minimum light requirements..take 2

comfort_racing · #1 07/22/2007, 06:27 PM

ok guys, i made a purchase this weekend to get me on my way to reefdom...i bought a 48" Coralife power compact light fixture with 4 double bulbs in it 2 65w actinics and 2 10,000k sunlight bulbs. so how will this help me get corals in my tank? can i run them with this without my halides? i plan on buying those (hopefully from marvins used move sale) soon but unsure when. so like i said will this do the trick for the corals for now?

thanks in advance - chad

p.s.

you wouldnt believe the price i got on this 4 month old fixture

retails for $259...i got it for $75...should be here wednesday!

xxtriggermanxx · #2 07/22/2007, 06:58 PM

all depends on what type of corals you want to keep.. softies and lps should be fine. with sps you're gonna need to up the watt per gallon. with MH or T5's I've never had T5's but I'm sure people here will tell you they work great for them.

comfort_racing · #3 07/22/2007, 07:04 PM

dumb qustion but can you quickly explain lps and softies...i dont understand quite what that means or what types of corals they are?

phurst · #4 07/22/2007, 07:16 PM

Softies are things with no skeleton and (generaly speaking) lower light requirements. Things like colt, kenya tree, xenia, mushrooms, leathers, etc.

LPS have a stony skeleton, but large fleshy polyps. They (again, generaly speaking) have higher light requirements, such as frogspawn, bubble, brains, torch, etc.

Most coral sellers will have them broken down into LPS, SPS and soft corals. Check out a couple of RC sponsors and you'll get a good feel for what is what.

J. Montgomery · #5 07/22/2007, 08:43 PM

I ran 4 x 65W PC lights for about 6 months when my tank was young. Everything lived (including SPS), but growth was slow and most of the coral colors were browned out. $75 is a sweet deal for those lights, considering that replacing the bulbs is ~ $90-100.

As Charlie told me, "You'll upgrade the light fixture before you need to replace the bulbs." Its true. You can't really compare PC to metal halide or T5 light fixtures.

For a 75 gallon tank, I'd look for 2 x 175W or 2 x 250W metal halide, or 6 x 54W T5 lights with individual reflectors.

comfort_racing · #6 07/22/2007, 09:31 PM

cool guys, thanks for the advice! as usual i will always be looking for a good deal on mh's if anyone comes across them..old or not, in a fixture or not!

thanks...

angelscrx · #7 07/23/2007, 12:12 AM

Also SPS is Small Polyp Stony corals like acroporas, staghorns, pocilliporas etc. Calcium skeletons fleshy tissue outside with small polyps.

My suggestions is decide what you want to keep by doing some research on what each coral needs as far as light, feeding, temp, etc... before you purchase any other equipment and definitely before you purchase any coral! And keep asking questions! Happy hunting

Charlie Davidson · #8 07/23/2007, 10:00 AM

Angel----Cleaner wrasse

I still have a "box" full of lighting stuff, I bought along the way..
Wish I had gone MH right off the bat..
Josh, hope you didn't mind the truth.. felt you were one of the few that can accept it , the way it is

Charlie Davidson · #9 07/23/2007, 10:09 AM

Ray, I have 500w over a 50g

Too much..??

( 2x400w was.. just alittle )

J. Montgomery · #10 07/23/2007, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlie Davidson
Josh, hope you didn't mind the truth.

Not at all! Its nice to get straight answers sometimes.

xxtriggermanxx · #11 07/23/2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlie Davidson
Ray, I have 500w over a 50g
Too much..??
( 2x400w was.. just alittle )

I'm sure the clamies love it! I think if you go with the 400's you might want to dose with some Hawaiin Tropic Sun Screen

AQUAN8TOR · #12 07/26/2007, 06:23 PM

Charlie, you remind me of someone else I know. 500 watts isn't enough, though. I think you need a few more bulbs. I know a guy who had 800w over a 40breeder........

Charlie Davidson · #13 07/26/2007, 07:04 PM

Nate, you are the Man!!!
Dog, I have quit a few clams now, @20-25

ranceego · #14 07/27/2007, 12:39 PM

When I started this hobby the were no metal halides, vho was the way, and my first and second system that was all I had, you were limited but it worked. So to answer your question, yes just watch your light requirements of what you place in the tank...... there are many levels in the ocean

J. Montgomery · #15 07/27/2007, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AQUAN8TOR
Charlie, you remind me of someone else I know. 500 watts isn't enough, though. I think you need a few more bulbs. I know a guy who had 800w over a 40breeder........

Larry told me that he tried two 400W bulbs over a 55 gallon and bleached everything in it!

comfort_racing · #16 07/27/2007, 01:48 PM

you guys kill me...i'd be happy with a midget standing on my fish tank shining a flashlight down... (i apologize to all little-people after that).

rumply · #17 07/27/2007, 09:04 PM

I work for 8.00 an hour, sunday afternoons off. Can provide own flashlight.

comfort_racing · #18 07/28/2007, 11:19 AM

THATS A BARGAIN!

Charlie Davidson · #19 07/28/2007, 12:28 PM

Josh, Nate was the one with 800 over a breeder!!
I had 2 400s over the clam tank, but it was a little too much, bet it would have been OK -- if tank was 2-3" deeper..

Nate, is my Yoda!!! I am allways & forever Thankfull for his guidance

ranceego · #20 07/29/2007, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rumply
I work for 8.00 an hour, sunday afternoons off. Can provide own flashlight.

AQUAN8TOR · #21 07/30/2007, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlie Davidson
Josh, Nate was the one with 800 over a breeder!!
I had 2 400s over the clam tank, but it was a little too much, bet it would have been OK -- if tank was 2-3" deeper..

Nate, is my Yoda!!! I am allways & forever Thankfull for his guidance

Charlie, you're too kind. To clarify for those asking, The 800 watts consisted of 4xVHO actinics, and a 400w 10K XM. I ran a couple ushio 10K's before switching to the XM, wow so much brighter. I did bleach a couple pieces when switching, but not too bad. The bulb was about 12" off the water, so the ends of the tank were only about 6" further away from the bulb than the very center; almost even illumination. For those of you that might be skeptical as for coloration in the tank, just ask jay or brandon; I had NO shortage of color. I think its a bit easier to bleach things out with 20K bulbs, due to the slightly higher blue/UV end of the spectrum, but MAN, corals look great. If I were going to do it over again, I'd probably try a setup similar to the giesemann fixture above Marvin's tank, with 20K and 10K halides, on a similar timer schedule; blue before and after the white, just high enough off the water so that the bulb distance is almost even between the bulbs and everything under them. That might require something of a 30"x 30" footprint, but this is all hypothetical.

Sorry to hijack the thread. I haven't been on in a while; where are my manners.

xxtriggermanxx · #22 07/31/2007, 05:53 PM

Come on Nate jump in the waters fine!