Low light beginner corals/mushroom??

[PringlesLFE]

Hey guys,
As many of you may remember, I have a 20G long nano. The issue is I don't quite have the money right now (hooray for being a jobless college kid). This is why I'm still using my 18'' 17Watt Flourescent.
I've been looking at replacing just the bulb temporarily but haven't found any bulbs that're really much better. I was wondering what/if any corals/mushrooms would be able to grow on the top level of my tank?

I'll repost the link to my video just in case. Thanks guys.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThmeDTv-Dos]YouTube - 20 Gallon Long FOWLR #2[/ame]

 

[mng777777]

The trouble with flourescent bulbs like that is that they don't produce the part of the spectrum that benefits corals. I'd expect you to deal with lots of algae issues and have very limited success with coral. That said, you could try mushrooms because they are cheap and they are pretty hardy and they generally don't like tons of light. You could also try some sun corals but be advised that they need to be target fed everyday. They are not photosynthetic and they actually need to be shaded from the light. You could also try gorgonians as they don't require light but they tend to be an expert only type coral because they require very stable conditions and have to be fed phyto. That would be a coral you should try after you have success with many others first.

 

[Rcpilot]

You can get a pretty cheap compact fluorescent light fixture from Catalina Aquarium.

I don't think you'll have much success with a T8 fluorescent - regardless of the watts. They just don't have the intensity.

Ask yourself this:
Is this light as bright as the sun?
Do I need sunglasses to look directly at my light fixture?

If you answered NO - then you haven't got enough light.

 

[dcantucson]

Interesting test method Rc.

Also if you're planning to add some corals then you might reconsider the Chocolate Starfish.

 

[Solarfall]

nice aquascaping by the way.

 

[Bifferwine]

Like others have said, it's not the bulb that's restricting you. It's the type of light itself. Changing out the bulb won't improve the lighting situation.

 

[Rcpilot]

Interesting test method Rc.

It's called redneck intuition. :mrgreen:

 

[PringlesLFE]

It's called redneck intuition. :mrgreen:

lol

thanks for the information. I intended on moving my chocolate starfish to my sump...that I never completely finished building. (damn exams)

I'll be saving up more for a light first in this case. Just wondering, what's a good wattage to have for my 20L only planning on having zoas, mushrooms, and maybe a few randoms in the long run.

 

[Rcpilot]

If you want to get by cheap and only plan to have the low light corals that you mentioned, I'd probably get a dual 65w PC fixture like this.

Catalina Aquarium SOLAR HOOD POWER COMPACT-2 X 65W

 

[yote]

Aint nothing wrong with a little redneck intuition.:D
BTW
+1 all the above.