The easiest corals to start with, how much light they need, and why yours might not be opening.
6 questions, answered honestly and water-first.
Start with soft corals — zoanthids, mushrooms, green star polyp — and easy LPS like duncan and candy cane. They forgive modest light and flow and don't demand heavy dosing. Leave SPS (acropora, montipora) until the tank is mature and your parameters are rock-steady.
By type: acans and blastomussa want it low (~25–100 PAR), most softies and LPS moderate (~50–150), and SPS high (~200–400). PAR varies with your fixture and the coral's height, so borrow a PAR meter if you can — and always acclimate to brighter light slowly.
Usually light, flow, or water chemistry — the three to check first. Browning often means too little light or too-high nutrients; a coral that won't open may be getting too much flow or light, or sitting in unstable parameters. Rule out pests and a recent move, and change one thing at a time.
It's the reef difficulty ladder. Soft corals (zoas, leathers) are the forgiving beginners; LPS (hammer, torch, acan) are fleshy, feedable, and need stable alkalinity and calcium; SPS (acropora, montipora) demand high light, strong flow and pristine, rock-stable chemistry. Climb it in that order.
Temperature- and drip-acclimate it, inspect (and ideally dip) it for pests, then place it low and shaded at first. Raise it toward its target light over two to four weeks — more corals are lost to too much light too fast than to too little.
Euphyllia — hammer, torch and frogspawn — have long sweeper tentacles and want about 6 inches of clearance from other corals; torch stings even other Euphyllia. Acans, plate corals and leathers (chemically) also need room. Plan your spacing before you glue anything down.
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Short answers from the Coralkin team — kind, general guidance, not a diagnosis. When something looks wrong, test your water first, and for a serious case ask an experienced reefer or an aquatic vet.
