New setup lighting question?

[ericsaun]

I am in the process of putting together a new system. I will be using a 75g Oceanic RR tank. The tank comes with what I assume to be a NO fluor. hood. I would like to get the LR and sand marinating before I purchase my MH/VHO lighting setup. I'd like to add dead sand, ~100 lbs. LR, hopefully slight cycle, then perhaps infauna kit/LS, then purchase my lighting. Will the NO sustain the life on the LR to an acceptable level or should I wait until I have my MH/VHO lighting in place?

[Wroink]

Short answer: I think so, but it depends what's on the live rock.

Long answer: Well, I can give you a perspective on a successful 29 gallon tank, and maybe you can scale up the results :D My 29 came with a single NO fluorescent bulb (a 50/50), and I put in crushed coral, liverock, and a couple of damsels. I would say it kept things alive for that first year, but things didn't really grow. When I went with a dual strip light and combined the original single bulb, then (with a total of three NO bulbs) the growth came. Coepopods, featherdusters and bristleworms started appearing, coraline (pink) algae developed on neighboring rocks (very slowly), and the snails and crabs seemed happy. Some anthelia is holding steady, but I can't get caluerpa to grow worth a darn.

[ericsaun]

I would just be using the NO for a couple of months max. I just don't want to spend several hundred bucks on good quality cured LR and then let it slowly die under NO lighting. I'm just eager to get some salt water in this tank a little sooner if possible. But I don't want to damage one of my biggest investments, the LR.

Thanks,

Eric

[bigtank]

IMHO, get a double NO strip to use until you upgrade. Your live rock will probably get more coralline this way. I recommend one 10,000k Coralife and one 20,000k. This will look pretty cool, without the annoying (IMO) purple look when actinics are included.