What Corals? Confusion

[SSLEWTER]

I Have A 20 Gallon Long Tank With

350 Marineland Biowheel
Rio 1100 Pump
Jebo 180 SKIMMER
65 Watt Actinic PC
2 96 Watt Quad 50/50 PC

26 # Live Rock
30 # Live Sand

All Perameters Are Great With Pink ,purple ,red ,dark Dark Red, Green ,yellow And Blueish/purple Coraline Algae

I Have Heard Mixed Results As To What Type Of Coral I Can Have Some Say No Acros Or Monti Or Clams only Soft being Only Low Light

With Only 13 Inches From Lights To Top Of Sand And Much Much Closer Given My Rocks I Should Be Able To Have Much More Variety I Would Think

Could Anyone Give Me A List Of Some That Would Work
Thanks

[Ninong]

Hi SSLEWTER,




Since your tank is 30"x12"x12", I agree with your point that virtually everything in the tank will be pretty close to the lights. Since the 96w quads are each 17" long, I assume that there is an area of overlap in the middle of the tank, right? And I assume the 65w actinic PC is centered over the tank, right?

In other words, you probably have an area in the middle of your tank that has more intense lighting that the rest of the tank. It's in that area that you should place the most light-demanding corals.

I hesitate to make recommendations but if you want to try SPS, I suggest you start with Montipora capricornis and maybe M. digitata before attempting any Acropora species. Obviously you are limited by the dimensions of your tank, so keep that in mind when choosing corals. Also, keep in mind that SPS corals require more water flow (current) than most LPS or softies.

You might even be able to keep a small Tridacna maxima clam if it is placed on the rock structure in the middle of the tank under the most intense lighting. These grow relatively slowly compared to some of the other clams. I wouldn't try a T. crocea because those are more demanding. Eventually the maxima would outgrow your aquarium but that would take years and you are going to have the same problem with corals, too. It's hard to find something that won't outgrow an aquarium with dimensions 12"H and 12"W.

Good luck!

[SSLEWTER]

Thanks For The Help
No Overlapping In The Middle Custom Made Canopy Everything Fit Nicely
So Do The Monti And Acro Like The 10,000 Or The Actinic Better?
The Way My Bulbs Are Now I Have A Stronger Actinic In The Middle With The 10,000 Toward The Front And Back ( IIBB BB BBII ) I Can Switch Them If It Would Help

[Ninong]

The 10,000K and the actinics are both beneficial but the 10,000K is more intense and puts out more PAR than the actinics. I would probably leave them alone and then just work with what you have. You should probably forget about a clam and, as far as SPS is concerned, you should just take it easy. Try one Montipora frag and then wait a few months to see what happens.

If you switched all of your lamps (tubes) to 10,000K, you would have more intensity and more PAR but you may not like the appearance as much. It's up to you.

You can certainly keep Ricordea florida or R. yuma with your lighting. R. florida is easier. Try that first. That's also something more suited to a small tank than most SPS because of potential growth.