Project: Nano Goby/Reef Tank

[wstem]

New Project

I'm setting up a 10 gallon tank hoping to put a pistol shrimp and a shrimp goby, and maybe a few other nano fish.

Question 1:
The problem is that the hood's light is only 18W, I'd rather not change out the lights and do another DIY lights project so I was wondering what corals if any could I keep?

Question 2:
I'm thinking to sticking to non-photosynthetic corals, but what other corals besides sun polyps, chili coral, and gorgonia are non-photosynthetic?

Thanks for the help

 

[sir_dudeguy]

imo, you "might" get away with mushrooms...thats really not a lot of light...i'm assuming its pc light? thats just under 2 watts per gallon, and pc light isnt strong anyways, so i'd say shrooms would be the most.

 

[GixxerChip]

dendronepthya is a non photosynthetic but i had major problems keepintg it alive and have heard other have as well. Might want to start with some of the ones you have listed.

Chip

 

[madnav87]

2 watts per gallon is plenty for zoas. Plus, theyre almost bulletproof

 

[manse]

Zoas, green hairy mushrooms (they'll eat food too), bullseye mushroom.

If you want a coral that you need to baby and hand feed, go with a sun coral, which needs no light, but can be a real PITA to keep. read up on them before you buy one.

Actually, it's probably easier to mod the hood than take care of the Sun coral

 

[Jordan55]

Whats per gallon doesn't help in saltwater, just so you know.

 

[clowninaround74]

what do you mean by that comment Jordan

 

[Zero-2-Sixty]

its not about the watts per gallon, its the intensity of the lighting.

example: a 70 watt mh 8 inches over the water is just as much lighting power over a 12g as over a 40 gallon, the only thing that differs in the distance under the water the coral is.

same applies for pc and t-5 with some variables, but u get the idea

 

[madnav87]

right, but for zoas lighting is not much of a problem....it doesnt take much.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

then why is it that the zoa's i've got in my 2.5 gallon tank with 20 watts of pc light stretch for the light when they're at the bottom? I moved them up to the very top and they've stopped stretching a little, but surely you dont just want corals at the top of the tank.

 

[clowninaround74]

ok i understand

 

[wstem]

Livestock wise I was thinking:

1) Shrimpgoby (no idea which one)
2) Tiger Pistol Shrimp
3) Rainsford goby

and maybe couple of other small gobies like a greenbanded or a clown goby

any suggestions?

 

[madnav87]

I would keep it down to 2 small gobies for a ten gallon, especially if it is cycling

 

[nmprisons]

my concern with non-photosynthetic corals in such a small tank is the bioload it will add from feeding them daily (with many gorgonians it would probably mean multiple feedings a day)

 

[sir_dudeguy]

I would keep it down to 2 small gobies for a ten gallon, especially if it is cycling

true on the 2 small gobies, only there shouldnt be anything in there during a cycle anyways.

 

[bowfront26]

how about yasha hase and neon goby?

 

[Henry22]

Yasha haze are expensive, well, relatively. I just got a candy cane pistol and a orange spotted and they havnt paired. Im pretty mad, but I have heard that sometimes it takes months. Anyways, I say the pistol for a day or two and now I havnt seen him. I have also heard that a rainsford goby are hard to get eating.