Low light nano tank

[coldhybrid]

My daughter has been eyeing my tank for sometime and wanted one of her own so i have a old 20 gal tank undrilled that i was thinking about setting up for her but im not gonna buy a high end light for it because i think it will be just a going phase basically what i want to do is set it up and maybe put some low light coral in there like mushrooms and a few polyps the light that will be over it will be 2 of the normal output lights kinda going old school would that be enough light to keep mushrooms and polyps alive and thriving bc i wouldnt have to shell out anything for it i have all the extra stuff anyway powerheads filters etc its gonna be coral only maybe a small fish clown or goby etc what do you all think?

 

[ritter6788]

I think it will work. If you see the shrooms reaching for light then it's not enough. Maybe add some nice macro algae like Dragon's Breath also.

 

[coldhybrid]

ive got what you would call common red mushrooms in my display now those are the ones i was gonna use

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

I would try to put them up close to the light and you should be fine. How old is your daughter? It might be neat for her to see a symbiotic relationship like a goby and shrimp combo.

 

[Blasto]

I currently have a 20g myself. I was using 2 of the strip lights that would come with the tank. I used 1- daylight and 1- actinic and it seemed to provide enough light for what you would want to keep in there. I've recently upgraded to t5 lighting. I have a Walmart heater, Aquaeon filter, and a small Walmart circulation pump. Everything is doing well and looks nice with just the actinic on. Good luck with the tank!

 

[coldhybrid]

sounds just like what i was going for lol what you got up and running that is

 

[Dixie_reefer]

Maybe put some nps corals in there?

 

[NanaReefer]

Dendros or Sun Corals!!!

 

[amppdx]

I have tons of discosoma polyps in my tank to the extent that the only open real estate is in heavily shaded areas. The polyps still spread there and do just fine (of course slower growth and darker coloration). I have even seen a 90g in a pub that had huge red mushrooms doing great and their only light was indirect sunlight from a near by window.