help with lighting

[cmbarnes10]

I was thinking about making my tank a reef tank and the lfs was talking about lighting and prices in which I understood nothing they said. I know I heard purple lighting and that the one with the purple light was the best....and it is $200.00 for a 20 gallon tank???? What should I look for in lighting????HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :help:
Oh and what else goes into having coral??? Do I need to add anything to the water or feed them anything???

 

[seannmelly]

Lighting depends all on what kind of corals you want to keep. I don't believe there is such a thing as "purple" lighting. If you went with power compacts, you would have day light bulbs(which are white) and actinic bulbs(which are blue)

 

[cmbarnes10]

Originally Posted by seannmelly
Lighting depends all on what kind of corals you want to keep. I don't believe there is such a thing as "purple" lighting. If you went with power compacts, you would have day light bulbs(which are white) and actinic bulbs(which are blue)
Okay so I am VERY new at this....what does that all mean???
I have false perculas and I just want something they can rub on...

 

[120reefer]

Originally Posted by seannmelly
I don't believe there is such a thing as "purple" lighting.
Actually, the higher up the light spectrum you go, the more "purple" the color. GENERALY speaking, with metal halides, 6500k bulbs have a yellow effect, 10k have a white, 12-14k have a blue-white to blue effect, and 18k-20k have a purple blue effect. I saw a real nice diagram on here a while ago that showed visible light with kelvin rating next to it.... was a real nice one but i can't seem to find it now..

 

[seannmelly]

Originally Posted by 120reefer
Actually, the higher up the light spectrum you go, the more "purple" the color. GENERALY speaking, with metal halides, 6500k bulbs have a yellow effect, 10k have a white, 12-14k have a blue-white to blue effect, and 18k-20k have a purple blue effect. I saw a real nice diagram on here a while ago that showed visible light with kelvin rating next to it.... was a real nice one but i can't seem to find it now..
See, you learn new things everyday!! I though the higher "k" the more bluer it got. Thanks!!
If you just want something for your clowns to rub in(host) you should get an anenome and I am sure someone with more experience with anenomes than I have will chime in and help you better!! It is better to have a clown host an anenome then a coral because a clown can severly damage a coral when it tries to host it