suitability of lighting

[birdgojeromy]

I would like some input from more experienced reefers out there as to what, if any, SPS or LPS corals might do well in my system with its current lighting. It is a 75 gallon aquarium with a sump/refugium and is running 520 watts of mixed Actinic and 10K power compact. For circulation it is running a main pump rated at 700 gal/hr; a skimmer with a Gen-X 2400 and a Tunze Turbelle Stream 6100. The tank is 8 months old and has had a stable population for the last 6 months with very stable tank parameters. I would like to introduce some of the hard/soft corals if my lighting is adequate for them; however, for several reasons it is not reasonable for me to introduce a metal halide lighting system, largely due to tank's location in a place of business. That said, if the lighting is inadequate, I certainly don't want to condemn a coral to a death of "light starvation".
Thoughts and recommended "starter species"? BTW, there is already a few mushrooms/xenia sp/yellow polyps and a variety of tube worms that came on the live rock that have been doing very well.

Thanks for any recommendations!

 

[goda]

almost anything will live fine under that lighting.

may not be as colorfull as with mh or t5 but it will be fine. you have plenty of light

 

[goda]

fyi i have a 130 gallon tank and have 770 watts of vho. so i have less light then you
and im growing all types of frogspawn and other lps all close to the bottom of the tank( open brain and candy canes) some HIGH light zoos are doing fine on the bottom of my tank ( i say igh light cause they were collected from an area where they were actualy out of the water half the day)

just for comparison.
but PC do need to be replaced every 8 ish months make sure to do it so you dont run into trouble


( btw just doing lps since im taking it really slow... im getting sps soon and i am almost sure it will do fine)

 

[waynemk]

A good rule of thumb is at least 5 watts per gallon for sps. Good water flow is just as critical and I have heard that the tunzes rock it out. So it looks like you are good on both accounts. I have heard many people suggest not adding sps before the tank is a year old but i know even less people that actually had the patience to do that.

my $0.02 is to get a frag and see how it goes. You dont want to have an animal taken from a reef to die in your tank and a frag is already established in another tank. plus a frag will cost you less than a full colony. Do you have any reef friends local that you can get a frag from?

Everything you say about your tank seems like its doing well. would you agree? if not then stay away from "kicking it up a notch." Too many people push blindly forward.

Oh wait you where looking for recommendations. I stick by the frag suggestion be it a LPS or SPS. they will be tank acclimated and more likely to do well.

 

[masterqaz]

that sounds like a fine setup. I have put many Lps corals in my tank under two 96watt bulbs and they have done fine. I now have a total of 322watts with my 2 new 65's. But this all being said you should be fine with about anthing seeing that your tank is not as deep as mine and you have more light.

 

[masterqaz]

watts per gallon is an ok rule to go buy but you should also take depth of tank into consideration. I've kept Lps under normal flo bulbs and they did fine and the only reason that they did was because i had them 6 in's or so under the water.

 

[itz frank]

ok. Why wouldn't they look as good under MHs? Doesn't MH come 10k as well? So since 10k is the color of light emitted on the color spectrum. The color would be the same. Oh yea. and Tek-5s(t-5s) are flourescent bulbs. Metal halides don't emit much more like then Flourescents/PCs. The only difference is that a flourescent acts like a flood light where a MH is more of a spot light. MH is more focused and will go deeper but have harder time spreading the light on a wider tank. Your lighting is very adequate to say the least. MHs are a waste of money on a normal depth tank, IMO. Flourescent lighting will be fine up to about 18 inches deep. With that being said, you can just place your corals that need more light at the top and lower light corals at the bottom. Problem solved.

As for a coral to start with. The fad around here seems to either be SPS or Zoanthids. Zoa's are really inexpensive at LFS and will grow well in most circumstances. Hammer corals, trumpet corals, and ricordia's are a few more corals that are easy to keep and are photosynthetic corals. It seems like you're on the right path. Just stay up on your planning and test and you should be ok. There really isn't a set path in this hobby. What works for one won't work for everyone. After the basics it's pretty much trial and error. You've got to come up with your own experience. And when someone says it's hard to keep a coral, it means that the coral dies for no reason(short life span), no one knows what it likes, etc. Hard doesn't mean it needs more attention. HTH, sorry it was so long. Happy reefing.

 

[birdgojeromy]

Thanks for the input from everyone; glad to hear that I do not need to alter the lighting. I probably should replace the Pc bulbs, though, as they are ~ 8 mos old... The tank depth is 24" (it is a standard oceanic 75 gal reef-ready set-up).

I would like to try some acropora frags and there are some local clubs that perhaps I could get some starter frags from.

Although I know there are a number of good references out there, is there a particular book someone would recommend regarding specific care of the LPS and SPS corals?

 

[waynemk]

Reef Invertebrates: An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility by Anthony Calfo. amazon link

An added bonus is that he spends a lot of time here in the advanced aquarist forum. super nice guy and VERY helpful.

RE: the bulbs. If i recall correctly, change flouresents every six months and halides every year. I would look into the period for flouresents as i havnt used them so i cant promise that I'm right and they might be different at NO vs. VHO.

 

[goda]

it depends on the type of florecant

pc most often
vho once every 12- 16 or so months
t5 every 2 years
MH every 6-8 months

the higher k MH need replacing more often.
so do the actinic florecants

 

[crumbletop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7734390#post7734390 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by birdgo
Thanks for the input from everyone; glad to hear that I do not need to alter the lighting. I probably should replace the Pc bulbs, though, as they are ~ 8 mos old... The tank depth is 24" (it is a standard oceanic 75 gal reef-ready set-up).

I would like to try some acropora frags and there are some local clubs that perhaps I could get some starter frags from.

Although I know there are a number of good references out there, is there a particular book someone would recommend regarding specific care of the LPS and SPS corals?

I think you have a good setup for many corals. The lighting will not be the best for the more demanding SPS (acros) but those could do okay if placed towards the top of the tank. You'll essentially have to experiement with the best placement for each of your corals.

For starter SPS I would recommend montipora species -- digitatas and caps. Montiporas are pretty hardy and should do well in your setup. Some of the pavonas would also work. I'd hold off on an acro until you see how the digitatas do.

For LPS, I like the moon coral (favites). Those are forgiving as well.

For softies, you can keep whatever you want. Just me mindful that some of them spread like weeds.

A book I like is Aquarium Corals by Borneman:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1890087483/104-8244910-2635955?v=glance&n=283155

Jack