192 watts enough light for corals?

[g13]

Hello, I have a 36 inch customsealife pc with a 96 watt daylight 10000k a 96 watt actinic bulb and 3 moonlites on my system. My question is what kind of corals can i possibly keep in my system? My system is a year old, 45 gallon tank, with 40lbs live sand and 30lbs live rock. 2 black percs, 6 line, black sailfin blenny, blood red shrimp, 10 nassarius snails, fighting conch and about 5 blue legs.

 

[joemack]

you should have no problem. I dono about having a clam....

 

[jim672]

G13,
The only coral I'd recommend would be low-light corals like mushrooms. For most corals,96 watts over a 45 gallon tank isn't much. I have a 45 gallon also and have 370 watts of MH and VHO and I won't even try SPS corals. I've also had only short-term sucess with clams.
Jim

 

[marvida]

There are some low light 'shrooms & maybe a couple of other softies you can keep. IMO clams shouldn't be kept w/o MH. I know there are a lot kept with less, I just wouldn't suggest it.
Good Luck!
Ken

 

[slofish]

Ditto on shrooms and softies. With only 2x96, you wont be able to get too far w/ 4 watts/gal. Maybe an upgrade on lighting?

 

[popoty]

G13,
i have green strarpolyps, frogspawn, yellow polyps, torch,and a bubble coral in a 55g with only 2x65watts PC. i know this by no way meets the recommended 5 watts/gal rule, but they are doing great!
the frogspawn has great green and pink tip coloration, also it is starting to grow a bit to large(i will have to frag it soon) and the starpolyps had to be scaped off the surrounding rock b/c it was spreading.
IME i would give a it shot, start slow with a coral see how it keeps in a month or two and if successful try another!
I stay away from SPS and clams.
Good luck!

 

[simpdaddy]

I have a 55W 10K and a 55W True 03 Actanic with an incandecent light as well that I need to change out to 03.
I have fox, torch, candy, finger and toadstool in my tank right now. I got 3 of them over the weekend from my fiance as an engagement gift. Right now all of them are doing well. Opening up very good.
And an anemone that likes to hide.

 

[nm reef]

I'd also suggest staying with low to moderate light corals...leathers/mushrooms...possibly a few carefully selected LPS types. Your lighting combined with your system is low to moderate and you should select your corals accordingly. Just take the time to research your additions carefully and you should be able to develope a very nice reef.

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[g13]

Thanks guys, for the quick response. I will be starting slow maybe with a shroom but first I plan on putting maybe 10 more lbs of LR before I put the shroom in.

 

[bdhough]

You aren't so limited as they make it out to be. You do have quite a bit a light. If you build a nice rock base and have things closer to the lights you'll have excellent results.
Stay away from SPS and clams. You could probably keep a clam BUT he may not thrive very well and any clam you may put in that tank gets to big for it anyways.... As far as SPS you could try montipora capricornus, Seriatopora, and maybe a montipora Digitata. But they require much more in water quality issues so i'd suggest starting with what has been suggested.

 

[spsfreak100]

Originally posted by bdhough
You aren't so limited as they make it out to be. You do have quite a bit a light. If you build a nice rock base and have things closer to the lights you'll have excellent results.
Stay away from SPS and clams. You could probably keep a clam BUT he may not thrive very well and any clam you may put in that tank gets to big for it anyways.... As far as SPS you could try montipora capricornus, Seriatopora, and maybe a montipora Digitata. But they require much more in water quality issues so i'd suggest starting with what has been suggested.
I respectfully disagree. 192wts is not enough to sustain most corals sucessfully. Mushrooms, zoanthids and lower-light soft corals should be fine for that lighting. Anything else should not be added, esspecially small polyped scleractinians (SPS) and tridacna clams.
Graham

 

[marvida]

I totally agree with Graham.
There's a difference between keeping things alive and having things thrive.
Besides, some of the nicest reefs I've seen were simply collections of some of the lower light corals already mentioned.

 

[aaronw78]

I agree with MarVida that you can still have a very nice reef without the higher demanding corals. I have 330w PCs over 75g and I keep zoanthids, mushrooms, leathers, and some lps which have all done great. My leathers have even doubled in size in 5 months.

 

[jugger]

before i upgraded my lights i had candy coral,,,,fungia,,,zoos,,,xenia,,,,leather and an open brain under 72 watts PC

 

[bdhough]

We'll have to agree to disagree on the lights thing....
I have a 20 gallon with sps's 6 inches under 130 pc's and they are growing just as well as said corals under halides. Seriatopora is about an inch a month and the monti digi is almost an inch and a half a month. I would have my capricornus up there too if i had more room. But even at the bottom of the tank he's growing well.... The guy i originally bought the capricornus from grew it under standard flourescents and broke my pieces off for me.....
BUT, and its a big but, i don't recommend doing what i've done unless you know what you are doing. I am a fairly experienced coralist and know water chemistry to an extent as well. There is more to it than the wattage of the lights.... BUT i also know better than to put a blue tort. or a chesterfieldian under those same lights, or a maxima clam for that matter. I've chosen lower light SPS's for a reason....

 

[brian90vette]

Yes Power compacts are more than enough. I think people tend to forget that power compacts are significantly more powerful than standard florescents and the wattage per gallon doesnt apply in the same fashion. 260 w of PC is equivelent to atleast 780 w of incadescent.

 

[foulbrew]

My 46 gal bow had run the same light setup for over two years - 2 - 96 watt pcs (192 total) - with a nice mix of soft and LPS corals. These corals had flourished to excess and I have yet to loose one. I have kept colts, mushrooms, leathers, hammers, brains, bubble, plates, fox, zoos, frogspawn, zenia and star polyps. I have had to frag and give away some colts, mushrooms, cabbage leather, branching hammer, zoos, zenia and star polyps.
This is good lighting for a 45 and you should be able to host most soft and LPS corals. I did find that the life of these bulbs is about 8 months and you can expect noticeable changes in your corals should you exceed that.

 

[joemack]

Kipass, I have been reading about this but if you can quickly make a little chart of the Pros and Cons of PCs Vs. VHO.
VHO = Cheeper bulbs but only 6 months life?
PC = more $ but lasts 1 year
VHO = Better Spectrums (but PC now have a real Actinic 03)?
PC = Worse Spectrums.
Thats what I have picked up off of the top of my head. Anything else?
Are you still using the ebojogers or have you switched brands becasue of the crash?
Thanks

 

[joemack]

Thanks.
Im wondering what to ask santa for myself.