Looking for expert opinions

[danny zubot]

I would recommend reading and not taking all advice given from us amatures.

I know for a fact that:

If you go over 3.5 inches it will be a de-nitrifying sand bed and that can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you talk to.

This isn't true, 87% of all denitrfication takes place in the first 3/4 inch in live sand. So if you like sand, an inch might do the trick for you.

Go with 1.5lbs per gallon eventuall, so about 45lbs.

I'd like to know where people come up with these numbers? Since all live rock is different in its mass and relative density you might find that 15 lbs works as well as 30 lbs in your tank. I do agree that this item is expensive, and most people tend to collect LR over time to build their reefs.

[TheReefGeek]

-Light (not sure of the brand name, but it meets the requirement for corals)

Need more details on your light. This is crucial to success. Different corals have different requirements.

Need to know what type of bulb(s) it is, the watts, and the color termperature

[Sarina]

Here's what my light says:

JEBO R24 (610mm) 55Wx2 AC120 V 60 HZ

Hopefully you can understand what that means. Is that a good light? I paid $100.00 for it.

What corals would you recommend for beginners?

[TheReefGeek]

Jebo is a cheap brand name light, not worth $100 IMO, but hey its what you have so its a start. FYI, it is 110watts total, so over a 28g that will keep soft corals.

Good starter corals would be:

Mushrooms
Zooanthids
Colt
Xenia
Star polyps
Kenya tree
Toadstools
Leathers

[Willow]

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

Jebo is a cheap brand name light, not worth $100 IMO, but hey its what you have so its a start. FYI, it is 110watts total, so over a 28g that will keep soft corals.

Good starter corals would be:

Mushrooms
Zooanthids
Colt
Xenia
Star polyps
Kenya tree
Toadstools
Leathers

yeah actually it's really only 55 watts as half the light is actinic. your 10k part of the light is the only usable part of the light the corals are going to be using for growth. you should be ok with soft corals but that isn't much light.

[TheReefGeek]

Actinics will still help corals grow, maybe not as much as 10K lighting though.

I would stick with soft corals until you upgrade your lights. (if you want to keep LPS, SPS, clams, anemones, etc)

[albert_dao]

There's a few LPS that you'd get away with too. Candy canes and Echinophyllia's come to mind.

[Sarina]

What is the difference between LPS and SPS and soft corals? They all look the same to a beginner like me.