What blubs to use ?

[StonyPotstation]

Hello there, I have a small situation...

For the last 5 weeks or so, algae growth in my tank has exploded, and my brain coral has slowly deteriated to its death. I had it for around 6 months. After speaking to the marine specialists in my area I was told that possibly my lighting blubs where getting old.

I've tried browsing this lighting forum, but since im Australian all the brands and such just seem like another language. I have the most basic lighting setup (from memory its either 30 or 40w - does that sound right?) Currently I've got a duel globe lamp, and a single globe. Both work on separate timers. Originally I had two blue lights and one white. The blue's would be on around 6am - 10pm and the white light would be on from 7am-11am then 3pm-9pm. One of my radianthus anenomes began losing its colour, my marine specialist recommended changing one of my blue globes for a white to try and get the colour back into the anenome.

All levels are correct in my tank. The problem isn't urgent since i have no more coral to really lose - just fish and anenomies. But what i was wondering is What would be the best lighting setup for my tank using those 3 lighting fittings? Which lights (please no brand names) ie 14K, 6K ? - i do want to successfully keep some basic corals when everything is running smooth again...

I have a feeling im going to get alot of critacism on my tank setup and timings. Please keep the comments constructive - my setup has worked well for me for over 8 months, but this lighting situation has confused me.

On a side note - and i realise this is the wrong forum to be posting in, but it could be related to the lighting. I recently bought two beautiful bubble tip anenome's from the store. They had gorgeous bubble tips and very healthy when i bought them (no exposed mouths, birghtly coloured, full, nothing missing deformed, or discoloured ) When i took them home, they adjusted well, and settled into spots immediatly. They are firmly attached to the rock and are taking food eagerly. The problem is their bubble tips have completely gone, leaving for 70% of the time thin ratty looking tenticles. My radianthus although pale is very plump. My other bright green BTA has changed to a maron colour, and the bubble tips have also gone... is this normal ?

BTW my tank is 3ft by 2ft by 2ft. All anenomies bar one BTA and near the bottom of the tank, but seem comfortable as their not even trying to move elsewhere.

I know this is a disjointed post - thought i have over a years experience with marine fish now, im still not very good with terminology or spelling ;P

Please post as simple and cleary as you can, as I don't like trying to decipher foreign terminology and brand names.

thankyou in advance.

[ColinPopcorn]

Ok... where to start

I'm pretty new to this myself so don't worry about harsh criticism. I still know what its like to be learning.

Fist off, you say that your corals were doing well for eight months. I'd guess they were probably slowly dying.

I think your lights are on too long aswell. Try going to a 8 or 10 hour cycle.

As for the anemones, I'm just starting my research but I think they are fairly demanding when it comes to lights. This is probably gonna be hard to hear, but you're probably going to need to invest a pretty penny in lighting, especially if they are near the bottom of a 2ft. deep tank.

You'll probably need to go with a 400w metal halide setup. Another less expensive alternative might be a 3x96 watt power compact setup.

I hope this helps

[thrlride]

Hard to say because I really don't know what lighting you have. It sounds like you have normal output lighting though.

I would upgrade your lighting to either T5, VHO or PC unless you can afford MH.

[gath2]

Bubble Tips will do that, so I would not worry about them. They also typically prefer a lot of light. However, if well fed they can survive without too many problems.

As for lighting, upgrade. I agree with thrlride and it sounds like you have normal output lighting. Personally I would go with Metal Hallides, 2 x 250's Single Ended would be great for your tank. If you are comfortable doing your own wiring and moutning, you can get these at a good price.

Otherwise, go with any other high output lighting you can find. It will greatly improve your chances of keeping any corals.

[StonyPotstation]

Thanks for such speedy replies its really appreciated.

It seems I'll have to upgrade my lighting to get better results. In the meantime, would two whites and one blue be better then two blues and one white ?

Also a new product has just hit marine stores here in Australia - it's being marketed as a "semi" halide light. Their about $500 AU cheaper then a halide, and about $200AU more then a usual setup. The marine shop closest to me has had them on one of their coral tanks to test and found a huge visible increase in size of corals.

They arn't pretending to be halides, but they sure as hell are alot cheaper. How much would you think a new lighting setup would cost? How long do the globes last for? Also, what about the ehat generated - living in Australia we have a temperature range varying from 5 - 45 degree's C (i dont know the conversion) so would i also need to invest in a chiller with this lighting setup - it sounds VERY costly.

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45 degrees centigrade will be around 114 in fahrenheits. u'd definitely need a good chiller if going for mhs