Couple questions

spencka

spencka

Member
First, what is the ideal temp. for my tank? It's a 55 gal. with - 70 lbs. of Fiji LR & 60 lbs. of LS. No livestock yet, but I have a cleaner crew (ordered from this site), and should be here tomorrow! I do eventually plan on having a reef!
Second question is about lighting. What exactly are actinic lights for? What do they do for a tank? Does it help my tank to have my lights on now (PC's and/or Actinic) , even though there's nothing in the tank?
Oh, sorry a couple more! Do I need to run the lights for my cleaner crew, if so, how long? What do I feed the cleaner crew?
Lot a questions!!
Thanks!!
SP :needhelp:
 
pontius

pontius

Active Member
most people keep temp from 77 to 84, with the norm being 79-82. I try to keep mine at 80.
the actinic lights provide a different light spectrum which is good for corals. plus, they're prettier, imo.
if by cleaning crew, you mean snail, shrimp, and crabs, they don't really need light. but if you already have live rock, run the lights. the rock probably has things on it that need light, and by running lights, you can get your coralline growth started.
 
jjlittle

jjlittle

Member
the lights being on will help your PH stay higher during the day when on .Most people run there lights for 12 hours or so a day I run mine 13 on the main tank and at night i have the refrug lited up to help with keeping PH as stable as can be.
 
the reef

the reef

Member
I would sugest 75-80 and dont go up past 80 It would be ok at 82 but the lights and heated house can make it hotter during the day so I would say 75 to 80
 
pickyone

pickyone

Member
what is a good calciun level for hard and soft corals? what kind of watts per gallon of water is ideal for anenomes
 
the reef

the reef

Member
Originally Posted by pickyone
what is a good calciun level for hard and soft corals? what kind of watts per gallon of water is ideal for anenomes
I would say maintain 400-450 ppm on calcium and moderate lighting for anenomes say 4-5 watts per gallon but the hard corals I would do intense lighting say 6-8 watts per gallon
 
nanoreef

nanoreef

Member
Originally Posted by pickyone
what is a good calciun level for hard and soft corals? what kind of watts per gallon of water is ideal for anenomes
450-500 is good i like to keep mine at 600-650 tho
i would provide an anenome with a good strong MH
 
nanoreef

nanoreef

Member
Originally Posted by The reef
I would say maintain 400-450 ppm on calcium and moderate lighting for anenomes say 4-5 watts per gallon but the hard corals I would do intense lighting say 6-8 watts per gallon

Never Go by "watts pr gallon"
 
the reef

the reef

Member
Originally Posted by nanoreef
Never Go by "watts pr gallon"

yes go by watts per gallon intensity need 10k for tanks that are up to 24 inches deep and 20k lighting for tanks deeper than 24 inches deep after these are in the right condition then go by the watts per gallon
 
pickyone

pickyone

Member
hey the reef , i was thinking about getting some green eye zoo,s.. how do i go about feeding then and how often.. i have 216 watts on my 55 gal tank, will that be enough lighting for them.thank you
 
pickyone

pickyone

Member
how much is to much calcium for the corals// and do i need to add an iodine supplement for the soft corals???
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
Originally Posted by The reef
yes go by watts per gallon intensity need 10k for tanks that are up to 24 inches deep and 20k lighting for tanks deeper than 24 inches deep
Why is that? :notsure:
pickyone, the zoos don't need any supplemental feedings, they get their energy from the lights. IMO you don't have enough light for any hosting species of anemones, 260 watts PC minimum for a 55g. Don't let your calcium get above 500, but 450 would be an ideal level. Don't dose anything (such as iodine) if you don't test for it. Also, you would probably get more replies if you just started new threads. :)
Here's a little bit I wrote on another thread about the watts per gallon rule and some ways it doesn't work:
13 watts PC over one of those .75g nanos would be over 17 watts per gallon. On a 75 gallon that same WPG would be 1300 watts PC. No hosting species of anemone [IMO] could live under 13 watts PC no matter how small, but 1300 watts over the 75 is more than enough to thrive. .75g and 10g are both too small for the hosting species of anemones, again IMO.
And you need to consider that a 75 gallon is 20" deep, but an anemone wouldn't travel deeper if it wasn't getting enough light. With the same length and width as a 75g, 48x18", but only 12" deep like a 10g, that would make the tank about 44 gallons (48x18x12"). I hope that makes sense.
 
the reef

the reef

Member
Originally Posted by ViPeR_930
Why is that? :notsure:
pickyone, the zoos don't need any supplemental feedings, they get their energy from the lights. IMO you don't have enough light for any hosting species of anemones, 260 watts PC minimum for a 55g. Don't let your calcium get above 500, but 450 would be an ideal level. Don't dose anything (such as iodine) if you don't test for it. Also, you would probably get more replies if you just started new threads. :)
Here's a little bit I wrote on another thread about the watts per gallon rule and some ways it doesn't work:
13 watts PC over one of those .75g nanos would be over 17 watts per gallon. On a 75 gallon that same WPG would be 1300 watts PC. No hosting species of anemone [IMO] could live under 13 watts PC no matter how small, but 1300 watts over the 75 is more than enough to thrive. .75g and 10g are both too small for the hosting species of anemones, again IMO.
And you need to consider that a 75 gallon is 20" deep, but an anemone wouldn't travel deeper if it wasn't getting enough light. With the same length and width as a 75g, 48x18", but only 12" deep like a 10g, that would make the tank about 44 gallons (48x18x12"). I hope that makes sense.
yes the deeper the tank the more light intensity you will need
 
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