Water change question....

[fliberdygibits]

I have a small (3 gallon) nano at work set up in en Eclipse 3 in which I have replaced the stock light with a 13 watt refit kit. Right now I have about 3 pounds of live sand and 5 pounds of rock (it's a mix of base and Fiji LR). I have 3 smallish turbos and a blue leg hermit, not to mention about 5 teeny tiny (a tenth of an inch) feather dusters and a few small bristle worms (3 at 1/2 to 1 inch). The tank has been completely cycled for several weeks now, I am past the algae blooms though they were tiny in a tank this small. My question is. I am planning on adding a few low light corals of some kind.... some button polyps maybe, but I wan't opinions. In a tank this small what would be a good choice for something interesting since there will be no fish to provide a centerpiece? Also, with a tank this small doing even a half gallon change will probably expose the top part of the rock work to the air while I siphon and re-fill. Will this be a problem for many of the corals that might end up in here?

 

Thanks all for any input:)

[gobies]

Some star polyps would give you some wavy motion without worries of it taking over the tank too quickly like xenia might. Maybe some very colorful mushrooms and ricordea for extra colors, and a flower leather and tree or colt coral to add some variety to the shapes in the tank.

 

With the water changes, the short air exposure shouldn't be a problem. Presumably, you'll have water ready to go immediately after you drain the half-gallon? Mushrooms can stand being out of water for several minutes, and a flower leather coral can stand at least a few minutes. (I mounted mine w/ crazy glue, which requires a dry base on the coral and the live rock, and about a minute for the glue to set before you put it back in the water.)