beginner
Beginner's Guide to Coral Care
New to reefkeeping? Start here. The essentials of lighting, flow, and water chemistry that keep your first corals thriving.
Coral Connect Team
June 3, 2026
1 min read
Bringing home your first live corals is exciting — and a little intimidating. The good news is that most beginner-friendly corals ask for the same three things: stable water, the right amount of light, and gentle, consistent flow.
Start with stability, not perfection
Corals tolerate a wide range of parameters, but they hate sudden swings. Aim to keep salinity (1.025 specific gravity), temperature (76–78°F), and alkalinity (8–9 dKH) steady rather than chasing ideal numbers. A simple, repeatable routine beats a complicated one you can't keep up.
Light it right
Soft corals and LPS thrive under moderate light. Place new frags lower in the tank for the first week, then move them up gradually as they adjust. Watch the polyps — full extension means they're happy.
Flow matters
Corals feed and breathe through water movement. You want enough flow to keep detritus from settling on the coral, but not so much that the tissue is being blasted. Indirect, turbulent flow is the goal.
Quarantine, acclimate slowly, and give every new arrival time to settle. Healthy reefs are built one patient week at a time.
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