Fowlrac?

fishy411

fishy411

Member
i am planning a 55 wiht a lionfish and small butterfly fish. My question is can i keep Xenia or Zoos under 40w of light. It is just a regular flourescent light. My plan was to have a big mountain of rock to get the corals and stuff near the lights. I know it probly wont work but a friend of mine just setup a frag tank and i like a lot of the corals he has so i figured id try. I just dont want to spend a fortune on corals so i would get a little xenia or a little bit of zoos. My filtration would most likely be a penguin 330 and either a via aqua multi skimmer or a 330 and whatever my friend used to have. I would like to use the via aqua as it is a hangon and i would just mess up the plumbing to the sump.
 
chris s

chris s

Member
I am pretty sure the zoos will be fine but I dont know about the xenia. I do know if you have a brighter light on zoos they will have a lot more coloration. Mine looked like a totally new collony after I got my new light.
 
ags

ags

Member
No experience with butterfly fish but I think they are NOT reef safe. Think they will pick at your corals.
That being said......I think some of the more colorful zoos might give you trouble. Maybe common brown button polyps might be all right. I had a large colony of brown button polyps in my 55 a couple years ago with NO lights. However, I had more than 40 watts and eventually added 110 watts of PC.
What size tank? If it is a small to medium size tank upgrading to PC or VHO should not be that expensive and your coral options open up greatly.
**Never mind about the tank size I see you have a 55. You really should just spend the $$ to upgrade your lights. You will never be satisfied with just button polyps, trust me.
 
fishy411

fishy411

Member
ok so no butterfly fish. the reason i dont want to upgrade is that i am not planning on having a reef. Just some different zoos because my friend started a frag tank and he has some nice zoos.. If i can find a bulb i can put in for cheap ill do it but i do not want to get a new hood for it. I think the company makes interchangeable bulbs so i can get a stronger one. How many watts would be necessary. I cant really get the biggest ones i can afford because i need some cash for the transfer from fresh to sw.
 
ags

ags

Member
normal output lights max out at 40watts, I think. I personally would not try it but that does not mean it cannot be done. Maybe some who has successfully kept corals under normal output lights can help you.
Good Luck
 
ratpack

ratpack

Member
there are many many coral that dont need light to survive since they do not contain a symbiotic algae like zooxanthellae. there are also many coral that can survice in low light but if you want better coloration light always help
 
ags

ags

Member
ratpack is right. If you are worried about lighting try some corals that do not require light (ie chili coral, sun coral(?), etc). They live off of food in the water column and can be spot fed.
 
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