lights

[Semi newbie]

I have a 44 corner tank with a power compact two 65 watt bulbs and then two NO reef bulbs 17 watts a piece. I know the watts per gallon rule is not the best way to measure anything and understand that but I seem to be getting tons of conflicting information. I am pretty sure that the lights I have are acceptable for LPS and soft corals because I have been keeping them successfully for about a year now but here is where the question comes in. Are these lights acceptable to keep SPS, some say yes, some say no. For example Custom Sea Life says that power compacts are fine for some SPS and that I have the proper lighting to try it. GARF also states you can keep some SPS with this type of light set up, in fact they have info on one person doing it with 40 watt NO's!!!! What do you all think? I have seen from the pictures you have some gorgeous tanks and while I think mine is beautiful I have this urge to try more????!!!! The reef keepers curse I guess. Due to the hood I have I would probably only be able to do one of those MH, PC, and fan combined set ups that would rest on the top of my hood. Custom sea life makes them for of course, a pretty penny! I am very curious to hear what you all have to say. Thanks in advance for any help/advice....Lynn

[kmagyar]

Lynn, I would say it all depends on the type of sps you are reffering to. There are plenty of sps corals that you can keep under PC lights, though they may not keep their colors as well as they should. In my opinion if you keep montipora's under PC you may have good luck. I know that Carribean Forest in Rochester has PCs on their show tank and it has a few sps colonies in it. You may want to try to get sps that came from low light tanks also. If you really want to get into sps, get one mh bulb for that tank. If you want to try a few frags under PC, let me know. I can donate a few frags of montipora to you. I have a friend that has an ICECAP 660 running 4 vho bulbs. I gave him soem purple tip monti and orange Capricornis and its livivng, thats about it. Though I am sure there are other factors involved in his case (water quality, allot of softies fighting, water movement). Did I mention I have a Blueline 250 watt ballast for sale? I'm not pushing to sell but just in case your looking, Im offering.

[Semi newbie]

Thanks for the reply. I would love to try some of the frags you are talking about but I want them to do well, not just survive. My tank water quality is good and the inhabitants are very happy. I think I have a pretty good system going just question the lights!!!! I may be interested in the light you have but I am not sure what it is???? Does it rest on the tank hood? Would I have to put it in my tank hood? If yes, then space and distance from the water are an issue!!!! Also, don't I have to have some other lights for the actinic part? Sorry to sound like such an idiot but like I said the lights issue always gets me and I am not all that handy for the DIY stuff!!!

[kmagyar]

If you did decide to add a diy MH bulb (what I have for sale) you would be able to get actinic bulbs for your power compacts. If you look around on the net you may be able to find an all in one mh with actininc "pendant" that you can mount over your reef. As you are probably aware, lighting is a big issue. I went through three different configurations before I found the lighting that I both liked to look at and was satsfied with its track record. You should come to one of our meetings some time. I'm sure you will get a ton of suggestions from people that have already spent the money.

[cperson]

Keith,

Thanks again for the m. capricornus pieces you gave me at the last meeting. One died within a week, the others are growing well, one even has started a second layer (scroll).
I'll take some more pictures soon to update URS site. Oh, I now have a sump!

S. newbie take note, I have 300 watts of VHO lighting on my 55 gallon tank. The cap frags are 3-4" down below the water surface. I'm also growing tubipora which has a high lighting requirement.

I think you should listen to Keith if you really want to succeed with sps corals. BTW, I think he has 50000000000 watts of light over his tank.

-Craig

[Gary Majchrzak]

Semi newbie,It sounds as though you have progressed past any "newbie" nametag! I am always impressed with those that do more with less. You could maintain some SPS with your current lighting.GROWING some with COLOR might be more of a challenge with that lighting.If bitten by the SPS bug, I would suggest getting at least a 175watt MH lamp above your reef.It'll make it a LOT easier on you! The ripple effect in the tank is pleasing, too.The MH combined with actinic PC's is an awesome combination.Try some SPS frags while saving for a lighting upgrade.I agree that Montipora is where you should start with SPS .Did you attempt any LPS- frogspawn,torch or hammer? This would also be a place to start heading toward SPS with your current lighting.These large polyp stony corals can make up for lighting deficits by capturing a greater number of food items.Try cynarina or scolymia if you have no angelfish present.Just some suggestions for stonies that would be compatible with your current lights.If acropora is your ultimate goal, however ,start saving towards a MH lamp to make it practical.

[Semi newbie]

Thank you for saying that I have progressed past the newbie part of this hobbie! I definitely find myself feeling like a novice more than once a week! Like I said the lighting thing seems to get me all confused, before that it was additives and blah, blah, blah, the list goes on and on. I feel as though I am doing well with my current set up(okay now that I said that a major catastrophe is on the way!) I have a hammer and frog spawn in my tank doing great right now. I think I will try some sps that you guys mentioned and start to save for some better lighting. Right now we are doing a house addition so I think the lights may have to wait a bit. I thank you all very much for your help and will continue to read the board and post when I feel overwhelmed! I am so glad to know you are all out there! Lynn

[ReeferMac]

You're welcome to pick up some nice frags at our next club meeting (when is that going to be, anyways...) We usually circulate an "Availability" list a few weeks before the meeting, gives everyone a chance to work out trades and what not.
Captive raised is by far the way to go. Not only will these guys be acclimated to captive water and conditions, but chances are acclimated to something close to what you have in lighting.

- Mac