leather & LPS lighting

[worldwidereef]

I have 4 x 55 pc's-2 10k and 2 03 atinic on a 75 gal tank, with mostly leathers and LPS.
Is this enough lighting for these coral? Or do I need more or less? Thanks for the help..

[davejnz]

most corals respond favorably to more light but if yours grow well and are overall healthy then you probably dont need more.

[MCsaxmaster]

This level of lighting is enough to meet the requirements of pretty much any corals. Even so-called "high light" corals can live fine under this lighting (though they may not be very brightly colored or grow quickly) if their other requirements are met.

What sorts of "LPS" and "leathers" are you trying to grow? LPS doesn't really mean anything in terms of care. Lobophyllia ssp. often enjoy quite bright light and are usually considered and "lps" coral. Leptoseris on the other hand come from very dim locals yet would be considered "sps". You see, polyp size is meaningless.

Cheers,

-Chris

[worldwidereef]

Thanks for the info. Right now I have 2 frogspawns, torch, finger leather, toadstool , fuzzy mushrooms , red mushrooms that are taking off, had 2 on lr when I set up the tank, and now there are every where. I also have few buttons , zoos, and a (forgive my spelling, but I think its ) wellsophilla. All seem happy and perky, but if more light will help I have a 2x 65 that I will put on.. Thanks again for the info.

[MCsaxmaster]

You should have plenty of light for everything you mentioned. As a side note Welsophyllia is now synonymous with Trachyphyllia geoffroyi as is Trachyphyllia radiata. As it turns out they are all one somewhat variable species.

You could add the 65 watt bulbs if you choose, but I don't think it is at all required.

Cheers,

-Chris

[worldwidereef]

Thanks, MCsaxmaster you have been a great help.

Brian

[MCsaxmaster]

No problem, I'm glad I could help.

Cheers,

-Chris

[XxMutedYouthxX]

I think you should be ok... I have heard of corals living with that kind of lighting but I think they might prefer about a 14k MH bulb with about 3watts per gallon of your tank... Only reason I say 14k and not 10k is that the soft corals like leathers prefer a deeper spectrum of light so a 14k would be a compromise since you are keeping soft and hard corals. If you wanted to add a MH you could probably get less wattage than that and leave your PC's on the tank