first saltwater aquarium, weird 15g setup, many questions

[skipper03]

i think i just decided on the corals i want! nepthea and some kind of photosynthetic gorgonian (purple lace?).
according to a review, one of the lights i can afford (a hygger one : P) seems to put out about 100 PAR, "in most areas of [their 20 gallon] tank" and from my research these corals will do fine under that level of light. colt coral and sinularia might be able to as well, but the information i found on them was confusing and they aren't very appealing to me anyway.

speaking of being able to afford things... woah
i spent the evening searching for the most affordable supplies available online, including: test kits, salt, dry rock, sand, powerhead (lil guy, 211 gph), rock cement, coral elements, ammonia for cycling, live rock, and that light. it comes out to $405. that is. more than i can buy next month lol. if i skip out on the coral-specific stuff for now (trace elements, some of the test kits, the light) it comes down to $295, which i might actually be able to afford. makes sense anyway bc i won't be adding any corals until the tank is fully cycled.

 

[griss]

You don’t need the rock cement, just stack the rock. If you use live rock, you don’t need ammonia for cycling.

You won’t need the trace elements until after the cycle and you’ve added corals.

Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Go slow, take your time and be patient.

This hobby is also relatively expensive.

On the light, which specific Hygger light are you looking at? You might be able to get away with less since you’re only wanting lower light corals.