lighting for corals

[kaseykagan]

Hi Guys,
I am new at this but I want to set up a tank with the plan to add corals in the future. I was told my my local fish store that i needed to buy 2 Ocean Sun bulbs with 10,000K each and 32 watts each and also 2 Coral Sun actinic 420 15 watts each. My tank is only a 55 gallon. Could somebody tell me if this is sufficient? Also how long I should keep them on during the day? How long do I have to wait before adding corals? Thanks for any help!!

 

[acrylic51]

Depends on what you want to keep????? IMO if your planning on corals in the future save your cash and go MH......You might be able to keep some low light level corals, but anything that demands good light forget it.........

 

[mjmpinsky]

A quick rule of thumb is 2-5 watts/gallon H20.
Some corals are low light --> leathers and mushrooms.
Others require much more + high flow currents.
Corals are expensive. Buy a book and do some reading before you spend your $$$$$.
ENJOY!

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by mjmpinsky
A quick rule of thumb is 2-5 watts/gallon H20.
Some corals are low light --> leathers and mushrooms.
Others require much more + high flow currents.
Corals are expensive. Buy a book and do some reading before you spend your $$$$$.
ENJOY!
The rule of 2-5 watts per gallon is old and not used much anymore.....You look at the PAR not wattage per gallon it's a gauge, and not very accurate

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by acrylic51
The rule of 2-5 watts per gallon is old and not used much anymore.....You look at the PAR not wattage per gallon it's a gauge, and not very accurate
Acrylic51, what's PAR? I too have a 55 and am looking to get the right set up the first time. I want to be able to have or grow whatever I want with out costing me $800+