Is Lighting Sufficent Enough For Corals, & Anemones ???

bjonesjr1 · 03/02/2006, 12:35 PM

Currently I own a Power Compact, fan cooled light above my 55 gallon tank with (1) daylight bulb at 10,000k and (1) actnic bulb for the night also has moon lights on it which are really cool when I turn the Light out at night. Wanted to know what kind of coral's & anemone's I can put in my tank safely with the light that I currently have???

BurntOutReefer · 03/02/2006, 12:44 PM

whats the wattage? You can keep softies (leathers/shrooms, etc)..maybe some polpys...depends on wattage....anemones...with out knowing wattage... not too many choices

bjonesjr1 · 03/02/2006, 12:55 PM

96 watts on both bulbs

PiNaPLeX · 03/02/2006, 02:09 PM

you are on the lower end of lighting with that setup on your tank. For a reef tank, you should probably think of more light. Even with softies, that amount of light is fairly low. As far as how many corals you'll be able to keep, that depends on your system (skimmer, LR, filtration) as much as lighting. And you should probably forget about the anemone (I'm not saying that it can't be done, it's just not a good idea). IMO, keep your corals in the upper portion of your tank.

If you ever decide to upgrade, at the very least, you should try and look at a 4x96w PC, or even better look at some 4x54w T-5 setups, or a 2x (150-175)watt MH setup.

szwab · 03/02/2006, 02:30 PM

you would be limited as to what corals as mentioned you could do most softies some LPS in the upper portion of the tank. I would not reccomend anemones as they would need stronger lighting.

bjonesjr1 · 03/02/2006, 03:24 PM

Correction I currently own a CustomSeaLife Moon Light Fixtures with 2x96w (1) 10,000K Premium-Daylight & (1) Ultra-Actinic, now that I have purchased this fixture could I take out the Ultra-Actinic bulb and put in another Premium-Daylight bulb or do I need the Actinic Bulb for night time simulation for the corals ???

szwab · 03/02/2006, 09:05 PM

you could that would help a bit for par but IMO still wouldn't be enough. The ultra actinic on at night seems to be a lot of light for a moon effect. You don't need the actinic for nighttime stimulation. It may help for spawning etc. but I don't think there has been solid proof that it helps.

bjonesjr1 · 03/02/2006, 09:20 PM

I usauly have both the lights on starting in the afternoon tell I go to bed usually around 10pm. It gives more of a blue affect I think. When just the daylight bulb is on it's alittle dull looking. So I turn both of them on and I notice that more feather duster's come out of the rocks, plus the cooling fan comes on when I have the actinic light on so with both of them on I get a Nice color and cool air flowing threw the light, but I found some bulbs on

http://www.seaquestmarine.com/cslrp.html

it is called the (SmartLamp 10K/Actinic Bulb) here's a quote from the website,
"The Smart Lamp is a 10,000K Premium Daylight and Ultra-Actinic lamp side by side. The Premium-Daylight PowerCompact bulbs produce a crisp white light, wile the Ultra-Actinic emits a blue light. Available wattages include: 32w, 55w, 65w, 96w."

I think that would the best that I could do with the light fixture that I have without upgrading the whole thing...

Thanks for the input.

bobby
bjonesjr1

bjonesjr1 · 03/02/2006, 09:22 PM

oh yea the fixture that I have has 3 LED's on it for the moonlight effect, I forgot to mention that.

bobby
bjonesjr1

03/02/2006, 12:35 PM	#1
bjonesjr1 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 1,258	Is Lighting Sufficent Enough For Corals, & Anemones ??? Currently I own a Power Compact, fan cooled light above my 55 gallon tank with (1) daylight bulb at 10,000k and (1) actnic bulb for the night also has moon lights on it which are really cool when I turn the Light out at night. Wanted to know what kind of coral's & anemone's I can put in my tank safely with the light that I currently have???

03/02/2006, 02:09 PM	#4
PiNaPLeX Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 439	you are on the lower end of lighting with that setup on your tank. For a reef tank, you should probably think of more light. Even with softies, that amount of light is fairly low. As far as how many corals you'll be able to keep, that depends on your system (skimmer, LR, filtration) as much as lighting. And you should probably forget about the anemone (I'm not saying that it can't be done, it's just not a good idea). IMO, keep your corals in the upper portion of your tank. If you ever decide to upgrade, at the very least, you should try and look at a 4x96w PC, or even better look at some 4x54w T-5 setups, or a 2x (150-175)watt MH setup. __________________ PiNaPLe X - If fate really exsists, then it HATES my guts! Current Tank Info: 29g glass tank, Penguin 330 filter, AquaC Remora Skimmer, 2x65w PowerCompacts (10k & actinic), 90g RR AGA tank /w Megaflow(in progress), 40g Sump/Fuge, 2 x Seio 1500, Dolphin 800, 2x250W MH (XM 10k), 2x54W T5 (Actinic Plus + True Actinic)

03/02/2006, 02:30 PM	#5
szwab RC Mod Join Date: May 2002 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 15,225	you would be limited as to what corals as mentioned you could do most softies some LPS in the upper portion of the tank. I would not reccomend anemones as they would need stronger lighting. __________________ Mark "I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cowbell" ~ Christopher Walken Current Tank Info: AGE 240 Flatback Hex

03/02/2006, 09:05 PM	#7
szwab RC Mod Join Date: May 2002 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 15,225	you could that would help a bit for par but IMO still wouldn't be enough. The ultra actinic on at night seems to be a lot of light for a moon effect. You don't need the actinic for nighttime stimulation. It may help for spawning etc. but I don't think there has been solid proof that it helps. __________________ Mark "I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cowbell" ~ Christopher Walken Current Tank Info: AGE 240 Flatback Hex

03/02/2006, 12:44 PM	#2
BurntOutReefer Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Granada Hills Posts: 4,376	whats the wattage? You can keep softies (leathers/shrooms, etc)..maybe some polpys...depends on wattage....anemones...with out knowing wattage... not too many choices

03/02/2006, 12:55 PM	#3
bjonesjr1 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 1,258	96 watts on both bulbs

03/02/2006, 03:24 PM	#6
bjonesjr1 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 1,258	Correction I currently own a CustomSeaLife Moon Light Fixtures with 2x96w (1) 10,000K Premium-Daylight & (1) Ultra-Actinic, now that I have purchased this fixture could I take out the Ultra-Actinic bulb and put in another Premium-Daylight bulb or do I need the Actinic Bulb for night time simulation for the corals ???

03/02/2006, 09:20 PM	#8
bjonesjr1 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 1,258	I usauly have both the lights on starting in the afternoon tell I go to bed usually around 10pm. It gives more of a blue affect I think. When just the daylight bulb is on it's alittle dull looking. So I turn both of them on and I notice that more feather duster's come out of the rocks, plus the cooling fan comes on when I have the actinic light on so with both of them on I get a Nice color and cool air flowing threw the light, but I found some bulbs on http://www.seaquestmarine.com/cslrp.html it is called the (SmartLamp 10K/Actinic Bulb) here's a quote from the website, "The Smart Lamp is a 10,000K Premium Daylight and Ultra-Actinic lamp side by side. The Premium-Daylight PowerCompact bulbs produce a crisp white light, wile the Ultra-Actinic emits a blue light. Available wattages include: 32w, 55w, 65w, 96w." I think that would the best that I could do with the light fixture that I have without upgrading the whole thing... Thanks for the input. bobby bjonesjr1

03/02/2006, 09:22 PM	#9
bjonesjr1 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 1,258	oh yea the fixture that I have has 3 LED's on it for the moonlight effect, I forgot to mention that. bobby bjonesjr1