Lighting for a 50 gallon

[v13tfolife]

i need help with my lighting system. i m currently running a 50 gallon with a 65watt power compact. people tell me i cant add many kinds of corals because of this. but i was wondering if it is ok if i also include 2 t5 around 24inch. would that consider me to be able to add other kinds of corals. and anemonies? thank you

 

[jbird69]

You will be pretty limited with that lighting. There are corals that will do well, but you will be limited.

 

[cubsFAN]

what are the dimensions of your tank? lxwxh?

 

[Mister Scopas]

isn't a 50 right in between a 40B and a 65? roughly an 18x36 footprint?

 

[Mister Scopas]

everything involves a tradeoff. the best lighting for an anemone isn't necessarily the same as the best lighting for corals.

for an anemone, you'd probably be best off with MH lighting, either 175 or 250 depending on the species, and a daylight color temperature. most people don't like daylight color temperature for coral.

with fluorescent lighting, the light intensity is pretty uniform across the tank. for an anemone in a 3 foot tank i would recommend a single MH bulb mounted offset from the middle of the tank, so that you could create an asymmetric lighting pattern. IMO it is important for an anemone to live in a tank that does not have uniform lighting -- they need to be able to move about the tank until they find a combination of lighting and flow that suits them.

 

[v13tfolife]

the Tank Dimension is 36x18x25 something like that. So i shouldnt use power compact and t5 together? that mean i should buy a new light system?

 

[Mister Scopas]

sure, you can use PC and T5 together if you want to. but whether or not the end result is suitable will depend on what kind of corals you want to keep.

optimally, you should decide what you want to keep, and then build your lighting system around that. the only other alternative is to keep what you've got, and limit your coral selections to those that will thrive under that lighting.

until you can tell us exactly what species you want to keep, nobody will be able to give you a good answer.

good luck.

 

[v13tfolife]

i was thinking mostly soft coral. anemonie and maybe torch coral. and some LPS hard coral. thank you for giving me alot of help and advice.

 

[v13tfolife]

what kind of light should i use for a red tip bubble anemonie?. thank you.

 

[exoticaquatix]

if you want T5s why not go with a 36" fixture? this will give you more light for about the same cost. bubble tips, depending on source, are some of the easier (not easy!!!) anemones to keep. at least 2 HO T5s would be a good place to start. maybe but your 65 watt PC on one side to give it an option of more/less light. also, making your rock work tall so the anemone can get closer to the light if it wants. that being said, more light it better and should suit the other corals you wish to keep, plus give you more options.

-nick

 

[herostar]

over my 58g (36"l x 18w x 21h) I run a single 175w halide and it's worked great for me to keep everything (zoas, shrooms, lps, sps, anemones, etc.)