what kind of lighting is good and cheap for Zoa?

[porksoda]

Well i want to get corals soon. All i want is soft corals. But my lights are not good enough from what ppl say all i have is a fixture with 1 48in 10'000K daybulb and 1 48in actinic bulb. All i want are like some zoa's and shrooms and maybe an anemone. Well thanks for the help. Also i dont have much money maybe a cheap setup. If you know any links to websites with cheap lights that will suit my needs let me know. Also if you are selling one let me know. I am looking for under $150.00 if possible. Well thanks everybody for the help.
ps. I am new to the lights thing so if you tell me something can u explain things to me? well thanks.

 

[Fanny]

Forget the corals and buy more rock:lol:

 

[mfinn]

I would suggest that you go one step at a time. First use that money to get some more cured rock. You have a high fish load for the age of the tank and amount of rock.
For a inexpensive light system, I'd watch the used equipment foum for some vho lighting. I'm not a big fan of power compacts, after using them once. They just didn't bring out the colors very well.
IMO the best lighting would be for your tank would be a couple 175watt mh, with a 14k or 20 bulbs.
Also be ready to get a retrofit kit and make your own canopy.

 

[Glove]

Those lights are probably fine for 'colonial polyps' like zoas, some mushrooms would be ok as well. If you can find these attatched to rocks, it will help your biological filter. Shop for a couple cheap frags and test it out.
I would not add an anemone until you have good flow and some better (or more) lights.
*if you even think you want some other corals and are looking to upgrade lighting- do it once and be happy knowing you have good lighting. If you really dont want halides, VHO and power compact lamps are just fine for a softy tank.
Do some reading before you make the purchase. Understand the pros and cons of the different lighting options-Halide,VHO,Power Compact, Normal Output,...
You also might need some more rock. If you wanted to save some money find some suitable dry base rock you like and place it in the system. Soon it will contain bacteria and help filter your tank, then coraline algae and other stuff will grow. Also keep an eye open for someone selling live rock- you can usually find someone who has taken a tank down and wants to sell the rock for CONSIDERABLY less than the av. $3-6+ per pound from the LFS.
Keep an eye on your chemistry and be careful and conservative about how much your feeding and watch the eel, they like to carpet surf but dont know they cant live out of water.

 

[pink_floyd]

Check my reply on the other thread! lol