Anemone Lighting Advice please

dlehto

dlehto

New Member
I am new to swf, and new to the hobby (4months/55gal tank) I have 60lbs of fiji LR, and 9 one inch fish, some calerpa, and star and yellow pollyps.
I have 2 false tank bred Ocellaris clowns. (small). I would like to get a anemone, but am worried that I may not have enough light. I have a corallife PC with two 65watt bulbs. ($125)
From what I am reading, I need more light than that?
If so, I noticed that at my local Lowes Department store, they offer a variety of smaller (5inchx5inchx3inch)300 to 600watt halogen flood lights. for $10 to $20. Needless to say that is about $380 cheaper than MH or VHO I have seen avail.
Is there a reason I couldnt/shouldnt jsut buy one or two of these, and mount them in my hood myself? In addition to my PC? I understand it may 'yellow' the water, but if so I could just switch out my white light bulb for a 20,000k ultra blue light?
Would this be okay to do this? I see it as a considerable savings, or am I just to cheap? I would also like to eventually (as I gain exp with swf) purchase more soft and maybe hard corals in addition to the anemones.
I most care about the anemone/s I want them and my clowns to be happy :)
Thanks
 
dlehto

dlehto

New Member
Thanks Thomas,
Was wondering if any other information regarding them is avail or if its a absolute no? In addition to Halogen, there were Sulfer, and mercury and MH and other types of cheap flood lights as well, 300 to 600w and approx 4,000+ lumens
:nervous: ahhh maybe I just should pay up the reall $ for good MH lighting.... Lots of money though.
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Yes, MH is expensive. Most of what you see at the home improvement stores is not suited for aquarium use. If you have ever seen a MH bulb in person, you will see that they are much larger than normal bulbs! The base of a mogul bulb is about 1-1/2 inches in diameter and the bulb is 6-8 inches long!
Congrats on researching and asking questions before getting a creature that is not (currently) suited for your tank.
 
dlehto

dlehto

New Member
Thanks for the replys. I understand from farther research that Halogen is not the way to go.
I am now considering purchasing a single 250W MH and mounting it inside my hood in addition to my 130Wof PC lighting. Is that enough light? If so, should I get a 10,000k or 20,000k MH bulb? The PC has a two bulb true acticnic/white combo(I think :p).
Would this satisfy my future anemone? Would it be enough light for later purchasing corals?
I also have a question about nitrates, which I will post in the.... new hobbyist board.
Thanks again and I appreciate the help :happyfish
 
dlehto

dlehto

New Member
Alternative option, is VHO? However the inside dimension of my hood is 48 inches, so I cannot accomidate a 48 inch VHO. 36 inch VHO (two 95w bulbs) would fit and also would be significantly cheaper than MH?
Would this be okay? (in add to PC) If so what bulbs should I get?
Lots of questions, but I'd sure like to make sure I get the right lighting as opposed to going through with it and then having sad anemones/coral.
 
22caddy

22caddy

Member
I would go with the halide and shop around. Used is your friend. I would do 10k for the halide and use the pc as acitinic if you want the blue look.
 
T

thomas712

Guest

Originally posted by dlehto
Alternative option, is VHO? However the inside dimension of my hood is 48 inches, so I cannot accomidate a 48 inch VHO. 36 inch VHO (two 95w bulbs) would fit and also would be significantly cheaper than MH?
Would this be okay? (in add to PC) If so what bulbs should I get?
No, I think you would really regret going with the two bulb setup. Go with the 4 bulb and get 380 watts. or
Get the 4 bulb 46.5 inch bulbs, they are actually shorter than that, and that would give you 440 watts.
I used a 36" 380 watt VHO over my 55 and it worked very nice but I should have gone with 440.
You will want the URI bulbs. 2- 50/50 actinic white and 2- super actinic blue.
Thomas
 
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