Im confused about lighting!
- Thread starter James_Z
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Rosseau
New member
how much $$ do you want to spend?.. lights vary amazingly. with Power Compact lights (i.e. http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...coralife2096wattquadaqualightcompactsquarepin ) you should be able to keep almost every soft coral, LPS's for the most part. But definately not SPS.
for SPS you'll need metal halides... now you're talking $$$... http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18364/cl0/metalhalidecombohoods?viewType=
for SPS you'll need metal halides... now you're talking $$$... http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18364/cl0/metalhalidecombohoods?viewType=
sir_dudeguy
Active member
For lps in a 20g tank, id' say you could probably get by w/just a 2x65w light.
Go to hellolights.com and look at their coralife aqualight pc fixtures.
If you want sps, i'd say at the least go with t5's. If you want you could get by with a 150w halide probably.
For the record, lps are a little less light needy than sps, which for the most part require pretty high lighting.
Go to hellolights.com and look at their coralife aqualight pc fixtures.
If you want sps, i'd say at the least go with t5's. If you want you could get by with a 150w halide probably.
For the record, lps are a little less light needy than sps, which for the most part require pretty high lighting.
Doglover_50
Premium Member
what kind of light do LPS require?
what kind of light do SPS require?
what kind of corals are easier to keep?
if i had a 20G what kind of lights would i need to
keep LPS corals? can someone give a link the lights i need?
Picking up from sirdude....sps (hard corals) are a bit more difficult than soft corals or lps. It can be great to start with everything you need so you never upgrade, but perhaps starting with PC or VHO lighting would be fine and stick to softies and lps for 6-12 months to make sure you have the hang of it.
2 other sites to check---google drs foster and smith (fish equipment link) and marine depot are 2 other good sites. I bought my metal halides from foster and smith.
I also agree on sirdude that 2x65 would be fine for lps on a 20
buy the eric bornman book on coral husbandry--a good starter
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Corals-Selection-Husbandry-Natural/dp/1890087483
what kind of light do SPS require?
what kind of corals are easier to keep?
if i had a 20G what kind of lights would i need to
keep LPS corals? can someone give a link the lights i need?
Picking up from sirdude....sps (hard corals) are a bit more difficult than soft corals or lps. It can be great to start with everything you need so you never upgrade, but perhaps starting with PC or VHO lighting would be fine and stick to softies and lps for 6-12 months to make sure you have the hang of it.
2 other sites to check---google drs foster and smith (fish equipment link) and marine depot are 2 other good sites. I bought my metal halides from foster and smith.
I also agree on sirdude that 2x65 would be fine for lps on a 20
buy the eric bornman book on coral husbandry--a good starter
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Corals-Selection-Husbandry-Natural/dp/1890087483
do you think this would be a good light for my 20G
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...roduct_Code=ESU-53102&Category_Code=Aqualight
is it powerful enough?
and what are actinics?
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...roduct_Code=ESU-53102&Category_Code=Aqualight
is it powerful enough?
and what are actinics?
matter1331
New member
actinics are essentially the blue lights that reefers use to offset the white lights (daylights), making the color balance of the tank more appealing while also increaing the total amount of light. If you're going to be using bulbs that are less than 20,000K I would say actinics would probably look good, but it's really what looks good to you. Check out this website, it's got some good comparisons of different bulbs and spectrums
color comparisons
color comparisons
sir_dudeguy
Active member
ya the light you gave a link to should work fine. I got basically the same thing (only longer , so the bulbs are offset a bit) on my 29 and i'm growin all softies for now and they're fine. I'll put a couple lps higher whenever i get the money.
Actinics are just the blues. They both even out the yellow that the 10K daylight puts out (makes it more white/blue) and they also make the corals fluoresce (basically "glow in the dark" for lack of better word)
They're not needed for growth really, but personally i would never do a tank without them.
If you have a canopy (or can buy/build one) you might also wanna look into retro fit kits which might be a little cheaper, or just look on the selling/want to buy forums for lights.
Actinics are just the blues. They both even out the yellow that the 10K daylight puts out (makes it more white/blue) and they also make the corals fluoresce (basically "glow in the dark" for lack of better word)
They're not needed for growth really, but personally i would never do a tank without them.
If you have a canopy (or can buy/build one) you might also wanna look into retro fit kits which might be a little cheaper, or just look on the selling/want to buy forums for lights.
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