Does live rock need special lighting

[pointman]

I have a 30 gal marine tank and want to start building with some live rock. The tank has been running for about 3 years so everything is stable. Do I need special lighting or will the "stock" lighting be sufficient. Also, I have noticed that there are several different types of live rock, is any one kind more beneficial than others. I'm still learning.....Pointman 1*

 

[fishkid2]

If you get better lighting like compact flor you will start seeing a lot more different kinds of alge.

 

[pointman]

My tank has a wooden top to make it a little easier on the eyes. What do I look for as far as lighting that will work under the hood. I have read some threads about retro kits....not sure if that is something that will work or not. Another thread said that they used two 65w lights.....I kinda lost on this.

 

[fishkid2]

On my 30 I just bought a coralife t-5 fixture. It is very small.I started to have a lot of alge growing and it made my tank look a little bit cooler. I bought on www.bigalsonline.com for $35.

 

[sergeant]

Find a Local Fish Store and ask the employees to show you the products they carry in their store and what they suggest for you to get. Dont buy just yet, do your homework and get familiarized with the equipment before you invest your money. Welcome to the board.

 

[fishkid2]

I would also look online for buying the light because it will save you a lot of money

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by pointman
I have a 30 gal marine tank and want to start building with some live rock. The tank has been running for about 3 years so everything is stable. Do I need special lighting or will the "stock" lighting be sufficient. Also, I have noticed that there are several different types of live rock, is any one kind more beneficial than others. I'm still learning.....Pointman 1*
For rock you need no special lighting. Your rock should be colorfull, and full of life. Don't buy rock that is mostly brown. If you are looking for several LBS then order from here. The rock is great!!!

 

[petjunkie]

Live rock doesn't need special lighting to stay alive but will look 100% better under better lighting. For example I sold a piece of live rock covered in corraline to my local pet store and within two weeks under regular flourenscents it's completely brown. In my main tank I have 4 watts per gallon PC and corraline grows slowly. In my nanos I have 8-9 watts per gallon PC and it grows like crazy and I also have had some crazy macro algea come out that I never saw during the two years the rock spent in the main tank.

 

[gmidd]

The better the lighting the more color you will get out of the coraline, otherwise live rock lives under any lighting.