Growing Coral..

idk where I should post this so I think here will be fine..

Ive been thinking about growing Coral..
And was wondering if anyone else has tried this or is currently doing so.

If so. what would a beginner need to get started in this journey?
I know I dont have any supplies for it right now.
I would like to know everything that is needed. but I dont wanna do anything super advanced.

It seems very exciting to see it grow.

And im always up too learn something new

coral? like the stuff in the ocean? or some coral i know nothing about?

you need a salt water setup. A tank either ported or one with an overflow. under the tank where the water flows down is where the magic happens. Look into wet-dry filters and such. usually the water flows through a series of filters and what is known as bio balls. these bio balls stay wet with constant dripping water-yet dry bc they arent fully submerged. here is where beneficial microbes and bacteria form. Get you salinity levels right and buy some live rock/starter corals from a marine pet store. metal halide and high output t5 are ideal for coral growths. get some small starter fish such as damsels-anything cheap that wont eat the rock. live rock and corals purchased are the building blocks of your tank. if kept right the organisms inside should multiply and begin planting themselves around your tank-most common seen are the copepods-a good sign of a healthy tank. buy small fragments from your local marine pet store, they should come on little bases that you can place around the tank and on the rocks. You want good water flow so jet like things called powerheads are kinda necessary, a protein skimmer is also quite necessary for a good tank. with some time and just like weed RESEARCH you can have a flourishing ecosystem. i wouldnt start messing with additives till your a bit more familiar with your setup but they do sell some nutrients that are a broad feeder for corals that are nice for beginners. aquatraders.com great site for all your aquarium needs

honestly there is nothing cooler to look at blazed then a nice saltwater setup. cute little colorful fishes schooling together among beautiful corals. clown fish wrestling in their anemones. very peaceful and trippy. the colors will amaze you

[video=youtube;hg2RrihSUQY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg2RrihSUQY&feature=related[/video]

coral is probably one of the hardest things to grow... a degree F fluctuation in the water can start killing the corals.. so a tank would be tough unless you know what your doing...


however there are things called CORAL farms.... in the ocean, where corals are started from clones as little babies and grown into BIG pieces and then transplanted to a place where coral has died so it can FLOURISH!

If you wanted to get involved with that, it would be easy. There are many projects going on around the world/united states. Coral is a big deal in the ocean, it takes forever to grow and is easy to destroy... if we keep going how were going there will be no coral left in the ocean by like 2060.



http://oceantoday.noaa.gov/coralrestoration/

watch the video

Thanks guys! Ill keep looking around for prices! maybe ill start out with just salt water tank and slowly work my way to coral!

lakew00d said:

Thanks guys! Ill keep looking around for prices! maybe ill start out with just salt water tank and slowly work my way to coral!

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It's honestly not as hard as verd makes it out to be. If you can setup a salt water tank you can grow coral. It's called automatic thermometers. And once the ecosystem gets going the tank self sustains it's self. My boy left his tank for 3 months this summer, timered his lights and came back to a crystal clear tank. Grasses and beneficial bacterias is all your really need.

dam612 said:

It's honestly not as hard as verd makes it out to be. If you can setup a salt water tank you can grow coral. It's called automatic thermometers. And once the ecosystem gets going the tank self sustains it's self. My boy left his tank for 3 months this summer, timered his lights and came back to a crystal clear tank. Grasses and beneficial bacterias is all your really need.

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sweet! Do you think I can buy most of the stuff i need at like a petco or petsmart store?

this is actually a really cool idea. never really put much thought into it... but i just might try it for myself haha

bigslama912 said:

this is actually a really cool idea. never really put much thought into it... but i just might try it for myself haha

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haha I know! it sounds awesome. Fish are trippy too.

lakew00d said:

sweet! Do you think I can buy most of the stuff i need at like a petco or petsmart store?

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I didn't mean it was hard. Just very very easy to mess up... because some corals are so sensitive the oils from human skin can actually kill them. This is why I suggested participating in an ocean coral farm... you can learn to restore nature under knowledgeable instruction, and participate in growing LOTS of awesome coral. It's like planting trees underwater .

doesn't it take a long time to grow coral?

Sr. Verde said:

I didn't mean it was hard. Just very very easy to mess up... because some corals are so sensitive the oils from human skin can actually kill them. This is why I suggested participating in an ocean coral farm... you can learn to restore nature under knowledgeable instruction, and participate in growing LOTS of awesome coral. It's like planting trees underwater .

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It would be awesome to work with a organization that does that. but how do you even get into one of them?

CR500ROOST said:

doesn't it take a long time to grow coral?

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from what ive been reading, and depends on the type.

6 months+

lakew00d said:

sweet! Do you think I can buy most of the stuff i need at like a petco or petsmart store?

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If you go to a large chain pet store, please don't listen to what they tell you on the care of any of their animals. I don't even trust the care sheets they hand out. I would find a forum dedicated to what you will be caring for if you want real information. So many times I have asked questions at places like those and got erroneous information that could have adversely affected my pets. They are in it for the money, and their employees are not professionals.

Sorry for the rant. They get on my nerves.

I would love to have a reef tank. They definitely look amazing. We have a freshwater tank at the moment, but we're hoping to have a saltwater setup some day. We might start out with our spare 5 or 10 gallon and see how we do.

Daath said:

If you go to a large chain pet store, please don't listen to what they tell you on the care of any of their animals. I don't even trust the care sheets they hand out. I would find a forum dedicated to what you will be caring for if you want real information. So many times I have asked questions at places like those and got erroneous information that could have adversely affected my pets. They are in it for the money, and their employees are not professionals.

Sorry for the rant. They get on my nerves.

I would love to have a reef tank. They definitely look amazing. We have a freshwater tank at the moment, but we're hoping to have a saltwater setup some day. We might start out with our spare 5 or 10 gallon and see how we do.

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Lol I used to work retail, in an electronics department, and I know alot about electronics but every now and then youd get a question you just didnt know. So I would just pull some bullshit out of my ass. lol
I learned to get the info myself most of the time.

But yea they look amazing, thats why i want one. something so amazing to look at, And i havent heard of anyone really doing it. so im down to try something not many people try.

lakew00d said:

It would be awesome to work with a organization that does that. but how do you even get into one of them?

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it's all volunteer work, you contact the orginizations that run them... it's a big deal in the diving world... as far as helping the ocean and preserving beautiful coral..


if you dont know how to scuba dive you could learn pretty quick probably from the same people participating in the programs.. all the diving is reallly shallow and very safe, the farms are in sheltered, shallow waters..

of course these programs are by the water, like florida or california.. but you may be surprised where else they exist

i really have no clue where your from though....

some corals grow extremly fast and can take over a tank. setting up a salt water tank will be pretty pricey if you dont know what your getting into. make ure to have about 2k rdy for a complete startup. dont go smaller than a 48in tank or 75 gallons. some fish like to swim the length of the tank and need at least 4 ft to do so so make sure your selection is awesome.

treat it like its growing ganja, put a ton of reading into it, start small(er), make sure you look up live rock and the balance of amonnia, nitrates, oxegen, and the other chemicals you need. ammonia nitrates in a tank will kill the coral i believe so its a delicate system.

start by getting your tank and mixing your saltwater and get something called live rock and add more pourous rock until its all colonized...microbiology plays a huge part in a saltwater tank. you will know its colonized by the purple film that is on it, once you are all colonized and have your system going, you can go to aquatic pet store with exotic fish whereever and they will usually check your water for the approiate levels.

if your really interested go into a saltwater fish store and ask them about setting up a tank, live rock, light requirement and other general questions. they can talk your ear off for hours make sure your rdy to listen

Daath said:

If you go to a large chain pet store, please don't listen to what they tell you on the care of any of their animals. I don't even trust the care sheets they hand out. I would find a forum dedicated to what you will be caring for if you want real information. So many times I have asked questions at places like those and got erroneous information that could have adversely affected my pets. They are in it for the money, and their employees are not professionals.

Sorry for the rant. They get on my nerves.

I would love to have a reef tank. They definitely look amazing. We have a freshwater tank at the moment, but we're hoping to have a saltwater setup some day. We might start out with our spare 5 or 10 gallon and see how we do.

Click to expand...

dont start with anything smaller than a 50, your fish will get stressed and the best thing about setting up a reef tank is having space to put coral and watch them grow and try to make the most unique underwater scene, amazing when set up correctly.