Coral Question

[Zoe]

This may be a stupid question, but what kind of lighting is required to grow some of the easier, more basic corals? Is Power Compact sufficient, or does one need MH or actinic?

Zoe

[porcupinepuffer]

you want the blue spectrum the actinic gives you, and some PC's between 10k-20k for low light demanding corals. You dont' need MH's.

[yellowtang]

Hey there.......
If you're going for just softies I would suggest PC or T5s. ..10000k daylight/actinics
both types of lighting work good,however PCs are a bit pricy $65 to 99.00 per bulb.
compard to T5s....and last a bit less....average 8 months at 10 hours a day.
T5s last  about a year according to info I gathered. $10.00 t0 $30.00 per bulb
if going for SPS or LPS....MH is the way to go,However there is few issues
with that,besides the hydro bill and not to mention the heat they promote.
All depends what you want and how deep your pockets are.
Cheers

[laffy]

i would go with t5 personally. power compacts are on their way out. t5's have the ability to penetrate water deeper than the power compacts, which will allow you to keep a more diverse collection of coral and better overall look of the tank. lots of people are growing awsome sps tanks under these and the nice thing is that they don't use a much hydro an the bulbs don't have to be changed as much(cheaper bulbs also). now depending on the size of tank and depth you have will determine the amount of bulbs you'll need.

[Zoe]

I should mention that it's an 8 gallon tank, and it's got a specific fixture / shape, so unless the bulb can fit in a regular light socket (like a twisty fluorescent), then  corals are out for me   

[sniggir]

you said 8 gal.. if I remeber corectly al's does have a 50/50 CF screw in bulb so that should be fine if you can put 2 in there well you would have tons of light to be able to keep even LPS

[Zoe]

Really? I didn't know they made them 50/50.  I only have one bulb socket, but I'll check and see what BA has.

Thanks!

[Alchemist]

I have a tiny tank that I put a reptile tank light in...it was a twisty screw in compact fluorescent rated at 6500K.  The bulbs are fairly cheapish and seems to be doing a reasonable job.

[Tynan Rasmus]

I have a tiny tank that I put a reptile tank light in...it was a twisty screw in compact fluorescent rated at 6500K.  The bulbs are fairly cheapish and seems to be doing a reasonable job.

Get the philips brand bulbs twisty CF, they are rated at 10,000k. I have one on my sump. $12 for 2 at Home Depot.

[porcupinepuffer]

8 gallon tank? Then this light should be just perfect for what you want.

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/ctl3664/cp17952/si1320385/cl0/coralifesaltwater9miniaqualight2x9w

[Zoe]

Yeah I really wanted to get a little PC 50/50 light, but the way my tank is made, it just won't work. It's got weird little brackets on the side, like vertical plastic, and ONLY the lid that came with it will ever fit. Weird little thing.

[Tyler.L]

build something for the light to hang over or make legs for the light to sit on...do anything to get rid of the hood..once you start adding some corals you'll want more and more lighting so just mod it to make it work!

thats all the imput i have but get the cf 50/50 light for sure

[Zoe]

Can you put a 20" bulb into a 24" fixture?  They're both coralife, straight pin.  I don't know how I'd get it over the tank, though.
Isn't having an open top dangerous?

[laffy]

nope, as a matter affect it helps exchange gas'.

[Zoe]

I have cats, though, so I don't think it's a great idea. They love to drink fish water, and they probably wouldn't drink salt water, but I wouldn't want them sticking their feeties in there or anything.

[Tyler.L]

i have 5 cats....and i can tell you they don't care about the tank at all...and they are the most mischievous cats on earth but leave it alone..and i would probably hurt them if they started messing with the tank...well thats a lie i love them too much but i am setting up my 20 now and just built new stand for it and its pretty hgh and they have no way of getting to the tank anyways

[Zoe]

lol Tyler I wish my cats were that placid. They get into/on top of everything. My biggest cat jumps onto my tanks, knocks the lid off the HOB filters to drink the water. They also jump into my exo terra cages to look at my geckos, and try to catch fish in my big tank when the canopy is open.  What a pain!

[ryancarman.com]

this almost calls for a cats vs fish thread


on lighting i had a coralife dual 50/50 fixture on my 5 gallon nano for a long time and it was great! 2 times 18 watt bulbs, the only issue i had where that the bulbs where hella expensive

[Tyler.L]

my cats bring in live mice and birds and let them go and not bother with them really once they're in the house...when i first setup my tank they weren't to into it and still aren't they just like the sound of the water but don't pay any attention to the fish.. i am sorry you have to go through all that but just build a light and bring it over the tank like 5 inches over so they can't get into it.. i don't know what else to tell you about the cats but i guess thats pretty raw..sorry i can't be of anymore help