tigerlover
Member
Can I keep things such as candy corals, torch, frogspawn, maybe a few leathers in a 30 w/ 96w coralife light on it?
low light corals
- Thread starter tigerlover
- Start date
tigerlover
Member
I heard somewhere they need atleast 2wpg to live. This was a reputable website, IMO, but still, swf.com gives me many opinions, so where are they?
:nervous:
smarls
Member
That is not a lot of light (and I am a user of PCs saying that!)
Really the question should be, "will corals thrive in this lighting in this tank", as opposed to "can I keep them in this light". They may survive, but I don't think they will flourish.
IMHO Euphilia corals (frogspawn, hammers, torch corals) need a lot of light, so I would stay away from them.
I would stick to lower light corals...Xenia, shrooms etc. and place them closer to the light.
HTH
Stewart
Really the question should be, "will corals thrive in this lighting in this tank", as opposed to "can I keep them in this light". They may survive, but I don't think they will flourish.
IMHO Euphilia corals (frogspawn, hammers, torch corals) need a lot of light, so I would stay away from them.
I would stick to lower light corals...Xenia, shrooms etc. and place them closer to the light.
HTH
Stewart
bigorange
New Member
Got a lot of bad information going on this thread, probably from people who have never even had a PC tank.
First, I have a 125 Gallon with a 4x96watt CSL Moonlight strip. I have been running 10K and Actinic until yesterday when I replaced the bulbs wih 50/50 daylight and 50/50 actinic.
First, The mushrooms grow better at the bottom of the tank than the top. Especially when they get under a ledge at the bottom of rocks. I superglue the same mushrooms from a rock I purchased in various spots and the shrooms at the bottom definately grow faster than the ones close to the light.
Next.. I have a Hammer coral, I got from saltwaterfish.com a few months ago. As many hammers it did not acclimate well, but now it's twice as big and the color is nice, and it's at the very bottom of the tank in the back corner.
Next... I have a RTBA that has grown 300 percent and has not split and is very healthy and a nice pink.
I also have a nice green brain at the bottom of the tank that also came from here that is doing well.
Quite frankly, I think MH lighting is bad idea if you have certain things in your tank. The stuff can overtake your tank quickly.
Do the math, I don't have enough light per gallon, but soon everyone will realize that guide is a farce just like the height/weight guide they use for people. According to the height/weight charts, Shaquille Oneal is obesse!
There are many factors with the lighting, and what you want to keep determines what lights you purchase. Also, the area of the house your tank is in could also come into play.
First, I have a 125 Gallon with a 4x96watt CSL Moonlight strip. I have been running 10K and Actinic until yesterday when I replaced the bulbs wih 50/50 daylight and 50/50 actinic.
First, The mushrooms grow better at the bottom of the tank than the top. Especially when they get under a ledge at the bottom of rocks. I superglue the same mushrooms from a rock I purchased in various spots and the shrooms at the bottom definately grow faster than the ones close to the light.
Next.. I have a Hammer coral, I got from saltwaterfish.com a few months ago. As many hammers it did not acclimate well, but now it's twice as big and the color is nice, and it's at the very bottom of the tank in the back corner.
Next... I have a RTBA that has grown 300 percent and has not split and is very healthy and a nice pink.
I also have a nice green brain at the bottom of the tank that also came from here that is doing well.
Quite frankly, I think MH lighting is bad idea if you have certain things in your tank. The stuff can overtake your tank quickly.
Do the math, I don't have enough light per gallon, but soon everyone will realize that guide is a farce just like the height/weight guide they use for people. According to the height/weight charts, Shaquille Oneal is obesse!
There are many factors with the lighting, and what you want to keep determines what lights you purchase. Also, the area of the house your tank is in could also come into play.
masala4080
Member
Got a lot of bad information going on this thread, probably from people who have never even had a PC tank.
They are posting what they belive, just as you did. Just because you might not agree with it doesnt mean its "bad". I could say your information is bad but as you said
There are many factors with the lighting, and what you want to keep determines what lights you purchase. Also, the area of the house your tank is in could also come into play.
so I wont.
Most if not everything you mentioned are LPS corals (Large Polyp Stoney) corals. IMO they need medium to high lighting. I think you could get away with it if placement was higher in the tank, since more rays will reach them. You could possibly also keep mushrooms ( there are low and medium demanding) as well as other soft corals. Of course, if you add just a few more lights it would help out a lot. Check on the famous auction site, they have tons of cheap, good lights.
They are posting what they belive, just as you did. Just because you might not agree with it doesnt mean its "bad". I could say your information is bad but as you said
There are many factors with the lighting, and what you want to keep determines what lights you purchase. Also, the area of the house your tank is in could also come into play.
so I wont.
Most if not everything you mentioned are LPS corals (Large Polyp Stoney) corals. IMO they need medium to high lighting. I think you could get away with it if placement was higher in the tank, since more rays will reach them. You could possibly also keep mushrooms ( there are low and medium demanding) as well as other soft corals. Of course, if you add just a few more lights it would help out a lot. Check on the famous auction site, they have tons of cheap, good lights.
bigorange
New Member
Originally posted by Masala4080
They are posting what they belive, just as you did.
Most if not everything you mentioned are LPS corals (Large Polyp Stoney) corals.
Perfect example of more bad information. The key to getting advice from the people who say they have personal experience regarding various lighting instead of giving an opinion.
O.P. I hope my personal experience regarding what I have kept under PC's was helpful.
BTW I forgot to mention that I have a HUGE bright yellow Leather in my tank that has nearly doubled in size in the last few months.
masala4080
Member
Are you serius? This is an opinion based web site. People share the opinions, and experiences to other SWA to help them out. So why are you saying we are wrong. Just because someone posts what they believe after reading hours upon hours about corals, still doesnt mean they "know" everything because they havn't had experience with it, but give me a break. I can post what I belive is right, as you did. And whats the wrong information I gave?
IMO to be honest with you, water quality as just as important as lighting, so once again, if you have great water quality, with the proper amount of calcium, alk, ect. then they will be able to go in your tank.
B.O. (can I call you that) just to let you know The only one that is not a LPS is the leather. so, my statement was not false.
IMO to be honest with you, water quality as just as important as lighting, so once again, if you have great water quality, with the proper amount of calcium, alk, ect. then they will be able to go in your tank.
B.O. (can I call you that) just to let you know The only one that is not a LPS is the leather. so, my statement was not false.
ordyman
New Member
I have 2x96 10000k pc and a 40w actinic. I am able to keep xenia, shrooms, kenya tree, 2 types of montipora, couple frags of acro. I have a typical 55 gallon which is fairly shallow as tanks go. I would not use themon a tall 30 gal I have for fish only. Also depends where in the tank you place every thing. Sps, Lps towards top all soft corals and shrooms toward the bottom. I do not have very much success with large colonies of sps and clams though, the frag from those colonies do fine. I have also used the 50/50's and in my OPINION they are crap. I like leave my actinic on 24/7.
microman2k
Member
i dont know if this will help you.....but i have a 29 gallon tank with a coralife 2x65 watt actinic 50/50 light system and i have kept/keep: zoos, green star polyps, yellow polyps, xenia, plate coral, and an anemone.......and all did great....and still are!:yes:
tigerlover
Member
ok, lets not have a
war on my thread now
I've gotten many Opinions and experiences from you guys, and thanks for that, but now I have a different ? People talk about wpg, even I do. But if I put my 4x96w on my 10gal, I'd have over 9wpg, but isn't this the same as if I put a coral high in the tank? I mean, it's the same light hitting them at the same distance, right? So if I go by wpg, couldn't I just get halides(currrently not enough cash, but one day) for the 30 and put the 96 on a 10 and have a well lit frag tank? I mean, if its not enough on one tank, why is it for another? Does it just deflect off of more glass and become useless or some scientific crap like that?:notsure:
I've gotten many Opinions and experiences from you guys, and thanks for that, but now I have a different ? People talk about wpg, even I do. But if I put my 4x96w on my 10gal, I'd have over 9wpg, but isn't this the same as if I put a coral high in the tank? I mean, it's the same light hitting them at the same distance, right? So if I go by wpg, couldn't I just get halides(currrently not enough cash, but one day) for the 30 and put the 96 on a 10 and have a well lit frag tank? I mean, if its not enough on one tank, why is it for another? Does it just deflect off of more glass and become useless or some scientific crap like that?:notsure:
tigerlover
Member
But what does it matter if the corals are up high in the tank!?
ordyman
New Member
In a simple way to put it light difuses as it passes through water. The closer to the light source the more light that will hit it. Hence the higher in the tank the more light it will recieve. That's why in the wild, light requiring corals will not grow much below sixty feet. The standard is 4wpg.
I tried to attach photos but it didn't attach.
I tried to attach photos but it didn't attach.
bdhough
Active Member
WPG is a loose guide. It should be followed if you are an inexperience coral keeper. Start easy with mushrooms and zoos. Work your way up to softies and lps if you don't kill the shrooms and zoos. Do not try SPS without extensive reading and planning. I would suggest buying a coral book by borneman. He's a very good coral author and his books will inform you about many things.
As for your lights you have plenty enough for softies and lps to thrive. Keep in mind good water quality is just as important as lighting. You must be willing to regular water changes and keep your alk and calcium up. Even the low lit areas in reefs have sps corals but they also provide optimal water conditions as well.......
As for your lights you have plenty enough for softies and lps to thrive. Keep in mind good water quality is just as important as lighting. You must be willing to regular water changes and keep your alk and calcium up. Even the low lit areas in reefs have sps corals but they also provide optimal water conditions as well.......
fishieness
Active Member
i have a question on this. You said you could have 9 wpg on your 10 gallon tank, but would you need the same amount of wpg on a smaller tank to keep light lighting corals as you would on a bigger tank if the coral was at the same distance away from the light?? Sure, you would have the same wattage, and they would be the same distance from the lights, everything about the lights would be the same. But i would think that you would do a lot better with a smaller tank because the lights would be more concentrated. If you have a 96 watt bulb, that is going to spread out across the lenth of your 36 inch tank, or a 96 watt bulb would spread across the lenth of your 20 inch tank. I would jsut think that you wouldnt need as much watts in the smaller tank as you would in the larger tank even if you kept the corals at the same distance form the surface in each tank...
am i wrong on this? it just seems to make sence to me
am i wrong on this? it just seems to make sence to me
bigorange
New Member
Originally posted by Tigerlover
ok, lets not have a
I've gotten many Opinions and experiences from you guys
Tiger... I just wanted to make sure you had THE FACTS from personal experience. One thing you'll notice quickly is there are a lot of people that give opinions that don't even have first hand knowledge of it. I was raised in a family that owned several retail pet stores as well as a distributor for wholesale pet supplies. One thing I have noticed now, is there seems to be an abundance of over zealous hobbists now which has really boosted our hobby which is a good thing. It seems to have turned into a "mine is bigger than yours" contest on Protein Skimmers and Lighting.
My points are simple. MH lighting can be a very bad thing when keeping certain types of corals. They simply overtake the tank too quickly. They are also more expensive to operate and maintain and are not appropriate for placement in some homes since they are so bright. They are also much more dangerous than any type of flourescent lighting.
I just wanted you to know that I have keep everything just fine in my tank and it retains it's color.
(1) Brain - Green Lobo
(1) Hammer Coral
(1) HUGE Bright Yellow Leather
(1) Pulsing Xenia
(1) Xenia
(1) Green Star Polyps
(1) Yellow Star Polyps
(1) Candy Cane Coral
(1) Cycloseries: Neon Jade w/Mauve Tentcales (color actually improved under PC)
(1) RTBA
I also have tons of Zoos, Clove Polyps, Mushrooms, and Sun Corals.
Everyone told me my RTBA was going to die because I have a 125 and only have 4x96 PC. The thing has grown like a weed.
And I must repeat, I have noticed that the mushrooms that I have that have grown to about 3-4 inches are all at the BOTTOM of the tank. The same species cut off the same rock frag and glued up high have had STUNTED growth! Glad I decided to try something besides what I read online.
masala4080
Member
Tigerlover - sorry to turn this into a war, I did not intend to. A lot of people have different oppinions, and I just stateted mine. It was not under my control for being told that I am more or less dumb, even though I did agree to most of the stuff Big Orange did say. Also, like I said before, I have not kept corals myself yet, but after reading post after post about lighting on corals and others people lighting situation, and the outcome of the situations, that I felt I had enough knowledge to state how I felt. Whatever you decide to do I wish you luck. Like I said before, water quality is just as important as lighting, which is proven, if some people disagree, then seek other opinions. However I belive that your lighting setup would work, so I dont understand why there was even a "war" in the first place. Good luck to you, and to others as well. Also, Big Orange, those are pretty awsome looking, good job!
