How low can you go?

[CAPSLOK]

I've seen mushrooms recommended as basically water quality canaries, and they are supposed to be one of the easier corals to start with.

My question is, how low a light is a "low light" coral able to thrive on? I have a 20g long with the stock hood (ie, one T8 10,000k bulb). The tank is only 12" deep, and there is enough LR for it to be located pretty high up if necessary. But I know that the stock light setup barely qualifies as a light at all :rolleye1:

I don't want to just kill one and I'm not planning to upgrade the lights. I was planning a FOWLR, but if these would be compatible with that low of a light, it might be worth trying out a small specimen/rock.

If it a good system to try my hand with a mushroom, is there a certain type that is "more forgiving" than others? Or a type to avoid?

Thanks!

 

[b0bab0ey]

I don't think one T8 is going to get the job done, although I could be wrong. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's probably only an 18W bulb. IMO, you'd have a better chance with at least one 65W PC, two would be better.

 

[sqwat]

they will just be brown if you keep them with high nutrients.all you will have are a bunch of tiny brown shrooms with little to growth

 

[nepenthes99]

T8 bulbs are too weak for pretty much all corals. If you would like to have a good looking and colorful softie tank I would at least get a T5 bulb that would fit in the fixture. They are not expensive usually and can be found at most home improvement stores. If you are willing to provide very good water quality and frequent feedings for the corals without getting a new light I would recommend NPS corals and gorgonians, although these are very challenging to keep.

 

[nepenthes99]

Oh just reread your post you are looking to keep beginner corals, sorry

 

[CAPSLOK]

Ok thanks for the info. That's what I figured but I thought I might as well at least ask.