new to coral can someone give me advice?

atleast we know your skimmer is doing ok. what Salt mix are you using? does it contain trace elements? somone correct me if im wrong but I dont believe you need to start dosing until you get LPS or SPS corals as the salt mix should contain enough to handle GSP and mushrooms.

 

I'm using instant ocean, and so far its been doing great. I thought all coral used calcium, man I need to do research, thats what I love about this site you learn something new everyday. My tank is 125 gallons and I only have a 250 watt MH. I will probably need another 250 watts for sps and lps right?

 

For SPS corals you will need another 250w MH and probably a good idea would be to suplement with 2 or 4 x 65w actinic T5 HO flourescents. As you will not run the MH all thru your photo period. JM2C

 

I've been reading that most mushrooms really don't want high intensity lighting, they prefer shade areas more often. Just getting into research for corals, I've got a bit till I get into them and even then I'll have to change my sign on name.....

But in the mean time I'm looking into getting soft corals, out of all I like these the most and want to learn about the most hardy types first. What has been the most favored long lasting mushroom or even soft corals you folks have had?