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50g tank should have 10x the flow at the bare minimum. If the powerheads are kept clean so they run at their peak performance, that'll work. You may discover that you need more flow as your reef grows in. The 1200gph you have now is a good start. Watch to make sure the surface of the water is rippling, and that you don't have areas of dead-low flow where crud accumulates.

Originally Posted by Sruiz

I would look into a little more flow, A good bang for your buck IMO are Koralias. I have also heard good things about the sureflowmod done to maxijets. I got a really good deal on koralis from alohaaquariums.com a while back. I think you would be fine with an addition of 2 - K3

I have 2 powerheads going HYDOR KORALIA 600/GPH..do you think I need more? I am going to get another smaller one to go behind my live rock reef.

I would look into a little more flow, A good bang for your buck IMO are Koralias. I have also heard good things about the sureflowmod done to maxijets. I got a really good deal on koralis from alohaaquariums.com a while back. I think you would be fine with an addition of 2 - K3

Xenia is one of my favorite sofy beginner corals. I like the Pompom Xenia (pronounced zin-nia). They open and close softly in succession all day long, and less frequently late at night. If the water quality is good, this coral is happy. If the water quality declines, Xenia will look different - it makes a great tank barometer, in my experience. Red Sea Xenia isn't as pretty. It tends to spread easily to the next thing nearby, be it rock or glass. If you'd like to keep it contained, try to isolate it.

Green Star Polyps is very hardy, bright green, but can spread over everything. I'd try to keep it on an island in the sand where you control it.

Mushrooms are pretty, and there are all kinds of colors and shapes and textures. They too can spread, even by spinning off their trunk to land elsewhere.

All of the corals I mentioned above are good beginner corals, and the type any experienced reef keeper will swear they will never put in their reef tank again. They simply grow too quickly, cover too much real estate and take out nicer corals that they tried to add elsewhere. So if this softy tank is your goal for 2010, go for it. If you later want to go in a different direction, you will probably need to purchase new live rock, and trade in your coral-covered rock for store credit. Local fish stores (LFS) like corals on rock because it is easy to sell, so that's a plus.

Another pretty coral that has some vertical height is the Colt Coral. It moves, it has small fuzzy polyps, and stands like a cactus in your reef.

Originally Posted by melev

Tell us more. What lights are you going to use? What kind of corals and fish do you have your eye on?

I have 2-96watts lights 10k.

I mostly think of soft corals for my tank...easy to care for, and hardy, since I am new to the hobby. I need to get some time to really learn the things. Any suggestions for a beginner tank?

Originally Posted by Jessy

What kind of flow do you have? Powerheads? Closed loop?

I have 2 powerheads going HYDOR KORALIA 600/GPH. Stil trying to figure out how best to get the flow right in the tank...right now a have 2 spots without much flow.

I have 2 powerheads going HYDOR KORALIA 600/GPH.

I want pics!!!!

What kind of flow do you have? Powerheads? Closed loop?

Tell us more. What lights are you going to use? What kind of corals and fish do you have your eye on?