Starting off simple

Ok well I've already asked what a few beginner corals were and I got pretty good answers so I want to give a little scenario. Let's say I got a medium kenya tree from my LFS; I drip acclimate it and put it in my tank. I use instant ocean reef crystals which says that if I put my salinity to 1.025 my coral will maintain ph (8.2 in my tank already), magnesium, and calcium. My nitrates are, lets say, 20 and I have to do a water change today so that wouldn't really be a problem (I use RO/DI water). ammonia and nitrite are at 0 which is obviously good. So here's my question: with the parameters given above and what reef crystals supposedly does, could the kenya tree actually live in my tank without any real dosing of calcium and magnesium? Also the tank is a 29 gallon.

 

Yes, it's a soft coral and does not require Ca to grow its skeleton, regular water changes will give it all the trace elements it needs.

 

o ok i see; thanks, that helps a lot

 

you need to monitor calcium levels for LPS and SPS (keyword "stony") because the calcium helps their skeletons to grow and stay healthy. with softies like kenya trees, shrooms, etc... water changes with new salt will suffice

 

ok got it; thanks again