coral questions.

[brndfrb]

Ok i have just started my tank and i have a few more questions. I have two regular florescent strip lights on my tank. On is 100% actinic blue 03 and the other is a 20000k daylight bulb. Will i be able to do any kind of coral or anemone or will i just be able to do live rock. If i can do anything can you give me the names of the stuff i would be able to do. tia

 

[ReefLady]

With two NO (normal output) flourescents, unfortunately, you probably will not be able to maintain good coraline algae growth on the LR, and I definitely would not suggest any corals.

Anemones are one of the reef critters which require *extremely* high amounts of lighting - as a very loose guideline, you would want 5 watts per gallon & up for anemones.

What size tank? We might be able to give you some suggestions for simple PC or VHO lighting which isn't too costly - and you could at least keep mushrooms, polyps, some zoanthids, etc.

 

[brndfrb]

i have a 65 gallon oceanic aquarium. It is 3 foot wide 18 inches dep and 24 inches tall. I really can't afford good lighting right now and i don't want my live rock to look like crap when i get it

 

[ReefLady]

brndfrb,

I'm not sure if there's a point in time where you think you might be able to upgrade your lighting? Coraline definitely won't spread, or grow under NO lighting, but the coraline is not going to dissapear overnight. We have a bunch of LR in our refugium that we've pulled out of the display tank, and the refugium has a single Home Depot NO flourescent strip on it. I haven't seen too much of a decline in the coraline in the 5-6 mos. it's been in there.

Lighting is a pain - you're probably looking in the $200.00 - $400.00 range for halfdecent lighting on your tank. That's not including the hood/canopy if you'll need a new one. It all depends on where you want your tank to go eventually - if all you want is LR, a few 'shrooms, and some polyps, you can probably get away with an IceCap 430 ballast, and 2 36" VHO bulbs. That would put you at close to 3 watts per gallon. If you're looking to do a full-blown soft coral reef, I'd suggest getting the 660 ballast, and 4 x 36" (95w) bulbs from the outset.

A lot depends on how soon you intend on upgrading. The coraline will survive for some time - 6 mos, 8 mos, possibly a year, though I probably wouldn't attempt to push it that far out.

HTH,

 

[brndfrb]

ok so can you give me an estimate of what it would cost for the 430 ballast and stuff and a site where i can possible buy one

 

[ReefLady]

This place has the best prices that I know of on IceCap ballasts:

--> OceanEncounter.com. Someone else may know of a better deal.

Not that I'm looking at the prices, the 660 is only $20.00 more than the 430. Definitely go with the 660. The 430 is $137.00, the 660 is $157.00. Bulbs should run you about $25.00 each.

Now, here's what I'm not sure of, and I hope someone else will step in. I'm not sure exactly what else you need - I think end caps & brackets might be it. The other thing I'm not certain of, is if you can use 36" bulbs, or if they need to be shorter to fit in a 36" hood. I'm pretty sure you can - we used 48" bulbs on our 75g (48" long). I'll try to get reefrunner in here - he's better with the "hardware" side than I am.

Also, when you're looking at bulbs, make sure you get the VHO ones - URI (brand name) also makes NO bulbs - they are a lesser wattage.

HTH,

 

[reefrunner69]

Hmmm, I think RL has given good advice, I can recommend other setups that would work for you, but first we need to know what you would like to upgrade to? If you ever think you might wanna go reef, then you will want either VHO or PC, I'm partial to VHO, but PC is definitely workable (I use them on my reef). Or do you only want it to be a FOWLR??

If your handy, you might consider posting a thread in the DIY forum, maybe save a few bucks

 

[brndfrb]

Thanks guys. I guess what i am saying is that i a little short on cash and i want what is gonna be the best for fish liverock and that is prolly it for a while. I have two light strips. One with a coralife 03 annd one with a daylight bulb. Now one of my lights has a ballast i think on it that says radionic Industries. Does that ring a bell? Well please let me know