Minimum light for corals

krazykarel

krazykarel

Member
Are there any corals that would work with regular flourecent lights?
Or maybe a better question would be what corals require minimum lighting and what are they?
 
twoods71

twoods71

Active Member
I hate to recommend any type of lighting because what works for some may not work for others.
Having said that I will tell you that I have 4 NO bulbs over my 29 gallon and my corals are doing fine. If I had a tank much bigger then a 29 I would probably look at other lighting options.
Here is what I have in the tank.
Yellow polyps that are multiplying on a daily basis.
Orange zoanthids that are doing great. Although there are some on this colony that are shaded by the other and they do not open fully.
A finger leather that is growing nicely.
A colt that is growing like a weed.
A bubble that is looking good.
And a couple of mushroom rocks that were dieng off earlier but are now doing much better after I started adding iodine. (Thanks for the advice everyone).
 
dhe420

dhe420

Member
normal output. I used no on a 29 gallon for two years andf they worked great. I did little to no reaserch then and they worked fine. I switched to pc but might switch to vho or m/h soon. but if only no is in your budget, have good water quality and you would be surprised what you would be able to acheive. the only think i could really say to stay away from are sps, acropra hydnapora and so on. Good luck :D
 
burnnspy

burnnspy

Active Member
For regular lights I recommend dead coral skeletons.
Any serious reef keeper must consider VHO, PC or better lighting, IMHO.
BurnNSpy
 
twoods71

twoods71

Active Member
Before I post my statement I just want to say that MH bulbs have done a great job and have lead to many success stories from many people.
In a couple of studies on MH vs fluorescent I have read that flourescent are actually superior in lumens per watt.
Yes you can get way more lumens from a single MH then you can a single fluorescent. But do the the fact that MH need to be placed higher above the water then flourescent the gap in lumens closes considerably with a single MH still having an advantage over a single flourescent.
Anyway my point is that a SERIOUS reef keeper can be successful with NO bulbs.
I guess the biggest disadvantage is the space and amount of flourescent bulbs required to equal 1 MH bulb.
This is why I believe that people with larger sized tanks should seriuosly consider higher intensity lighting.
BTW I would not recommend dead coral skeletons to anyone unless you find them washed up on a beach or know they are from a creditable source. There have been instances where collectors have purposely killed living corals just to sell there skeletons. Bad trade to support.
 
krazykarel

krazykarel

Member
Thanks for all your comments thus far. When i become a bit more serious about having a reef tank i will get that book and perhaps ill get the book that sammy suggested anyways, i like to read.
For now i have a FOWLR and thought about adding something hardy and easy to keep for aesthetic purposes.
I have a regular 24" flourecent light and a 24" actinic blue light. What would you guys recommend, if anything, to put in the tank.
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
Fish
I wouldn't recommend any corals with your present lighting, but if you must, see if your lfs will sell or give you a solitary mushroom. Some of them do pretty good under low lighting.
I learned a big lesson with lighting, and lost a bubble tip anemone due to my own ignorance :(
By the time I got my power compacts installed - it was too late.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Krazykarl.......tjwoods and sammystingray have pretty much covered your question....not much I can add but this......MH is not the almighty ONLY way to achieve success.......read and read some more...decide what you want develope a plan to achieve this goal......there are numerous types of lighting choices that will and DO work.........My personal suggestion would be to study the available options and make a sound decision based on your intentions for your system....by the way I run pc and no over a 55 gal(and will soon up-grade the no to vho)
 
ironreef

ironreef

Member
you can use no lights. I used no lights I used vho i used pc I use mh. watt for watt mh will have better coral growth. no lights don't penetrate far down they lose alot of intesity. Depends on your tank if you were going to use no lights I would use at least 4 40w on a 55g but you limit yourself to what you can keep. You need to know what you want to keep and buy your lighting based on that. I would at least get vho
 
sangysc

sangysc

Member
You can get a beautiful reef tank with only NO bulbs! I have in my 46 bowfront the following: tubastrea sun coral (fantastic yellow polyps); orange, red, and purple gorgonians; several pink-tipped condylactis anemones; several flame-red scallops; an incredibly blue linkia starfish; a scarlet serpent star; a green serpent star; a dozen scarlet/reg legged hermits; another dozen blue-legged hermits; a pair of cleaner shrimps; a coral-banded shrimp, three feather dusters, a sally-lightfoot crab, and an emerald crab. That's not to mention the bright yellow tang, and the maroon gold-striped clown! My point is, with a little imagination (and research to determine that all of the above-mentioned creatures can thrive in NO lighting) I've managed to create a tank FULL of life that didn't require a big investment in lighting! You can do the same and NOT break yor budget!
SangySC
 
sangysc

sangysc

Member
Chopper:
I've only got a run-of-the-mill 50/50 30-watt bulb. The tank's been up for about 5 months. I use a Fluval canister filter with nothing but bio-media in it for biological filtration, and have a Prizm skimmer. The only casualty I've had was the lawnmower blenny that was eaten by my green serpent star. The nitrates are between 10-20 with twice monthly 5-gallon water changes; all other parameters are nearly perfect. Nothing in the tank appears to be unhealthy, all inhabitants have healthy appetites, and are quite active. I simply said to myself that there had to be a less expensive way to keep a colorful and vibrant tank without pouring gobs of money into it, and this is the formula I came up with!
SangySC
 
sangysc

sangysc

Member
Chopper:
I've only got a run-of-the-mill 50/50 30-watt bulb. The tank's been up for about 5 months. I use a Fluval canister filter with nothing but bio-media in it for biological filtration, and have a Prizm skimmer. The only casualty I've had was the lawnmower blenny that was eaten by my green serpent star. The nitrates are between 10-20 with twice monthly 5-gallon water changes; all other parameters are nearly perfect. Nothing in the tank appears to be unhealthy, all inhabitants have healthy appetites, and are quite active. I simply said to myself that there had to be a less expensive way to keep a colorful and vibrant tank without pouring gobs of money into it, and this is the formula I came up with!
SangySC
 
@knight

@knight

Member
when you use NO bulbs, dont you have a more narrowed spectrum and more red light which feeds the bad algaes?
 
twoods71

twoods71

Active Member
@knight, NO bulbs can give you the exact same spectrum as PC or VHO bulbs. The difference in the before mentioned bulbs is intensity.
For example: It may take 2 NO bulbs to equal the intensity (amount of light) from 1 PC bulb.
 
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