M
med man
Guest
Just put LR in my tank swhat light system should I have ???
olga
Member
Sorry, can't advise too.
Looking for suggestions. I don't have a sufficient lighting even for a hardy beginner corals now ( two 30 watts fluorescent 90 sm tubes) .
I am looking to buy this lights: http://www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/arc...res-o-124.html
I am very sorry, moderators! I know its against forum rules to post link to external websites.
I am not touting or anything, its Uk site. I am just want an opinion if it will be a right purchase for my set up. which is 60 gallons tank, and I want to have some hardy corals like: mushrooms, leather, polyps, xenia, etc?
Looking for suggestions. I don't have a sufficient lighting even for a hardy beginner corals now ( two 30 watts fluorescent 90 sm tubes) .
I am looking to buy this lights: http://www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/arc...res-o-124.html
I am very sorry, moderators! I know its against forum rules to post link to external websites.
I am not touting or anything, its Uk site. I am just want an opinion if it will be a right purchase for my set up. which is 60 gallons tank, and I want to have some hardy corals like: mushrooms, leather, polyps, xenia, etc?
spanish dancer
Member
Med Man,
Is your rock already cured or are you curing it? If you are curing it, you can either use low intensity lights, the lighting you would normally use for your setup: turned on for only a small period of time during the day, or no lights at all until the rock is cured. However, it is not a good idea to use full-blown high intensity reef lighting for 12 hours a day while curing, because it only increases the chance of nuisance algae blooms. The theory behind using a small amount of light is that it will help keep all of the living beneficial macro algaes and coraline algae from dying. Use too much light, and it will bleach your coraline algae, and increases your chances of an algae bloom while nutrients are at a peak in your system. The best way, however to cure live rock, (according to most aquarist) is to use no light at all until the cycling is fully over, and you are at no risk of an algae bloom.
ecoman,
You are on the right track. You probably do not want to use ordinary flourescent lighting, because it supports the growth of nuisance algae in your system. Specialized aquarium ligting is made to mimic normal sunlight, and does not support this kind of algae growth as much. It all depends on what kind of system you are going for when you arepurchasing lighting. If you are going FO, then normal strip lighting may be used. If you want a reef with soft corals, they will do fine in an aquarium with PC, VHO, or other similar HO flourescent lighting. If you want stony corals, then you will want to go for the metal halide lighting, which will also support all other photosynthetic corals. It isn't so much how many watts per gallon as it is what kind of lighting you need for what kind of system, butas a rule of thumb, I think it is about 5 - 7 watts per gallon for reef aquariums, as a minimum, but I cannot remember exactly.
Is your rock already cured or are you curing it? If you are curing it, you can either use low intensity lights, the lighting you would normally use for your setup: turned on for only a small period of time during the day, or no lights at all until the rock is cured. However, it is not a good idea to use full-blown high intensity reef lighting for 12 hours a day while curing, because it only increases the chance of nuisance algae blooms. The theory behind using a small amount of light is that it will help keep all of the living beneficial macro algaes and coraline algae from dying. Use too much light, and it will bleach your coraline algae, and increases your chances of an algae bloom while nutrients are at a peak in your system. The best way, however to cure live rock, (according to most aquarist) is to use no light at all until the cycling is fully over, and you are at no risk of an algae bloom.
ecoman,
You are on the right track. You probably do not want to use ordinary flourescent lighting, because it supports the growth of nuisance algae in your system. Specialized aquarium ligting is made to mimic normal sunlight, and does not support this kind of algae growth as much. It all depends on what kind of system you are going for when you arepurchasing lighting. If you are going FO, then normal strip lighting may be used. If you want a reef with soft corals, they will do fine in an aquarium with PC, VHO, or other similar HO flourescent lighting. If you want stony corals, then you will want to go for the metal halide lighting, which will also support all other photosynthetic corals. It isn't so much how many watts per gallon as it is what kind of lighting you need for what kind of system, butas a rule of thumb, I think it is about 5 - 7 watts per gallon for reef aquariums, as a minimum, but I cannot remember exactly.
spanish dancer
Member
ecoman,
Almost all anemones need metal halide lighting, with the exception that BT (Bulb Tipped) anemones sometimes do okay in strong HO lighting.
Almost all anemones need metal halide lighting, with the exception that BT (Bulb Tipped) anemones sometimes do okay in strong HO lighting.
chadman
Active Member
spanish dancer, that is great info about the blooms...i was always worried that too little lighting would do as much damage but i have learned that since i do not have plants or corals in my tank as of yet that the less light the better....i do love looking at my tank with the lights on though!
spanish dancer
Member
Originally Posted by chadman
actually from what i have heard and are learning it is not about watts per gallon...it all depends on how deep your tank is and what u want to have in your tank...watts per gallon is an innacurate way of measuring whether you haveample lighting
Exactly. The majority of difference between lighting is of what type the lighting is, not just how much stronger the lightsource is. for example: stony corals may do terrible in 150 watts of flourescent lighting, but will do well in 150 watts of metal halide lighting.
actually from what i have heard and are learning it is not about watts per gallon...it all depends on how deep your tank is and what u want to have in your tank...watts per gallon is an innacurate way of measuring whether you haveample lighting
Exactly. The majority of difference between lighting is of what type the lighting is, not just how much stronger the lightsource is. for example: stony corals may do terrible in 150 watts of flourescent lighting, but will do well in 150 watts of metal halide lighting.