Freshwater vs. Saltwater T-5

lovetofly31

Member
I found some Coralife T-5 lights for sale locally by way of craigslist. They are freshwater -48" coralife high output t-5 dual lamp.
What makes a light freshwater vs. saltwater?
I have a 55 FOWLR tank and would like to add some anemones and other plants but no corals. Can I use the freshwater t-5?
 

nycbob

Active Member
the only difference r the bulbs. freshwater tank doesnt need actnic bulb. if u a thinking of keeping an anemone, u will probably need strong lighting of at least 4 t5 bulbs with reflectors. not knowing ur setup, its hard to give a definite answer.
 

flower

Well-Known Member

Anemones need the same very bright lights coral needs. In fact anemones need brighter lights than many coral. Anemones eat and sting fish if they get too close. Are you sure you want one?
I had a beautiful anemone and had to get rid of it, it grew and killed about 5 fish before I gave up and got it out.
 

pezenfuego

Active Member
Anemones are actually in the animal kingdom.
Do you know how many watts you're putting out and how many bulbs there are?
 

lovetofly31

Member
In doing a little more research I found that the 48" freshwater light includes one 54 watt 6700K Daylight Lamp and one 54 watt Colormax Lamp. The saltwater light fixture includes one 54 watt 10000K Daylight and one 54 watt Actinic Bluelight HO lamp.
Currently I don't have anything in my tank except for 25lbs. of live sand and some rock. The rock isn't live though. It used to be before I had to shut my tank down and start all over. I do plan to get more live rock though.
On the anemones, I want to stock my tank with a few different species of fish, one of which is the false percula. That's the only reason I want one. I thought anemones helped to make the tank environment more realistic for the fp.
Thanks for the feedback.
 

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by lovetofly31
http:///forum/post/3240901
In doing a little more research I found that the 48" freshwater light includes one 54 watt 6700K Daylight Lamp and one 54 watt Colormax Lamp. The saltwater light fixture includes one 54 watt 10000K Daylight and one 54 watt Actinic Bluelight HO lamp.
Currently I don't have anything in my tank except for 25lbs. of live sand and some rock. The rock isn't live though. It used to be before I had to shut my tank down and start all over. I do plan to get more live rock though.
On the anemones, I want to stock my tank with a few different species of fish, one of which is the false percula. That's the only reason I want one. I thought anemones helped to make the tank environment more realistic for the fp.
Thanks for the feedback.
If you add an anemone to a new tank, its odds aren't going to be very good. I would recommend waiting six months before buying one so that you are introducing it to a mature tank.
Ocellaris clownfish (generally preferred over "false percula") do not need anemones. While it makes for a neater tank, you can get the clown or pair of clowns now and try to introduce them to an anemone later. In either case, there is no guarantee that they will be hosted by the anemone.
I have a sneaky suspicion that that will not be enough light, but since I'm not sure, don't take my word for it.
 

nycbob

Active Member
save up and get at least 4 bulbs. also, wait at least 4-5 months b4 adding a bta or any other anemone.
 
Top