Coral Question?

[BrianOKC]

Are there any type of corals i can keep under a normal fluorescent light strip with some of the 50/50 bulbs and such?

 

[jpitts101]

im probally going to get dogged for imputting this, but when i first thought about trying corals i had double light strip with a 50/50 bulb and a full attinic bulb and bought a mushroom rock and a zoo rock and they did fine. I still have the same corals and am now running t-5's and PC's and there not doing any better, im not saying not to get good lighting im saying some corals you dont have to have really great lighting for. Im sure there are plenty of people on RC that can tell you all about the corals that can do well under low lighting.

 

[scott0615]

Although not ideal - I have to agree with jpitts. Just had a guy in the store that has a 55 setup for 18 months - 2 40 watt bulbs - has zo's, xenia, mushrooms, and leathers. All doing fine.

 

[BrianOKC]

Well I've got a double 48" inch light what 2 bulbs do u suggest?

 

[jpitts101]

if you are going to use that route, in my opinion i would you a 50/50 bulb and a full attinic bulb, i had sucess with that set up

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Depending on the depth of the tank, there is actually quite a few things that you can keep under normal output lights. Heck, we're keeping Green Star Polyps, Zoanthids, Mushrooms, Xenia, and a Long Polyped Toadstool under (2) 48" Normal Output T8's in the tank at Kyoto until we can get better lights. Beyond what was mentioned above, things like Kenya Tree, Colt Corals, and carefully positioned Euphyillia (Hammer, Frogspawn, etc) and Candy Canes will even do fine.

 

[MyMonkey]

That settles it. Scratch the T-5's. I am going with NO.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Better yet, save yourself some money and set a tank up facing the southeast and let the sun do it all

 

[pwhitby]

Why scratch the T5s. They are not that much more expensive. You can get a 2 bulb, 4 foot unit for about 130. Sure its more than NO, but it does open the door to whole lot more corals.

You may find that NO bulbs are just not bright enough for you to appreciate the tank. The tank would look dim. My first tanks were NO bulbs and they did fine. Ill post some pics of my tanks with NO later, but once I upgraded to VHO (T5s were not available) the change was dramatic. The colors were more intense and the entire tank became more noticeable. It drew attention.

If you need to save money, I wouldnt do so on one of the key components of a system. Buy 2 less corals, it would amount to the cost difference between T5 and NO

Here are some of my NO powered 30g (10yrs ago)

My old 70g with VHO

notice the color differences.

Also, my 30g had two sets of NO. the ones that came with the tank and an extra two bulb additional hood, so 3 NO bulbs.

Paul.

 

[captbunzo]

I agree with Paul. What we are trying to say here:

1. Don't give up on getting some better lights for your tank.
2. But in the meantime, while you have your current lights, there are corals you can give a try.

Honestly, you are going through what most of us do. We get into this hobby, see the crazy light fixtures, and ask: Is that really necessary??? I the long run, we all decide: YES.

Now, you can temper the craziness, and that's what T5s are all about - amazing lights at a good price.

 

[dugg]

When i used to run NO lights, i used a bulb called a TRITON that did a great job. I'm pretty sure you can still buy them local.