newbie ?

[smlussier]

My wife bought me an aquarium from ***** it is a 30 gallon kit that came with the hood and all the trimmings. I have it setup for about 2 months now with about 15lbs of LR and a few damsel fish, but want to expand the lighting for some coral.
Can I just swap out the bulb to support some corals?
and which one should i use?
Do I need a new light ballast?

 

[jonthefishguy]

You need a WHOLE NEW LIGHT SETUP....If only it were than easy. Being that it is only a 30 gallon, I would use PC's since using MH will boil the water and HQI's are expensive for a 30 gallon. What kind of coral and what kind of fish do you want to keep in there? And how many fish?

 

[smlussier]

Is this a good setup for a 30 gallon tank?
30" Nova Extreme X2 Saltwater 48W Fixture
1 x 24w 10K T5 HO Lamp
1 x 24w 460nm Actinic T5 HO Lamp 30" x 4.25" x 1.5" $65.50

 

[jonthefishguy]

No. If you are trying to host corals in your tank, you first have to decide what kind of corals. Then you have to decide what fish you want and how many. Because some corals need more lighting requirements than others and some fish eat corals or they get to big to be housed in a 30 gallon tank or dont do well with others in general. The magic number for you to keep most soft corals which dont require an extreme amount of light is 3.5 watts per gallon. SPS and most LPS corals require more light of a range around 5.50 watts per gallon and sometimes even more than that. For 3.5 watts per gallon, you can host zooanthids, xenia, polyps, mushrooms, and sometimes the occasional LPS that doesnt need the intensity. First, find out what you want to have in your tank BEFORE you go looking at what things cost.