Medium Light, Medium Flow

swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
I posted this on the corals threads as well but maybe some one here can answer my question too, the question is can some one fill in the blanks for me, i dont get what they mean by medium,low and lots when referring to flow and light?
low light:
low flow:
medium light:
medium flow:
lots of light:
lots of flow:
thanks ahead of time for answers
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Here's how I see it.
Low light generally refers to corals that should be placed in the bottom half of the tank some can even be placed under ledges.
Low flow is areas where the flow is not so great and differs from tank to tank. I've got areas where the flow is not so direct or blocked by rocks.
Medium light is generally in the middle of the tank.
Medium flow is generally far enough away from the powerhead but still in a good area of flow.
Lots of light is at the top half of the aquarium.
Lot of flow is near the powerhead or in direct flow from the powerhead.
 
gatorwpb

gatorwpb

Active Member
This is how I see it:
Low flow: Only flow is from return pump or filter (5x-10x turnover) Maybe one small powerhead
Medium Flow: One or two small or medium powerheads (11x-25x turnover)
High Flow: Several high flow powerheads and/or closed loop. (30x-60x+ turnover)
Low light: Under ledge or power compacts
Medium Light: Large amount of power compacts, VHO, or T-5 without individual reflectors
High light: Metal halides or T-5 with individual reflectors.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
GatorWPB said:
This is how I see it:
Low flow: Only flow is from return pump or filter (5x-10x turnover) Maybe one small powerhead
Medium Flow: One or two small or medium powerheads (11x-25x turnover)
High Flow: Several high flow powerheads and/or closed loop. (30x-60x+ turnover)
QUOTE]
This would soley depend on the size of the coral you are directing towards. Smaller corals cannot handle that force of water... Gorgonians for example require high flow however directing 40x turn over rate at them would force them to bend in half IMO.
Click to expand...
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by GatorWPB
Low light: Under ledge or power compacts
Medium Light: Large amount of power compacts, VHO, or T-5 without individual reflectors
High light: Metal halides or T-5 with individual reflectors.

This also IMO is not entirely accurate as hammer corals are indeed high light corals but placed high enough on LR and PC's will make them thrive.
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
see this is exactly why i asked this, lets say i have a low light coral and i place him up high on my rockwork, i have 1-10k and 1 actinic bulb, both rated at 54w, now the sense i had gotten before was that i was banned from buying any coral at all, so what is to keep me from adding coral if i have 108w running directly on my coral, about 6 inches off the top of the water?
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
I dont think you would have an issue that high up. How big of a tank is it?

I HAVE A 60 GALLON WHICH IS 48 X 14 X 18, I HAVE ABOUT 2 INCHES OF SAND BED SO THAT RAISES MY LIVE ROCK UP AND ABOUT 65 LBS OF LIVE ROCK, I HAVE THE 1 10K BULB AND THE 1 ACTINIC BULB TEK T-5'S FOR LIGHTING, SO PERFECT DARK, YOU THINK I COULD HOUSE SOME CORALS IF I PLACED THEM UP HIGH ON MY ROCK WORK, ANY SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT TO GET AND WHAT TO STAY AWAY FROM....(sorry about the caps lock)
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
I think you will be able to keep mushrooms and zoas for sure. Some medium to low light corals placed high on your LR IMO you will be able to keep. Start slow try them out and see what happens.
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
I think you will be able to keep mushrooms and zoas for sure. Some medium to low light corals placed high on your LR IMO you will be able to keep. Start slow try them out and see what happens.

thanks for the advice, now thats what i wanted to do and get advice from this site while i was in that process but i did not want to get called an unresponsible aquarist for getting some without advice?
now another question whats does everyone think of me geting a gorg"?
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Depends on which type you get. There are a few different kinds photosyhthetic and non photosynthetic. The non photosynthetic ones are a tad more difficult to maintain mainly because they get no benfit from light. They will be dependant on the water current to provide them with essential trace elements and supplemental feedings are needed of mysis and zoo plankton. All species are considered difficult and not recomended for the beginner reefer. Another requirement other than supplemental feedings is moderate flow. Keeps the water column moving past the coral offering it as many nutrients as possible and also keeps algea and other debris off of it. The photosynthetic versions require all of the same but IMO are eaiser due to them benifiting from the light.
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
well i have been saltwater tank keeping for about 4 years now this is my second tank but i never had the time being in the military to mess with a reef tank so now i do but i really dont want to upgrade my lights since there only 1 year old and have had no problem with them, so i think i could keep some corals wether photosynthetic or not, thanks for the advice perfect and if i succeed then good but if not then thats the trial and error effort of this hobby
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
thanks i appreciate it, im gonna research what would work best and is what i like and then i will post pics of it and its progress... any suggestions on gorgs"
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Yes you can keep lower light gorgoinians or no light gorgoinians. Purple Brush gorg is considered a low light species and a yellow finger gorg is considered a no light species.
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
Yes you can keep lower light gorgoinians or no light gorgoinians. Purple Brush gorg is considered a low light species and a yellow finger gorg is considered a no light species.

cool, thaks a lot perfect, ill research both of those a little more...
 
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