Help with Lighting

[Schmoner]

My Tank:
http://www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/evasion-120-o-222.html

Without hvaing to puchase a new lighting unit, what optimum lighting would you recommend for my tank to get the most eye catching displays, and help support the live stock?


55g FOWLR setup

thanks in advance!

 

[bertoni]

That lighting is fairly dim. If you want to keep corals, you might be out of luck for the most part. For fish, the lighting is really only for your eyes, and most people like the look of the higher temperature bulbs, say, 10,000 K to 20,000 K.

 

[Schmoner]

So is there anything that this lightin would support in the way of corals, or would it not even be woth trying?

thanks

 

[Witchdoctor_h]

60 watts of normal output lighting is not much. It'd be kinda risky. I'd think about some power compact or VHO's in a new canopy, 10,000-20,000K like Bertoni said.

 

[bertoni]

You could try a few mushroom corals (Actinodiscus) near the top of the tank, and see how it goes. The orange ones are very hardy, IME. I'm not sure that the animals will survive, though.

 

[ReefHotSpot]

The lighting is pretty dim for corals. I would second the mushroom rocks and possibly some polyps. There are also cave corals which do no like light for the most part. Try some chilli corals as a possibility. With regard to the spectrum, I would actually go with something a little less than 10k. Since you stocking is going to be mostly fish, you do not need a high temp light and a lower temp light would bring out the yellows and reds in your fish while the higher you go in the light temp dulls those colors

Max
ReefHotSpot.com

 

[Schmoner]

The bulbs aren't those which came as standard with the tank, they have been upgraded. (Well... I say upgraded...)

There's currently a Marine Blue Actinic Tube (Still 30W ( )
and a Marine White Tube (30W)

If this increases my chances of anything surviving???

 

[bertoni]

The total wattage is what is limiting you, IMO.

 

[Schmoner]

Has anyone else kept anything with such low Wattage, do I stand any sort of chance?

 

[bertoni]

I don't really know of any similar tank with corals, but it might work. Once the tank is older and more stable, you could add some corals such as Tubastrea that don't require any light at all. They do require hand-feeding, though.

 

[Schmoner]

If I was to add at mose a couple of 55W T5 units, such as:

http://www.aquariumworld.co.uk/equipment/index.html?lang=en-uk&target=d233.html

Would this improve my chances?

 

[bertoni]

Adding more light would be a good idea. Those units seem okay, but since I've never used one, I'm not sure how that particular product would be.

 

[Schmoner]

If I did, we'd have a total of:

2x55W T5's (What combination would you suggest?)
1X30W Blue Actinic
1X30W Marine White

TOTAL = 170W

Enough to support some softies?

 

[bertoni]

That'd definitely be fine for soft corals, IMO.