star polyps

[m3rma1d]

are star polyps a pretty good beginner coral?
do they require like MEGA-put-yer-sunglasses-on lighting? i only have a marine-glo actinic (24 inches) so i should be able to get *some* corals with that, right? what are some good beginner corals with low-light requirements?

[Big Dave]

Hi ann-marie-

I think star polyps would be fine. They grow just about everywhere in my tank. The one thing that may be a con is that they may lose some of the bright green color. Not too much though. Shrooms should be fine too. HTH

-Big Dave

[Rick O]

Hi SP. Briareum (green star polyps) is a good beginner coral and doesn't require much light. It is rated 3-10 on the light requirement scale in Julian Sprung's "Corals A Quick Reference Guide". But I'm not sure that your lighting is enough for that even.

[chewie]

if it were me I wouldn't buy any corals/anenomes until you get some daylight in there. I used to use marine glo's on my fish only tank along with power glo's in a 50/50 ratio. I kept 2 condys under that light set-up and they got about as big as 12" inches across. you have a 20g right? You could go get another strip lite from P**co for maybe 15-20 bucks and a power-glo for another 15 bucks and yer set for some lower light corals(star polyps would do OK) Or replace the marine glo with a power glo and see what happens. I think you and your tank would be happier with an actinic and a daylight.

[OodleyBoodely]

You might also try Triton bulbs. While I was still using NO flourescents, I tried one and was really suprised at how much brighter they were compared to the other bulbs I had. My mushrooms and toadstool leather did great under them.