48in Light on 55gal what kind of corals can you Grow
- Thread starter eaglex87
- Start date
matro
Member
There is an entire spectrum of quality ranging from worthless to wonderful sold in 48" lengths. You need to figure out what you want to have in your tank and then get lights that would support them. I can't say I know what will grow under which light but I know some basic ideas. Here are the common ones.
Bulbs come rated by color. 6500K is reddish, 10,000K is mostly white with some red, and 20,000K is more blue-white. Actinics are very blue lights that are used for better color, supplementing a light with more red in it(10,000K, MH).
Normal 40W shoplights(NO): unless you have a ton of them, you really can't keep anything happy.
PC (Power Compacts): smaller flourescent bulbs. better than NO's but most useful as supplemental or secondary lighting.(don't get me wrong, people use these and are happy with them)
VHO (Very High Output) flourescents: Will work well for many corals but it may be stretchng with some hard light-loving corals. Actinics VHO's are commonly used to supplement MH lights.
MH (Metal Halide): Very strong lights sold in wattages (usually) from 150W, 175W, 250W, and 400W. There are also many brands and colors (10,000K etc). These really are ideal lights and can easily be found in premade hoods with actinic VHO's which would make for an easy (but costly) setup (>$700).
Your best bet is to look at the places selling them and looking on peoples posts (or asking in a thread) to see what they have and how they like it........And then DIY or keep a close eye on classifieds
Sorry, I talk a lot sometimes.
Bulbs come rated by color. 6500K is reddish, 10,000K is mostly white with some red, and 20,000K is more blue-white. Actinics are very blue lights that are used for better color, supplementing a light with more red in it(10,000K, MH).
Normal 40W shoplights(NO): unless you have a ton of them, you really can't keep anything happy.
PC (Power Compacts): smaller flourescent bulbs. better than NO's but most useful as supplemental or secondary lighting.(don't get me wrong, people use these and are happy with them)
VHO (Very High Output) flourescents: Will work well for many corals but it may be stretchng with some hard light-loving corals. Actinics VHO's are commonly used to supplement MH lights.
MH (Metal Halide): Very strong lights sold in wattages (usually) from 150W, 175W, 250W, and 400W. There are also many brands and colors (10,000K etc). These really are ideal lights and can easily be found in premade hoods with actinic VHO's which would make for an easy (but costly) setup (>$700).
Your best bet is to look at the places selling them and looking on peoples posts (or asking in a thread) to see what they have and how they like it........And then DIY or keep a close eye on classifieds
Sorry, I talk a lot sometimes.
K
kistheeze
Guest
Ok - so assuming you have 1 48" NO light with a daylight bulb - I'd say corals are pretty much out. 2 NO lights with daylight bulbs would probably just barely support a few mushrooms some button polyps, star polyps and maybe a well acclimated colt coral...
I say just barely - most of these would be much happier if you had 3 or 4 NO's or more. They'd be way happier with MH too!
I say just barely - most of these would be much happier if you had 3 or 4 NO's or more. They'd be way happier with MH too!
C
cowpoke
Guest
Eagle
Don't mean to hijack your thread but I am in the same boat as you!
Does anyone have any experience with the T5 lighting systems?
Thanks
Cowpoke
Don't mean to hijack your thread but I am in the same boat as you!
Does anyone have any experience with the T5 lighting systems?
Thanks
Cowpoke
K
kistheeze
Guest
Originally posted by Eaglex87
I have a PC 48in Light its a Coraife 50/50,65 watt
Not really suitable for corals. Even the easiest ones would just "survive"
ppanthrah75
Member
i had a 30 gal setup with 2 t-5's and 2 power compacts the t-5s r increddible i just transferred 30 gal into 55 gall so have to build new light canopy but definately stick with t5s and a mh