What do you think?

[TommyP]

Hey Guys,

So I'm located on Long Island, I ran to 2 stores with my girlfriend today. Aqua hut in coram and another saltwater/reef store that had no name in centereach . I Bought 2 rocks with frags on it already wanted to know a little about them. The two rocks were 30$ each and the small rock with some sort of mushroom" rare" coral on here if anyone can identify. Thanks here's some pics. Oh I also bought a sea star and an anemone for my clown!

 

[TommyP]

bump! Does anyone know If I need a special light for what's in my tank right now. Currently I have ZooMed "ocean sun" 10,000K 15W t8.

 

[Mrc8858]

Ok you have mushrooms and zoas which are low light. A T8 can sustain these corals but its on the low side. The anemone requires medium to high light which you do not have. You will want to switch to 4+ bulb t5s or LEDs.

 

[Mrc8858]

Also have you cycled this tank? Do you know about the nitrogen cycle? How long has it been running because stars and anemones should only be added to a tank that is established and mature? (4-6 months of running)

 

[TommyP]

Thank you for the info. That tank has been running for 2months. I will get a new light for the time being. will the mushrooms & zoas be ok with high light? I am working on a 55 build that I just picked up tank/stand so everything will be transferred in once its cycled.

 

[Dreamsound1]

Looks nice

 

[Mrc8858]

Well just stumbled onto your featherduster thread so got a lil more info... You zoas and mushrooms will be fine but don't expect them to thrive like they would under better quality lighting. And the rock in your other thread were just mini featherdusters ... A decent rule of thumb when reef lighting though is there are three categories of light requirements (well four if you include non photosynthetic corals) low light, medium light, high light. If buying LEDs you will want 3watt leds which are high light along with metal halide but MHs usually heat up a tank drastically and consume a lot of energy. T5 HO lights in most cases (unless you have a shallow tank) 2 bulbs is low light 4 bulbs medium light and 6+ bulbs high light. For the livestock that fall into these categories you have soft corals- (polyps, mushrooms, leathers, xenias, etc), medium light will be your LPS corals and anemones, and lastly your high light corals will be your SPS. Keep in mind this isn't exact numbers but its a general idea of what kind of lighting your gonna need for certain animals (yes corals are animals lol)

 

[TommyP]

Thank you so much. I just bought a 55g i need to buy filters and start stocking that tank. once its cycled i will buy the proper lighting for the anenome/soft corals I already have. Thanks for the input.