Are my lights upgradable?

[Maraschiello]

Team,

Whats the easiest way and most financially viable way to upgrade my lighting system. I have a coralife 36" that has 2 double bar lights on it. both 96 watts, one say 10,000k the other says actinic. Are these lights good? I just have a FOWLR system but I want to try some easy corals out.
Can I just put better bulbs in my fixture?
Do i need to buy a whole new fixture?
Anyone selling one that would work for my 36" set up?
What would be a good, reasonably priced setup for some easy corals to start out with?

Thanks Neighbors

Paul

 

[Conesus_Kid]

I guess it depends on what you consider "easy" corals.

I would think that the lights you have would be find for things like Kenya tree, mushrooms, nepthea and other soft corals. If you are looking at LPS or SPS corals, you'll need to upgrade.

What fish do you have in your FOWLR? The reason I ask is that I'd hate to see you upgrade your lighting system to accommodate LPS or SPS corals if you have known coral nippers in your aquarium.

 

[Maraschiello]

the only thing i know thats not reef safe is my choco star, other than that, clowns, scooter blenny, mandarin, diamond goby, dragon goby, pencil urchin and long spine, and a royal gramma

 

[Maraschiello]

bump, come on WNYers!

 

[superkat]

i don't know about retrofitting...i just bought used fixtures from fellow reefers and switched to VHO and MH. used the old fixtures for the sump and have one over some LR i have cycling.

somebody can answer this better for you...keep bumping!

 

[Maraschiello]

Thanks superkat

I appreciate the imput

:spin3:

 

[Johnny C]

IMO I'd upgrade to a four-bulb Tek T5 fixture, would allow you to house anything from higher-light corals to clams without spending a ton of $.

 

[mreye23]

with that light id say zoas would be okay and if u place some low care lps such as a torch up high u would be fine.....but thats just my .02 but i agree with cali get a four bulb tek unit and u will be very happy!

 

[eugeneK]

I had similar ficture before (Orbit something) and i was successful at keeping softy, zoas, star polyps, shrooms and even a torch and a green birds nest at the very top of the tank in a 20G long. You can definitely keep some hardy corals under that light. You technically have enough wattage for a shallow tank, I just don't think PC lights have as much par rating as t5 or MH per watt so I would not try anything light demanding. I had them running for about a year and when it was time to buy new bulbs i upgraded my tank to a 30 cube with 150W MH.

the fixture uses power compact bulbs and aside from changing Kelvin rating there isn't much you can do to upgrade it.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

tip:

tip:

make sure an aquarium's filtration is good before slapping brighter lights on it or you'll have an explosion of nuisance algae. Do you have a skimmer on this tank?

 

[block head]

lot's of good deals pop up on this site. i'd take a trip to the arc and see what lighting you would like to have. several different options with a wide range of operating costs. randy the crew are honest ,and can set u up with new ,or give you an idea of what type of lighting to consider.

 

[Maraschiello]

to answer gary I have a protein skimmer, Algae is honestly something I see very little of, I thank my Turbos, Foxface, and sand sifting gobies for keeping the tank clean

What's a good coral to try out, something I won't cry about if it doesnt work out okay, and a beginners coral

 

[mr86mister]

What's a good coral to try out, something I won't cry about if it doesnt work out okay, and a beginners coral

Pulsing Xenia, Cheaper Zoanthids, Toadstool Mushroom, Finger Leather, Nepthea. You can always look for small frags and grow them in your own system.

Just to throw in some friendly advice. Foxfaces have been known to nip quite a bit at soft corals. That of course is a decision that you can take and figure out if you want to take a chance. I have a Moorish Idol in my Reef Tank so I'm gambling myself.:lol:

 

[mreye23]

green star polyps

 

[tent boy]

If you get green star polyps make sure they are on a separate rock, because if they climb off onto a base rock you will have trouble stopping them from spreading everywhere. My foxface was a zoanthid nipper. I found him a new home. Frags are definitely a cheap way to find out if the coral is a good fit for the light and fish compatability.

 

[johnd651]

could a brain of some sorts be kept using this lighting?

(sry for the threadjack)

 

[superkat]

If you get green star polyps make sure they are on a separate rock, because if they climb off onto a base rock you will have trouble stopping them from spreading everywhere. .

i have mine on a cool little island...with a small cave underneath..which is where my flasher wrasse has set up house.

 

[becon776]

I have kept all kinds of LPS (torches, frogspawn, hammers), star polyps, mushrooms, zoanthids, ricordea's, all kinds of shrooms with those EXACT lights. Heck they even grew. Really alot of us have overkill on lights. You can keep almost anything except SPS and clams under those lights. You just have to stack your rock right and position the more "light hungry" corals towards the top.
Also if your lights are old you WILL want new bulbs. The type of lighting you have is called power compact flourescents (PC) when you get new bulbs pay attention to the pin arrangement on your old ones they are either square or straight. like :: or ....
also you will want to look into getting a skimmer.

 

[becon776]

by the lights being old i mean the bulbs are older than eight months. In my opinion pc's need replacing a little more often.