Are my lights suitable for a reef tank

bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
LPS = Large Polyp Scleractian
SPS = Small Polyp Scleractian
Scleractian = Stoney Coral
Your VHO in combination with the IceCap ballast is a good combination. The ballast will handle another bulb if you want to wire it in.
LPS do incredibly well under VHO in my experience. If you with to attempt SPS I'd suggest staying with the lower light species like Montipora sp. Montopora can thrive under VHO if you also provide a LOT of waterflow... lots & lots of waterflow.
 
greymach

greymach

Member
For water flow i have my canister filter. 1 1800 ViaAqua pump(which seems to flow ALOT in my tank) and a small 90 RIO pump(which is pretty weak). Is that enough flow?
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
Originally Posted by GreyMach
For water flow i have my canister filter. 1 1800 ViaAqua pump(which seems to flow ALOT in my tank) and a small 90 RIO pump(which is pretty weak). Is that enough flow?
You need to get the flow in different directions, I would suggest in getting a couple more powerheads and place to where you get multiple flow directions. I would suggest maxi-jets, maxi-jet 1200 would give you plenty of flow. In my 55 I have canister filter, can't remember how much GPH it gives, but my return sump is pretty powerful along with 2-1200's and I don't feel I have enough flow....

In my opinion you could use another VHO bulb along with what you've got. Just remember to change those bulbs every 8 months of usage. Low light requirement corals would be fine under those lighting. A friend of mine took a frag of my montipora into his tank and he's got PC's and they didn't survive, he had it pretty high up in his tank. I have VHO's and MH's and they thrive like there's no tomorrow, kept growing like mad.....Good Luck!! :happyfish
ps. By putting a reflector behind those bulbs would be great!!!
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
the viaAqua is 480gph so its powerful when used as a powerhead (its what I use as a return pump on my 30g). If you have that a canister and another powerhead you should have enough flow. Like stated you should try to get some crossflow going with placement and if you try lower light sps place them accordingly.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Hehe.. I love this hobby and community.
I always try to post if I'm unsure on my "facts". Hope it comes across that way!
 
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