Beginners Setup?

I'm planning on having a 40 or 55 gal reef tank with live rock and sand etc. pretty much the basics and i might eventually put in a sump but i was just looking for some suggestions on what kind of corals to put in it. i really like colorful corals and am always looking for a challenge.

 

start off easy like some mushrooms, or zoas, and xenia, kenya tree then move up from there.

 

So I am going to try to make little bullet points of stuff I wish I had thought of when I started.

1. Get largest and shortest tank you can afford / have space for.
2. Don't plan on getting a sump later, get it when you start (makes overflows a lot easier... heck possible).
3. Um well... those are the two big ones, everything after that can be changed.
4. If you want go for MH... personally I love my T-5s but a little more shimmer might have been nice.
5. TAKE IT SLOW! I know how hard that one is.

As for corals I would say a Kenya tree coral, its like the colt coral but wont take over the tank. Xenias are fun and shroomies come in all different flavors.

 

Mushrooms and zoas are almost foolproof and need less light than others.

 

you want a challenge i would tell you to try some pulsing xenia. i think thats pretty challenging for a beginner. i would work on that one before i moved to acroporas

 

Watch the zenia, it has a tendancy to take over.

 

on second thought if your dead set on a sps try horn coral Hydnophora - Wild (Hypnophora sp.) this is a very hardy coral for a sps. how ever it will more then likely kill any coral thats placed to close to it