lighting question

[guinness26]

Hi i have had many FOWLR tanks in my life but never had anything that required special lighting. I would like to have some coral and maybe clams or something. I have a 55gal tank that i just started today. I have a flourescent fixture is there any bulbs i can get to use for corals or do i need a MH? Thanks

 

[al mc]

Welcome to the forum.

If you are going to a 'reef' tank and want high light demanding inverts (clams and/or sps..small polyp stoney corals) you will need to upgrade your lighting. The circuitry (ballasts) you have in your current light fixture will not support
the 'newer' reef fluro lights..the T5 bulb. IMO you will need either T5 or MH(metal halide) lighting..or there are some fixtures that have a combination of both.
You will also need better water quality than many Fish only aquariums demand..so consider getting the best skimmer you can afford.
Best to ask lots of specific questions before you go much farther.
Good luck.

 

[guinness26]

thanks..i actually have been a member here for years but moved about 6 months ago and had to get rid of my 125gal due to the weight of it cause i moved to a condo on the 7th floor.so i setup a 55gal. And i forgot my username and since then have a new email so i had to get a new account here, Thanks for the info i will see what i can find as of lights in my price range, if not i will stick with FOWLR, I didnt want to get anything before i found out what lights i will need,

 

[reefraff]

You can keep soft corals and some LPS under PC lamps which you could probably grab cheap. You can keep mushrooms under about any lighting. There are also some stuff that don't need light period but I wouldn't mess with that.

 

[guinness26]

thanks reef..so u r basically saying i might as well upgrade if i want a healthy reef tank?man i wish i still had my 125...i feel like im so limited with a 55..but ill make the best of it and imsure there is alot i can do with it..i thought it would be cheaper to maintain but a 125 fowlr is def cheaper than a 55 reef..im trying to get as much info be 4 the cycle is done..thanks again

 

[wattsupdoc]

Certainly you czn have a very beatiful FOWLR tank. You can do sponges, feather dusters, starfish, tube anenomes, flame scallops, gorgonians, sun coral, chili coral I b elieve, as well as some others. With the addition of a few selct fish, this can be as beautiful as a highly lit reef tank.

A 55 doesnt limit you all that much, you just have to be creative.