbs at petco(hopefully they have the corallife brand im looking for) since my LFS has kinda overpriced stuff. They are awesome and tend to hook me up with livestock but equipment i cant bargain with. So what i was thinking is going to be something similar to:

    By the way this T-5 setup is not H.O. just the normal Coral Life T5 30" Ballast.

    One: Coralife T-5 10,000K Lamp - 30" - Lighting - T-5 Fluorescent Bulbs at BigalsOnline

    One: Coralife T-5 True Actinic Lamp - 30" - Lighting - T-5 Fluorescent Bulbs at BigalsOnline

    Or should i go with a 50/50 actinic instead of the full actinic? I think the full might be nice considering I like the bright blue tint of most saltwater aquariums and im pretty sure the full actinic would be better for coral growth also. Am i correct in this? Thanks for the help everyone, this is a great site.
     
  10. ingtar_shinowa

    ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

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    Actinics, as far as I know have a lot lower par rating. The higher kelvin light (more blue colored) tends to give corals less growth but better coloring. Most farms with grow thier stuff out at 8-12k light then put it under 20k light to make it extra 'purdy'. At least for stony corals that is. Mainly I would just get a color combination you like looking at the most! A full actinic and a daylight would be great in my opinion, but let the real reefers chime in!