So Confused???? Lights?

t_larz

t_larz

Member
OK, I'm so confused
, i bought a 90 gallon tank and i have read so much about lighting that I'm blue
in the face but I don't understand a whole lot of it. what kind of lighting will I need to start it up. It will have fish, anemones, and a eventually some coral in it. so any help will be appreciated.
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
For fish only, standard fluorescent will do. But if you add any thing else,even live rock(which I highly reccomend)you'll need to upgrade. To save money on my first tank, I installed replacement bulbs(Coralife 20'000K)bulbs in my stock perfecto lids. Things have been going great. On my new tank,125gal, I've got metal halite,and VHO fluorescent. This should support anything I would want to add. You should talk with your LFS and see what they reccomend. STEVE
 
fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
I know I've asked this question at least once on about a thousand diff posts, but I never quite understood the answer. If I were to get the new 46gal settup I've mentioned before, WHAT LIGHTING DO I NEED?? All there's gonna be is fish, crabs, snails, shrimps, and maybe an anmeone later. no corals. (in other words, more than a FOWLR, less than a full reef). Should I go w/ the 200000K corallifes like Mr. SALTY?? Please explain in simple terms to someone who knows alot about fish but next to squat on inverts and reef tank lighting....
 
fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
Please help me on this!! I think I only need two of these following lights for my tank, but WHICH two?? 10000K, Actinic 03 Blue, 50/50 daylight/actinic 03 blue, trichromatic 6500K. All from CoralLife. Two of same kind, all four.... ahhh! I have no clue!
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
The bulbs I mentioned should be all you will need. Why get more than that? Unless you like spending lots of money. The CORALIFE bulbs are somewhat difficult to find, but worth every penny. My current tank has 2 18in bulbs. I spent 25bucks each. Cant beat that. They are manufactured by Energy Savers Unlimited,Carson,CA. STEVE
 
gabe

gabe

New Member
Basically all you need are the regular florescent lights.Actinic Blue, 20000K, AND A 50/50. This is plenty for live rock and maybe even a mushrume coral.This will also give your tank a better look. All that high tec stuff is for anenomes hard to raise corals ect....The thing that I would worry about is keeping nitrates low
 
reptilicus

reptilicus

Member
Fishgirl,
I gave you a response under the question about the anemone to keep with your clownfish. As for lighting, if you want to keep pretty much all corals or anemones, you will need Metal Halide, VHO or PC. I have over 1000 watts of light over my 6x2x2.
Tom
 
fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
reptilicus,
I'm not going to keep any corals, but I do want one anemone and which anemone can survive with the three bulbs gabe mentioned? Are there any? if not, I will forget the anemone until later when I may want corals, and it will make the upgrade worthwile insdead of just for one of the inhabitants ya know. Cuz if I scratch the anemone for now I can go with 3 florescents just for LR, shrimp, crabs, snails and fish right? But if's there's like a hardier anemone that can survive under those lights inform me.
 
halide

halide

Member
I would say stay away from host anenome's unless you want to go vho or metal halide because they need light just as bright or brighter then some of the corals also I would do a little reading pertaining to the type of anenome you plan to keep because they can all have different requirements as far as it's natural habitat and were it likes to live and if it can't find a place in your tank were it can be happy lighting wont matter anenomes can be more demanding then most corals and I believe should only be tried by expearanced hobbyist or those willing to read about and find out as much info before buying.
[This message has been edited by Halide (edited 07-02-2000).]
 
reptilicus

reptilicus

Member
Hi Fishgirl,
Clownfish, in keeping with their great personalities, are generally very picky in terms of what anemones they will go in and which ones they won't. My perculas couldn't live in a $40 Radianthus anemone, they had to have the $150 H. magnifica anemone! But it's big enough to keep a family of them in there, which is good. The bad news is that there are no anemones (that I know of) which can host clowns which don't need a lot of light. If all you want is is fish, shrimp, etc, then fluorescent tubes will be fine. I'm not sure what type you use, as I have not used fluoros over a salt tank for about 10 years apart from actinics to supplement MH's.
Regards,
Tom
 
fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
OK, thanks for the info everyone. I think I will steer away from anemonies for a while at least until I want later (if ever) to try corals too, then I will hafta upgrade anyway.
I'm gonna go with blue actinic, daylight and 50/50 for now for LR and cleaning inverts.
Another question: should I wait till after it cycles with the LR before running my skimmer? I thought I heard that somewhere.
 
kmr

kmr

Member
I never knew anyone that could hold back from going totally reef once they started. I would go with VHO or PC lighting right from the start. I only pay about 25 - 30 dollars for URI VHO bulbs. The only bigger expense is the ballast and possibly a hood. For LR the more light the better too. Lots of colorfull algea to grow with proper lights and care. Also you will get some pretty cool life on the LR some of which you will want to keep alive. On other note reef fish are more comfortable with the light levels and color found naturally in the ocean. Standard lights don't do that. Lights and skimmers cost some bucks and our fish and inverts are worth every penny.
 
clownfish

clownfish

Member
You will eventually want an anemone and lots of corals. If you want to get one light system that will really kick serious @$$, buy a MH system. These are extremely powerful and can support even the most light-hungry animals. Anemones? You bet. SPS? Yes. Maxima clams? Yes. This way you buy one system that can support any coral or anemone you want to keep. Go for the high Kelvin temperatures (bluer is better). If I had more bucks (I'm 16) I would buy a powerful metal halide system when I set up my 55 in a few months. They are VERY good. They cost a lot, but you will get what you pay for!! Your reef will look great with MH. If you put an anemone under MH, it will get so fat and healthy and happy. Your animals deserve the best lighting you can get. MH.
 
fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
Small problem: I'm 14 and only earn 10$ a week as allowance and I'm always busy with swimming team, track and cross-country running teams, being a pianist, school and advanced courses, friends, traveling, you name it. My life is busy, and I'm young and don't get paid a heck of alot and have to pay for everything and do all the work. But I'll see what I can do! I do this all for the love of the hobby as it's my fav thing over all the others.
 
clownfish

clownfish

Member
The only corals I plan to keep at first are mushrooms and maybe a few other soft corals. Would it be sufficient for me to get one daylight and one actinic tube?? I don't want an anemone or anything like that for now.
 
t_larz

t_larz

Member
Who knows what High Intensity Lighting is? what is NO or HO too. I know what VHO and MH is but all these abbreviations get confusing. How are you guys fitting all these bulbs on your tank. My hood only fits two bulbs, not like four or five! Let me in on the secret ok?
lol.
 
fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
PC = power compact
MH = Metal Halide
as for the rest, I'm clueless as well, and would aprecitate the names of all these lighting abv. are. thanks!
 
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