michaeltx
Moderator
Anyway. Would a better way to decide on lighting be to
1.select the corals you want to have in your tank
2. determine the lux/intensity that coral needs to thrive
3. place the coral at a depth in your tank that provides that intensity
very good way to select lighting but after I figured that out I would go a step up and get that lighting. heres the deal almost all corals will adapt to more lighting but alot will have a hard time adapting to a level of light that isnt right for them.
How does T5 lighting fit into the intensity spectrum
they are about the same as the VHO and PC bulbs just smaller they are still new so there isnt all that much known about them the biggest thing going for them is that they are smaller so you can fit 2x as many bulbs in a the same area that t8s would take up.
Is there a source on the internet that lists different corals and their light requirements? And I mean more specifically than low/med/high.
I havent found one yet
Right now I only have 70w of NO 1 35w 100% actinic and 1 35w Daylight on my 60gal tank. However, the bulbs are less than 1" above the surface of the water. How much difference does that make?
I dont think it does. the light still doesnt have the intensity to push through the water so its pretty much the same no matter how low there are.
IMO
Mike
1.select the corals you want to have in your tank
2. determine the lux/intensity that coral needs to thrive
3. place the coral at a depth in your tank that provides that intensity
very good way to select lighting but after I figured that out I would go a step up and get that lighting. heres the deal almost all corals will adapt to more lighting but alot will have a hard time adapting to a level of light that isnt right for them.
How does T5 lighting fit into the intensity spectrum
they are about the same as the VHO and PC bulbs just smaller they are still new so there isnt all that much known about them the biggest thing going for them is that they are smaller so you can fit 2x as many bulbs in a the same area that t8s would take up.
Is there a source on the internet that lists different corals and their light requirements? And I mean more specifically than low/med/high.
I havent found one yet
Right now I only have 70w of NO 1 35w 100% actinic and 1 35w Daylight on my 60gal tank. However, the bulbs are less than 1" above the surface of the water. How much difference does that make?
I dont think it does. the light still doesnt have the intensity to push through the water so its pretty much the same no matter how low there are.
IMO
Mike
T
therock0861
Guest
Well I am glad that this question came up. I have learned more reading this thread than listening to LPS and or reading some obviously misleading books. So I guess the next question would be what corals can I keep? Can I keep the following corals placed in the middle to top of the aquarium?
Frogspawn
Polyps ie (Yellow, Green Star, Sun)
Ricordea Mushrooms
Red Libophyllia Brain Coral
Octopus Coral
Long tentacle Plate Coral
Candy Coral
Green Finger Leather
Leather
Elephant Ear Coral
Bubble Coral
This is just some corals I was thinking about adding any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Frogspawn
Polyps ie (Yellow, Green Star, Sun)
Ricordea Mushrooms
Red Libophyllia Brain Coral
Octopus Coral
Long tentacle Plate Coral
Candy Coral
Green Finger Leather
Leather
Elephant Ear Coral
Bubble Coral
This is just some corals I was thinking about adding any advice would be greatly appreciated.
michaeltx
Moderator
Octopus Coral no idea what this coral is
Elephant Ear Coral this one if its the mushrooms can eat smaller fish and gets very very large. I would shy away from it unless you are willing to deticated 1/3 to 1/2 the tank to it.
Long tentacle plate Coral some of these dont do very well not sure which ones though.
Red Libophyllia Brain Coral these do better under more intense lighting than PC the red might fade under less intense light.
so I would research these and see what you come up with on them before you decide.
MIke
Elephant Ear Coral this one if its the mushrooms can eat smaller fish and gets very very large. I would shy away from it unless you are willing to deticated 1/3 to 1/2 the tank to it.
Long tentacle plate Coral some of these dont do very well not sure which ones though.
Red Libophyllia Brain Coral these do better under more intense lighting than PC the red might fade under less intense light.
so I would research these and see what you come up with on them before you decide.
MIke
T
therock0861
Guest
What about the rest? And should I go with a different brain ? What kind can I have and I will skip the Elephant ear then.
michaeltx
Moderator
sorry I was going to type the rest should do fine
under your current light pretty much any polyps , mushrooms and leathers will do fine.
BTW the sun polyps it doesnt matter what type of ight you have they will need each polyp individualy feed frequently.
Brains there are some that will do fine but I am not sure which ones need the more intense lighting like the red lobo one above. might make a thread with you lighting and ask what brains can I keep under this. for a better idea.
Mike
under your current light pretty much any polyps , mushrooms and leathers will do fine.
BTW the sun polyps it doesnt matter what type of ight you have they will need each polyp individualy feed frequently.
Brains there are some that will do fine but I am not sure which ones need the more intense lighting like the red lobo one above. might make a thread with you lighting and ask what brains can I keep under this. for a better idea.
Mike
kelldog4
Member
Gator: I have a 60 gal. The distance from the water line to the top of my sand is 15"
MichaelTX:
Thanks for the info. Couple of more questions.
1. I have seen people say that the color of the light doesn't matter just the intensity. Does this mean I can buy a metal halide setup from Lowes or Home Depot as a DIY project?
2. I have seen in another post that you had a source for cheap base rock. Could you shoot me that website. kscs@iolbv.com
Thx.
Kelly
MichaelTX:
Thanks for the info. Couple of more questions.
1. I have seen people say that the color of the light doesn't matter just the intensity. Does this mean I can buy a metal halide setup from Lowes or Home Depot as a DIY project?
2. I have seen in another post that you had a source for cheap base rock. Could you shoot me that website. kscs@iolbv.com
Thx.
Kelly
sammystingray
Active Member
Originally posted by kelldog4
However, the bulbs are less than 1" above the surface of the water. How much difference does that make?
Light travels thousands and thousands of miles from the sun to us, but certain spectrums such as red can die off within three feet of saltwater. Blue light makes it a little deeper, and that's why you see divers in blue looking water all the time....point is, light travels through air very easily, and 1,5 or 12 inches from the tank only effects the light really in how it spreads. Although lower to the water is slightly better for this reason in cases where light can spread past the tank, it isn't a big difference to raise them a little.....very slight IMO. The light really starts to die when it hits the water surface.