What corals should I get?

I have 2 saltwater tanks..
the first tank is a 55 gal with live rock , live sand, pc lights, overflow, and sump. The fish I have in it are: bluefin damsel, tomato clown, neon velvet damsel, some hermit crabs and snails.

the second tank is a 46 gal bowfront with live rock, sand, overflow, sump and reg fluorescent lights(probably fresh lights), I have 2 brittle stars, lemon damsel, blue chromis, domino damsel and 3 stripe damsel, crabs, snails.

Here's the question..How many total fish can I have per tank? I would live to add a flame angel and maybe a tang or two. The next question is should I move one of the brittle stars to the bigger tank? And what kind of corals should I put in these tanks? I probably can't upgrade lights for a year or so.

Thanks for your suggestions in advance!

 

Don't put any corals in the tank with the freshwater fluorescent bulbs.
In the 55, you could add most LPS, any softcorals, and mushrooms. Do you have a skimmer? The number of fish you can keep is generally restricted by how good of a skimmer you have as well as the compatability of the fish.

 

You really shouldn't have any tangs in those size tanks, they need larger tanks to swim. A flame angel would be good. I don' think it matters too much where the brittle star is, if it is larger, then maybe the 55. If you are just starting with corals, I would go with some zoas, open brain or a soft coral such as a leather. They are very hardy and easy to maintain.

 

Right now I have diy skimmers on --they do an ok job but not great. what is a good skimmer that is not terribly expensive?

 

I have an octopus nw 120 on my 55 gallon and it works great. Aqua C makes a ramora hang on skimmer that gets very good reviews.

 

i have compact flouresence lights 55w 10000k bulbs with no current blue light specials... i have a single polyp not sure what it is but what other corals would b good...also looking for information on the corals that glow distinct colors at nite and what i would need for those

 

i dont know about "glowing" at night, but many greens will "glow" under actinic lights

 

PC lights work great you have a good selection of corals you can get with that lighting. Now as for for tangs you will be ok with 1 or even 2 maybe on the smaller size 55 gal is enough space for tangs it just obviously cuts down the number of total fish you can have. An may i suggest maybe a coralife super skimmer good skimmer for the price i have one and it hasnt let me down

 

General rule of thumb for fish is a 1" fish per gallon of water....so if you have a 20 gal tank you could do 4 / 5" fish, 20 / 1"fish ect....give or take....As for lighting, I have a 52gal I use 65 watt twin 50/50 bulbs (50 white 50 actinic) for a total of 130 watts...My mushroom corals are monsters....

 

The rule of thumb is closer to 1" per 3-5 gallons.