Lighting???

mikecurrin

mikecurrin

Member
I currently have a 55gal tank with power compacts-2 65w 10,000k and 2 65w actinic lights. There is about 85 pounds of rock already in the tank along with some Zoos. I guess my question is, can I keep SPS or lps in this setup?
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
Well, I had the same lights except on a 75 gal. I could not keep anything except mushrooms, polyps, and an anemone. I would place the other corals high up, and they still died. Once I added t5 ho lights, the new corals I recently received are thriving. So, IMO if you want to keep lps, etc. upgrade/add now and save yourself the headache and the money (from dead corals).
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

You can still keep corals that require very low light, they are very bright and nicely colored.
Here is just a short list, there lots more besides:
  • Sun Coral (bright yellow)
  • Chili Coral ( bright red with tiny white stars)
  • Devils hand (bright red)
    Gorgonians (reds, orange, blue and purples)
    Sea fans (orange and purple)
    Any type of mushroom (lots to chose from)
These are not beginner corals except mushrooms...but they are not expert level ether. I have kept every one of those on the list from when I first got into saltwater. So they are not all that hard. I had to spot feed the sun coral...and I put the chili in an open ended cave, with a small power head, so water could flow over it...not at it.
Happy reefing!
 
mikecurrin

mikecurrin

Member
Thank you so much for the help. That is something I was wondering, I am not sure right now if I am wanting to upgrade to the MH lighting but maybe once I go bigger on the tank I know i will need to, so I can hit the deep level.
 
tpigg81

tpigg81

Member
instead of having 2 65w daylight bulbs and 2 65w actincs it has 1 130w daylight and 1 130w actinic. I hate the light and bought it before i knew what i was buying but I have done pretty well with it. My next light will definetly be metal halide
 
mikecurrin

mikecurrin

Member
I know the feeling about buying something before knowing what to do with it. I bought a canister filter, and now it sits in the garage gathering dust.
 
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