Special lighting for live rock?

[kcobain111]

Hi i'm setting up my new tank right now i have a 55 gallon tank and undergravel filter covered in 1/2 foam with some sand covering it. i have 6 guppies i transfered to salt water getting my cycle going. what i want to know if anyone can help me is do LR's need a special light or is it just the actualy coral that needs it?

 

[takia]

LR does not need any special lighting.

 

[jedi]

For a FOWLR you do not need special lights. The everyday store bought hood will be fine.
However, my money says that once you get going, you will want to get better lighting. Start looking into what you will eventually want, and get the lights you need for what you WILL WANT, not what you have now.
i am speaking from experienc here. I went from what you have now, to a 55 reef, to a 90 gallon reef all needing different lights because i got more and more into it. I landed on the VHO lighting for my 90, but not before buying a 265 pc set up, etc..
So the immediate answer is NO, the LR does not need any special lighting
jedi

 

[ophiura]

Before you get too much further into the hobby, I strongly suggest you do some research into filtration, substrate, and cycling.
Very few people still set up new saltwater tanks with undergravel filters. There are better ways with fewer problems down the road....especially in having foam in there....possible trouble waiting to happen.
Also the cycling method may be less than ideal. It is workable, but not, IMO, the best way to go.

 

[kcobain111]

Ok everyone i talk to says to remove the undergravel so that is what i will do but right now i just put in 10.50 lbs of live rock into the tank i'm using the undergravel filter right now instead of the power heads but i will be getting them when i get more info on what would be best for my tank for the best money... i will then before doing anything else remove the undergravel filter and put some live sand in.....if there's anything wrong with this plan right now can anyone help me out and tell me what else to do...i was also told i don't need a protien skimmer right away? is that false? should i go get one? are my rocks going to die?..
Thanks for all the help so far you guys are great

 

[ophiura]

IMO the basics at this stage are (apart from the obvious like tank, heater, etc ):
Live Rock
Sand (perhaps seeded with live or all live)
Circulation - and lots of it: powerheads and over the back filter, whatever..
Ammonia source (a big one, loads of fish -not so desirable- or lots of food, dead shrimp, etc)
Test kits - or frequent way to test your water to watch ammonia, nitrite and nitrate over the next few weeks...in addition to pH and specific gravity.
IMO, you don't need a skimmer now. There may be disagreements on this. But plenty of people set up tanks successfully without running a skimmer from the start.

 

[kcobain111]

ok cool so most on the list is what i have
i have 6 black mollies
a 60 gallon hang on filter
i have the undergravel for now but will remove it
i have 10lbs of live rock
i have marine sand...
should i buy like 10 lbs of live sand? it was 25 dollars at the store i got my rock from
i still need to get a test kit too...
also a few small white/clear bugs..? are running around my rocks as well as a few shelled crabs those are good right?

 

[ophiura]

You might need to clarify the shelled crabs...hermits crabs or what?
Buy GOOD test kits...IMO, most quick drops, test strips, etc are not the best.
I'm not a big fan of using mollies to cycle for a variety of reasons. But they'll work.
You can buy live sand, it certainly won't hurt. Your sand will become live over time with the live rock though too. As far as how much sand...well, you may wish to read up on sand beds or "DSB" for deep sand bed. That is not totally necessary though. There are work arounds and many people just go with how much sand they like the look of.

 

[kcobain111]

the shelled animal is about 1/4 inch long and pretty slim it's got a bunch of legs and it's just walkin around the sand looking for food it has a white shell with orange stripes

 

[kcobain111]

also fi those tests aren't the best can ya give me a name of the one you use or any good test kits? i'll find it online and get it from somewhere i want to make surte eevrything is going well