Lighting?

[reef3r]

My tank's just about ready for corals, so I came and I'm looking at all of these pretty ricordias and mushrooms, and I'm wondering if my tank has enough light for them? -breathes-

I have 130w PC. Tank is 37 gallons, 22 inches deep. Stocking is a midas blenny and a firefish, and I'm going to have a pair of clowns and maybe one other fish. Flow is 2 SEIO m620's and 2 mjs, but the mjs are pointed directly at the surface. Sooo... do I have enough light and flow and everything? Can I just put them right on the sand? Anything else I should know?

 

[reef3r]

I know you know.... -.-

 

[aquarius77]

Will that light sustain life, possibly. Will the corals look like you want them too, most likely not.

Some of the yuma and green/blue shades of ricordia florida might be worth trying, they like lesser light IME.

 

[reef3r]

Thanks.

 

[Lytehouse]

reef3r,

I think aquarius 77 has a good point.

I have the oceanic biocube 29 gal with much less light than you have. I keep half dozen types of zoanthids as well as both ricordea florida and yuma, micro and blasto colonies and some other things.

I am not having any trouble keeping anything alive, once my tank hit the 3 month mark. Before that I could not keep yumas and other things listed did not die, but did not grow. Now all of them are growing.

Friend here locally has tank with T5s and another has halides. Two big differences with my tank. Fortunately, because it is only 29 gallons, things don't grow near as fast as in their tanks. The other is coloration. I have great colors in my tank, until you look at the same frags in their tanks and see how vivid the colors are and how quickly they grow and colors on the same corals that don't show up in my tank.

Another example is fish. I have royal gramma that is basically 2 colors. Same fish under T5's is 5 colors-- just like the pictures.

So my answer is yes you can do it, if you let your tank mature. You have both more flow and more light than I in a tank that is only 8 gallons more. The colors won't be the same as you see on internet web pages or others tanks. As long as you don't get surprised/disappointed, I say GET GOING, IT"S LOTS OF FUN>>>>

Here are couple pics of rics I took Sept. 29. Good luck !

 

[reef3r]

Thanks for the pics. I'm definately not expecting anything close to other people's tanks... this is my first saltwater tank, I'm not trying to win aquascaping contests or anything, just keep the stuff alive and healthy.