Help w/ corals

[cripps72]

Ok can someone explain to me what wattage or basically when the def. of light on what the coral needs ie.....low,moderate,and strong. Im assuming that mhs will fall under strong but what about the others. And ive read where it says things such as so many watts per gallon.Also ive looked at other web sites where they say certain corals they are selling can work under regular lighting condition....not so sure on due to what ive read and all of you on here.And as far as my set up 55ga w/normal flour. lighting,im not really all that interested in adding alot of corals due to the fact sw is new to me.but adding a few things i wouldnt mind. And from what ive read i can get by w/ sponges and sun polyp..is there anything else? Thanks for any input

 

[joojoo]

your current lighting will not sustain any photosynthetic life
like you said sponges and sun polyps will do fine, also filter feeding gorgonians and chili coral
wattage per gallon isnt very accurate, as intensity is much more important, but 5 watts per gallon will usually do the trick for soft coral. with a 55 gallon i think coralife makes a 260 watt PC fixture, that's probably the cheapest route for a soft coral tank
anemone and sps will need more lighting

 

[nereef]

you won't be able to keep much with normal flourescent lighting. in a 55 gal. you could keep many different corals with power compact lights, and even more with VHO. what kind of corals are you wanting to keep? i could give you a good opinion on what you would need in a 55 gal. to keep them.

 

[cripps72]

Thanks for the advice and not really sure on what but like i said ive read and read and the only ones i could poss. keep is the sun and sponges. But what made me question this is like i said found other site that is saying that i could get by w/corals such as Goniopora,Bubble,polyps,Mushrooms and some others. Thats why ive asked because ive read Fenner and numerous posts on here and all im seeing is red flags pooping up w/the site saying does fine in any lighting.

 

[promisetbg]

Originally Posted by cripps72
i could get by w/corals such as Goniopora,Bubble,polyps,Mushrooms and some others. Thats why ive asked because ive read Fenner and numerous posts on here and all im seeing is red flags pooping up w/the site saying does fine in any lighting.
You cannot keep these corals with normal output lighting. Goniopora does poor in captivity and is not a good coral for someone new to keeping them. Sponges, chili and non-photosynthetic corals are not easy to keep either,they require special feeding. Especially the sun coral...each polyp must be individually fed. If you are just looking for something to liven up your tank until you decide if you are going to upgrade the lighting, consider some interesting inverts. Perhaps a few large feather dusters.