Can I have any coral/anemones with my setup?

[fishhead81]

I have a 55g FOWLR setup with about 70 lbs of LR that's been established for about 2 years now. I have the original lighting that came with my tank....i'm pretty sure they're just cheap florescent lights. My question is, what coral/anemones can I have without upgrading my light?

 

[wangotango]

in my first SW tank (29) that had normal output flourescent lights i kept soft corals (leathers, star polyps, and mushrooms). thats just about all you're going to get from standard lighting. i also kept a curley-cue anemone, which wasnt attractive at all. the only thing about standard flourescent lights is that they only last about 6 months then they need to be replaced. the only hard coral that you could keep is a sun coral, but it must be fed at least 3-4 times a week.
-justin

 

[fishhead81]

to be honest, I don't even know if i can pop off the plastic guard to get to the bulbs to replace them. I may be lookin at a pc setup or a lower powered mh or somethin, haven't looked into it that far yet. lighting is expensive!

 

[poniegirl]

You know, I just upgraded to T5's and now I understand why they are necessary for anemones and corals. Huge difference.
Don't get discouraged.
If you have a local LFS that is privately owned, ask to trade some good honest work for a light set-up.

 

[fishhead81]

ok, if i upgrade to a t5 like light, will it be ok for polyps? i've always thought polyps are amazing to watch!

 

[hagfish]

I wouldn't put anything photosynthetic under your NO lights. You can get a cheap PC fixture for that tank for less than $100. That would allow you to keep most soft corals and some LPS. You could also keep a bubble tip anemone. PC fixtures like that are sold used all the time on this and other sites. I got a used 48" PC light and a total of about 10 new bulbs for like $50 about a year ago.

 

[marlin]

ive got a 75g tank and a rena xp2 canister,, and im using 80#lr 100#ls will 260w pc lighting be enough for polyps, zoos, toadstool, frogspawn,xenias,hammers,thanks for any input.

 

[hagfish]

Originally Posted by marlin
ive got a 75g tank and a rena xp2 canister,, and im using 80#lr 100#ls will 260w pc lighting be enough for polyps, zoos, toadstool, frogspawn,xenias,hammers,thanks for any input.
Probably enough for all of them. I would keep the hammers and frogspawn higher up.