PLS HELP!!! No clue on lighting

[Peacetea123]

Hey everyone, i was just wondering what kind of coral light i should get im thinking lps and softies however im having such a hard time understanding what lights to get for them, i would really like a cost effective great color and great growth for the corals

my tank is 30 inches wide and is a 29 gallon

btw this is for the future ----> i had a fowlr before this in the same tank but i moved so i had to tank it down but now i wanna advance and get corals but i wanna have it setup for atleast a year but this whole light thing is a lot of work
and i heard leds are starting to become more popular??? idk pls help thanks!!!

 

[pegasus]

Choosing the right lighting for corals can be quite confusing, to say the least... lol! When I decided to get serious about keeping corals, especially hard corals, I had to make the same decision. I studied LED's extensively, and soon realized that they aren't all created equally. To get a "good" LED, it was going to cost quite a bit. There are cheap versions out there, but do I trust them to promote good health and growth for $$$ worth of corals? The answer was "no". I went with tried-and-true T5 HO, and I am very happy with it. It costs more to operate (higher wattage) than LED, but I bought the unit, pay a little extra on my power bill, and change bulbs for many years for what a comparable LED costs. LED has come a long way, but the LED's that I want are still a bit out of reach. T5 has been used for many years, and has a track record of success. I started with soft corals, and gradually added a few LPS. I had good success with those, so I experimented with a few SPS. That has gone very well, so I tried a few Acros. Not high-light, but moderate-to-high light acros. They are doing quite well, also. A 24" 4-bulb T5 HO fixture should grow most anything you want in your tank. I suggest 24" so you can have slightly dimmer areas on the ends of the tank, which can be used for lower-light corals. I have a 48" fixture on my 72" tank, and there's still plenty of light at the ends, but not as intense as in the middle 3/4. The ends are a great place for mushrooms and ricordeas. You can see what T5 is doing for my tank by checking out my video in Corals Forum: SPS: Newest Additions...

 

[Peacetea123]

Choosing the right lighting for corals can be quite confusing, to say the least... lol! When I decided to get serious about keeping corals, especially hard corals, I had to make the same decision. I studied LED's extensively, and soon realized that they aren't all created equally. To get a "good" LED, it was going to cost quite a bit. There are cheap versions out there, but do I trust them to promote good health and growth for $$$ worth of corals? The answer was "no". I went with tried-and-true T5 HO, and I am very happy with it. It costs more to operate (higher wattage) than LED, but I bought the unit, pay a little extra on my power bill, and change bulbs for many years for what a comparable LED costs. LED has come a long way, but the LED's that I want are still a bit out of reach. T5 has been used for many years, and has a track record of success. I started with soft corals, and gradually added a few LPS. I had good success with those, so I experimented with a few SPS. That has gone very well, so I tried a few Acros. Not high-light, but moderate-to-high light acros. They are doing quite well, also. A 24" 4-bulb T5 HO fixture should grow most anything you want in your tank. I suggest 24" so you can have slightly dimmer areas on the ends of the tank, which can be used for lower-light corals. I have a 48" fixture on my 72" tank, and there's still plenty of light at the ends, but not as intense as in the middle 3/4. The ends are a great place for mushrooms and ricordeas. You can see what T5 is doing for my tank by checking out my video in Corals Forum: SPS: Newest Additions...

Thank you for all this help, its helped me out so much and i like the idea of getting a 24 inch!!! btw is marine depot a safe place to order or would i be better going to my lfs and are any of these lights good??/ Thanks again!!! <3

 

[jay0705]

Marine depot isn't bad. Also u could try ebay or amazon

 

[Peacetea123]

Thank you for all this help, its helped me out so much and i like the idea of getting a 24 inch!!! btw is marine depot a safe place to order or would i be better going to my lfs and are any of these lights good??/ Thanks again!!! <3

I also forgot what would be suffiencent bulbs to go along
this lamp i like http://www.***********.com/AquaticLife_T5_HO_4_Lamp_Light_Fixtures_w_Lunar_LEDs_24_Inch_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-AquaticLife-AK01035-FILTFIT54U-vi.html comes with some bulbs (if you scroll down) what would be the best combination to use for those bulds that it comes with and what bulbs would i want to replace. Sorry for bothering you so much lol very new to coral lighting but i really appericate it!!! Thanks a ton!!!!

 

[pegasus]

It is no bother. That's what we're here for. I would take Jay's advice and look on ebay or Amazon for a cheaper fixture. My first search on ebay shows the same light for less than half the price. The lights that come pre-packaged with those lights may not be the best choice. I'd use the savings from the cheaper fixture to upgrade the bulbs. I run ATI bulbs in my fixtures. You could mix them up so moonlights come on first (and go off last), an Aquablue Special and and Actinic come on later and turn off before the moonlights, and in the middle of the day (simulating midday), run a Blue Plus and a Coral Plus. There are other bulbs that can change the color/appearance of your tank, but the combination I mentioned gives excellent coral growth in my tank. The only thing that concerns me is the mounting legs on this lamp. If they will allow it to be mounted to a 30" tank, all is well. If not, an alternative mounting method will have to be improvised... such as suspended from the ceiling or mounting in a canopy. Since they use the same bulbs, it may be safer to go with a 30" fixture... which is still less than half the price of ***********'s on ebay. Hope this helps...

 

[Peacetea123]

It is no bother. That's what we're here for. I would take Jay's advice and look on ebay or Amazon for a cheaper fixture. My first search on ebay shows the same light for less than half the price. The lights that come pre-packaged with those lights may not be the best choice. I'd use the savings from the cheaper fixture to upgrade the bulbs. I run ATI bulbs in my fixtures. You could mix them up so moonlights come on first (and go off last), an Aquablue Special and and Actinic come on later and turn off before the moonlights, and in the middle of the day (simulating midday), run a Blue Plus and a Coral Plus. There are other bulbs that can change the color/appearance of your tank, but the combination I mentioned gives excellent coral growth in my tank. The only thing that concerns me is the mounting legs on this lamp. If they will allow it to be mounted to a 30" tank, all is well. If not, an alternative mounting method will have to be improvised... such as suspended from the ceiling or mounting in a canopy. Since they use the same bulbs, it may be safer to go with a 30" fixture... which is still less than half the price of ***********'s on ebay. Hope this helps...

So would running 2 blues, 1 antic, and coral plus be suffiecent in growing coral?

 

[pegasus]

It should be sufficient. Mind you, you may not be able to grow some of the most light demanding Acroporas, but you should be able to grow most everything else. I bought a 36" 6-bulb T5 HO light for my 36" long 40 gallon breeder, and six bulbs is just a little too much light. I only run 3 of the bulbs (Aquablue Special, Blue Plus, and Coral Plus), and I have a Tri-color Valida, Montipora Capricornis, Montipora Digitata, Pocillopora Damicornis (red and green), which are all SPS corals. They are all doing great. I have a green Torch coral (LPS), and softies such as mushrooms, palys, anthelia, and xenia. I also have a tiny mint pavona frag (low light SPS) in the bottom corner that is growing very nicely as well. If I had it to do over, I would have bought a 4-bulb fixture..