How to Care for Beginner Corals

written by Dave Burr

Beginner Corals are selected because they are easy to keep and are a great choice for the beginning reef hobbyist. They will do well in an aquarium with moderate lighting & flow. The beginner corals we select are more tolerant to changes in water chemistry than most corals. The most important thing any hobbyist can do to create a flourishing reef aquarium is to maintain the water chemistry within the correct parameters. You’ll have more success & enjoyment from the reef aquarium hobby when you master your tanks chemistry!

Placement: Mount your beginner coral using IC gel glue, or putty, on an exposed rock lower in the aquarium where they will receive moderate flow and light. If you do not want a specific coral growing on your your main rock structure, try creating an island by mounting them to one larger rock and placing it as an island in your sand bed.

Feeding: Although symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae hosted within them supply most of their nutritional requirements through photosynthesis, beginner corals do benefit from supplemental feedings of Oyster-Feast, Roti-Feast, cyclopeeze, & sometimes small bits of mini mysis. Target feeding gets the corals fed using less food while keeping your nitrates and phosphates lower.

Lighting & Flow Requirements: Beginner corals require moderate water flow and low to moderate lighting (PAR 100-250) to maintain their color. T5's, Metal Halides, or LED's can all grow beginner corals when the proper PAR levels are provided. We recommend a 14-20K color spectrum for best coloration.

Care Level: Easy
Lighting Requirements: Low to moderate (PAR 100-250)
Water Flow: Moderate
Aggressiveness: Semi-aggressive
Range: Aqua-cultured by Vivid Aquariums
Family: Misc
Water Conditions: 75-80° F; sg 1.024-1.026 (1.025 is ideal); pH 8.1-8.4 Ca 420-440 ppm, Alk 8-9.5 dKH, Mg 1260-1350, Nitrates <10ppm, Phosphates, < .10ppm

Water Chemistry: It is important that proper calcium (420-440 ppm), alkalinity (8-9.5 dkh - run it 7-8 if you are carbon dosing) , and magnesium levels (1260-1350 ppm) are maintained. Raising magnesium levels gradually up to 1400-1600 ppm can help to combat algae outbreaks, just keep CA and Alk in line as you raise the Mg. Nitrates should be below 10 ppm and phosphates should be below .10 ppm. We recommend doing a water change when Nitrate levels rise to 10 ppm. It is important to replace your phosphate media when phosphates rise to .10 ppm. Media Reactors make the most efficient use of your phosphate media by fluidizing it.

Dosing: Vivid Aquariums uses and recommends dosing pumps to automate the dosing of additives and keep your levels more constant. A dosing pump can alleviate the chore of manually dosing your aquarium with Ca, Alk, & Mg 2,3, or 4 times per week and will benefit your aquarium by keeping your levels constant through frequent small additions of Ca, Alk, & Mg. Our tanks all progressed when we switched from 3 manual dosings per week to 70 automatic dosings per week and we got a lot more work done.

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