My Propagation Plan... INPUT APPRECIATED

[JeffDubya]

So, I recently started up a 58 gallon prop system. No, there are things about it that are not optimal, but much of the parts were free, and I thought it would give me some good experience doing something along these lines before I had to commit to something larger and more expensive.

Small steps...

Here’s my ultimate goal on what I would llike to accomplish with this system.

Softies (mushrooms and zoanthids) seem to be the easiest corals to cultivate. They are also easier to keep for the average marine aquarium enthusiast due to water and lighting parameter issues, making them more commerically accessible to more people. No, I am not getting into this for money, but if I could at least cover my costs or fund a new tank project, it would be great.

So, I would like to grow 3-4 standard mushroom types and dabble in the ricordea Florida mushrooms as well. Then, I would like to put together some really nice live rocks with multiple species of mushrooms.

My thought is to get 6-12 individual mushrooms growing on reef plugs as my “brood stock.” I can take cuttings from these on a regular basis, leaving the foot and something that will grow back every time. From these cuttings, using the bridal veil method, I can slice and dice, and place these on live rocks. For the ricordea, I can either learn to raise them or find a good supplier, and just buy a batch every so often.

I will also be making some smaller rocks with encrusting flourescent green star polyps, which are really easy to propagate.

I am going to try some zoas too, but that’s not high priority right now for me.

I would love to get comments from anyone experienced with this type of propagation. I have an ideal of what I would like to do, but as I don’t really have any practical experience, I don’t really know how feasable any of this might be. INPUT APPRECIATED!