starting corals

hurleykid69

Member
i just started a swf tank and everythings doin fine. all fish are bright and healthy and inverts are active. im now ready to start getting corals. however i have a 20 gallon tank with only a 15 watt light. i cant afford a metal haide lighting system because im on a 13 year old budget. im goin to try to upgrade in watts as much as i can.is there any corals such as polyps or mushrooms that will survive in my tank as is?????????
 

reefer545

Member
Gorgonians that are nonphotysynthetic, sun coral. there are a bunch out there. Look for nonphotosynthetic corals. You will need to give CONSTANT feedings to keep them alive, and in such a small tank, water quality will become a REAL issue. You may want to hold off until you get more powerful lights as many nonphotosynthetic corals have a relatively Poor rate of survival due to undesirable conditions. Another thing to consider is that when you do get new lights, algae blooms will also be a definite occurence. Therefore, you may be best to get new lights, let your tank get used to them, and then start to add corals. I know that is probably not what you wanted to hear, and in no way do I mean to burst any bubbles so to speak, you can keep any coral you like with enough research adn will to maintain a small tank. But if you do this the safe way, you will save a lot of time, money and frustration.
 

hurleykid69

Member
BUMP
come on any other opinions i want to hear it all im new to the hobby and i would like to hear anything people have to offer
 

michaeltx

Moderator
with your current lighting your not going to get a big response on what corals there just isnt enough light on the tank to keep them long term.
i would upgrade your lights then you dont have to worry about it for a 20 gallon tank you can go to power compact lighting and it will be alot cheaper.
Mike
 

ryno_mn

Member
Are you looking for other opinions, so you can pick the one that is closest to what you wanna hear. Then when things go wrong, you can get upset. I wouldn't try to keep any corals with lighting like that. Even though some will say you can keep some corals, you could, but most likely, by having to feed that much you will have problems keeping your water pristine. Causing the corals not to grow and possibly crashing your tank. I would wait and save for proper lighting then start buying corals. IMO.
 
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