I want to add corals. Now.

[PringlesLFE]

If you don't want to read this little brief, cut down to the bottom of the post...where i'll summarize *This might be a lil confusing*

-I've had FOWLR in three different sized tanks for about a year...and shit just keeps coming up financially so that I can't upgrade my lights..(it's really been a rough rough year).
I finally have a wee bit of cash and can't wait any longer.

I plan on going the distilled store-bought water route temporarily (only a 10G anyway).
Problem-- I just did a 50% WC yesterday and the entire tank is tap water :grumble:

I used a giftcard n grabbed two of those cheap 10Watt 50/50 PC bulbs from Petco.

I want to run to this LFS that's doing really poorly (it's not a bad store...the area just doesn't care much for fish). He's got a nice frag tank $5-$25 kinda deal.
I'm planning on grabbing a xenia and i'm assuming/hoping he'll have some mushrooms as well. Just so sick of staring at rocks slowly grow algae in my tank:pooh:


WHAT I'M ASKING:
--I'm going to get a reefmaster testkit today instead of using my leftover kit from my FW days. I'll check parameters + levels of everything in both my tap as well as distilled bottles (just in case).

--What could I keep for now in a 10G under only 20watts of PC lighting?

--I'm super impatient after waiting almost a year for corals..so is there some way I could do a 50% WC and have my tank 50/50 tap/distilled water for a couple of days and still have Xenia and mushrooms survive?

--How many WC's do I need to do before I can have my tank 100% distilled water?

Thanks

 

[PringlesLFE]

oh in case anyone was wondering...I did a 50% WC because I just moved back home from my apt at school and the water was all outta whack I noticed...didn't travel too well...lost my cleaner shrimp . =[

 

[Solarfall]

With that kind of wattage you'll probably only be able to keep shrooms and maybe some zoas or palys.

Do you have any fish in there? If not you'd be better off just doing a 100% WC.
Otherwise the amount of time it'll take to get the tap water out will vary by how big of water changes you do and how often.

 

[PringlesLFE]

Gave away my sixline. I have two Ocellaris', a lawnmower blenny, and a handful of snails. If i put them all in a bucket and did a 100% WC to distilled...would they go through stress or shock? If so, could I just acclimate them to distilled?

 

[Jmck]

It still probably wont kill you to have that tap water in the end if your diluting it often.

but Duncan is right, try and do a 100% change, or as big as possible

 

[Jmck]

You shouldnt have an issue with them being shocked IMO. As long as salinity doesnt change and temperature is even you will be fine.

They wont get shocked by cleaner water conditions

 

[PringlesLFE]

Thanks guys. Insomnia's gotten the best of me tonight...and i've just been laying in my bed staring at my tank for the past 4 hours. It's 8am! Stores open in 2 more hours!

This is not how I should be spending my day off from work.

 

[Bifferwine]

With 2 watts per gallon, I'm not so sure you could even support low light corals like mushrooms and zoas. That's nowhere near enough light for corals. You are better off just saving your money until you can get a real light. You should get this light. You will be unlimited in what you can keep, and it's cheap.

70W Metal Halide Pendant Lights

And I wouldn't stress over the tap water. If it was treated with a water conditioner, and you've done water changes since, just continue to change it out with good water on a regular basis. There's no need to do something drastic like 100% water change.

 

[Ulta]

Odyssea Power Compact Lighting

A 20" PC light would prolly be the cheapest light you can get for that with the minimum lighting reqs. Assuming your 10g is the standard 20" long. But Biffs recommendation with the 70w Halide would be optimal.