Any tips?

Okay, so ive set up a 55 gallon saltwater tank ive had a 29 gallon predator tank in a marine biology class so I know a little bit. But the 55 is at home and i would like to make it a reef tank, its been up about a month and a half and i have about 110 lbs of live rock 3 feather dusters, a fire fish a juv. Emperor snapper and a Valentini puffer i know they might all not all be reef safe i don't mind taking them out. Any suggestions or tips for starting a reef tank? there is a local guy who builds lighting systems and can set me up for a reef tank he does it for a living he also sells corals.

 

Try and figure out what kind of corals you would like to keep. This will help you determine lighting and flow requirements.

 

What are some good looking beginner corals?

 

Zoas,palys(There are SOO MANY corals to choose from). Xenia, some mushrooms look nice, xenia(has a nice flow and pulsing to it, looks great IMO) Kenya tree(always like the way it looked). There are others, but those are your basic.

 

Zoanthids are a great to start with. They are pretty and hardy.

 

You could keep all the posted corals, plus many more with a T5 fixture. Fairly in expensive.
What equipment are you running?
i.e. protein skimmer?

 

I started with zoas and xenia, have never had any luck keeping mushrooms