Lighting-

sting_ray29

Member
I have a pink-tipped anemone and have (55gallonthank) 2 Reef Sun 50/50 15 watts each 18 inches long- Is this attiquet lighting for an anemone- he is twords the top of the take 5 inches from the surface-
Thanks
 

technik

Member
That is no where enough for an anenome no matter where it is. Unless you get better lighting and feed it weekly it is a goner for sure. Regular florescents are not enough.. you will need VHO, T5, or MH to keep them. The least you could have is some decent Power Compacts.
 

sagxman

Member
Bulbs that will fit your system are not strong enough. You will need to get a new setup or a retrofit kit. Could be a little pricy but the anemone will slowly wither away without more light. I would go with VHO as a minimum for an anemone in a 55g tank. And if you go with MH, although a little more expensive, you will thank yourself down the road when you don't have to upgrade again. I have a lot of success with anemone with power compacts but my tank is much much smaller than yours. Also I am upgrading to MH so my anemone will have a big :D
 

sagxman

Member
Cost depends on what you decide to go with. There are many options as far as styles and brands. If you are good at DIY you can cut some costs possibly by building your own hood.
Go to hellolights.com. They seem to have some good stuff. I don't think that is a competing website so I think I can put it here. If not, it will get edited. You can get individual parts there or even whole lighting systems.
 

technik

Member
VHO= around 300
MH = 1 250w MH 150.00 and you can add another later or 2 250w MH for 275.00
PC will not penetrate enough on a 55g.
If you plan on keeping wanting to keep everything like SPS, Clams, and your anenome then go with MH lights. I went from PC, VHO, to more PCs and finally bought MH lights. Going the cheaper route cost more then MHs in the end.
 

jo moorish

New Member
Metal halides are great but the hood and replacement bulbs will empty your wallet if your looking for a low costing light that will get you buy fine its called the coralife aqualight compact. Make sure you get the 48 in double strip (260 watts) thats what i have on my tank and all my invertebrates do swell
 

technik

Member
MH bulbs run 50-60.00 and last 12-14 months. PCs loose their usual spectrum in 6-8 months. Some invertebrates will survive under PC, but they will not thrive as under MH. By all means go PC or VHO if you are on a budget, but if you want to keep more types of corals and inverts then you will just be upgrading again later on.
This is one of my tanks under 165w pcs. I am changing it to 250W MH and am building the canopy at the moment.
 

jo moorish

New Member
once again metal halides are great but if your on a budget the coralife aqualight at 260 watts (that ruffly 4.75 watts per gallon when the recomended amount if 3-5 watts per gallon) youll be fine.
 

laurabelll

New Member
Technik,
Your tank is GORGEOUS!! Are all the blue items corals or anenome? I really like the looks of blue in the tank.:jumping:
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Hey, I just upgraded from 4-65w coralife pc's to metal halides... My point is that I will sell you my coralife for a great deal!! (I hope I can post this here.) Mine were only operating for about 3 mo. (The LFS told me they would sustain ANY coral I wanted, Well that wasn't true, AND I found a good deal on the MH's anyway.) Anyway, if your interested... bizzo@carolina.rr.com

PS. They are 2 blue actinic & 2 daylight
 

technik

Member

Originally posted by laurabelll
Technik,
Your tank is GORGEOUS!! Are all the blue items corals or anenome? I really like the looks of blue in the tank.:jumping:

Thanks! The blue ones on the left are Mushrooms. The blue one with the green center is a Tube Anenome. Unlike most anenomes this one survives off food and not light. My favorite thing in the tank and I have had it for 2 years.
 

technik

Member

Originally posted by Tizzo
(The LFS told me they would sustain ANY coral I wanted, Well that wasn't true,

They told me the same thing for my 55g, except they sold me 2 X 55w PCs. Corals lived, but slowly shrunk over a few months time. Good thing theres forums to find real info.
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Gooood question, aaaaannnnnddd, i don't know. But I bumtcha!!
 
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