Need tips on caring for corals..please help!

[AnimalBabe]

I am about to inherit some corals (getting some LR in a few days with corals attached) and I have a ton of questions. I have a thread on transporting the LR, but figured I'd start a new thread to focus on the corals. I was planning on researching how to care for corals before getting some, and will do that asap, but since I'm getting the LR in two days I am in desperate need of some quick advice.

The guy I'll be purchasing the LR from said he is including the corals on it, namely Kenya Trees and Zooanthus. He also said some SPS grew off of the LR and that "they might come back"...not sure if that means they died off or something.

First, do I need to go buy anything to add to the water, and if so, what do you recommend? I read that you should add iodine and trace elements to the water.

Second, I figured I'd transport the LR just by wrapping it in wet newspaper, but now that I know about the corals, do they have to be in water? Is it easy to take the corals off of the LR if so? Otherwise, transport will not be as easy for me as I thought. I'd have to get some bins with sturdy lids that won't leak!

Third, what do I feed the corals? I read that zoos basically feed themselves and don't need additional food, but that the trees do need to be fed microplankton, marine snow (no idea what that is), and dissolved materials (?). What should I purchase for them?

Forth, does it matter where in my aquarium I place the trees? Can they be high up near the lights?

Fifth, how do I acclimate them? Was going to keep the LR in saltwater bins with a powerhead. Is it ok to just put that with the corals into the tank in a few days?

Thanks guys in advance! I may have more questions later.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

No need to use iodine, those are hardy corals. Yes they should be in water, altough zoanthids can be outside water a long time, but soft corals have hard time supporting their own weight outside water...Kenya tree will fall and shrivel. If you kept your old fish bags you can use them to transport corals. I would use a cardboard box, a bucket or a foam box ,put the plastic bag with the corals in it, and protect the bags with towels all around. This should work.
Kenya tree will eventually need some food, but sometimes grabbing uneaten food will do the trick. I wouldn't suggest marine snow, it's too polluting even tough it works. Overkill just for a Kenya Tree. Try to put the corals under a similar lighting than the original's tank at first. Eventually>>I would put the kenya tree high (unless you have a poweful MH), but avoid strong flows. Zoas...you can put them anywhere, and change places when they start a new colony. You should acclimate them with a drip, or juste open the bag, let it float in the sump or tank ( attached ) and if you can't drip, add a couple of ml of your tank's water in the bag every 15 mn, so it reduces the shock.

 

[AnimalBabe]

Kenya tree will eventually need some food, but sometimes grabbing uneaten food will do the trick. I wouldn't suggest marine snow, it's too polluting even tough it works. Try to put the corals under a similar lighting than the original's tank at first. Eventually>>I would put the kenya tree high (unless you have a poweful MH), but avoid strong flows. Zoas...you can put them anywhere, and change places when they start a new colony.

Thanks so much! What other type of food would you recommend then for the Kenya tree?

This is sad, but I don't know what type of lights I have. Got them as a gift with the tank. Standard lights from Petco I'm assuming. Two in there, both the same type. Would those be too powerful to have the Kenya tree near? And would you recommend different lighting for corals?

I have two powerheads, each with a max output of 270 GPH, in the tank, pointing toward one another. Should I decrease the flow or is it ok?

 

[KahluaZzZ]

Wo. Standard lights from Petco..you wanna change that asap!
Is it included under the hood ? Or is it a ramp that was installed later?
What is you tank size ? What height ?
Often the lights included are very weak ( and i hope we're talking 'bout fluorescents )
and have the wrong spectrum. You wanna have a spectrum between 10 000 kelvin (K) and 20 000. I prefer the lower range of the 10 000k, it's less appealing but it's more efficient than bluer, higher range.
The guy used the present lighting with those corals?
Check out the bulbs, you should have some info on them on the far side.
Powerheads : As long as they don't shoot directly at the corals, it's ok.
I dunno which tank size we're talking about, but in SW we don't usually decrease the flow, it's too important.
Food : For now, don't use anything, let it rely on photosynthesis a while. Anyways, sometimes Kenya Tree can take a while to adjust and if it's closed, it won't grab anything.

 

[AnimalBabe]

I'll try to check what the spectrum is when I get home. They're fluorescent, probably 10,000k, seem very strong to me. They're under the hood. I don't know what the guy used for lighting on his tank. Mine is a 46 gallon (roughly 36x16x23).

 

[AnimalBabe]

Update: I checked out my lights, and I have two Eclipse Natural Daylight lamps, 36in. I think they're each 6500 k.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

Which is kinda cool when you have FW planted tank, but 6500k is a little bit low.
Maybe it could be used to grow chaetomorpha in the sump, if you have a sump.
What is the wattage?

 

[AnimalBabe]

I think they're each 30 watts. I'd like to have some blue colors going on in there too...so what about if I got one 10,000 k (or 20,000?) bulb and one actinic bulb (or maybe a 50/50)?

 

[KahluaZzZ]

If you put some actinics while replacing on 30w normal output 6500k you would lose almost half of what the corals need under those lights.
I would suggest that you upgrade, maybe T5 fluorescents, they have more PAR for the buck..slimmer than normal fluos so less wattage is wasted. An 18w would be more powerful than one normal ( like T8) 30w...you can keep your 6500k for now, i had baby zoanthids in my sump and they grew even under 2500K, but check out some T5 ramps. Dunno what is your budget but some Current USA T5 ramps can have 6 t-5 and they come with actinics...later on, you could decide to change your actinics for some other like purple fiji from others brands and have all the flashy colors you like ..also T5 bulbs are very inexpensive.

http://www.current-usa.com/nova_extreme_pro


check out the 36"