Lights for shrooms

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

willyboy

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 25, 2006
Messages
43
Location
Arkansas
Would a 18 in flourescent 50/50 bulb work for mushroom corals in a 20 gal. Would a 50/50 work for any beginner corals? Thanks in advance!
 
It is not so much if it is a 50/50 bulb as it is watts/gal. You would want a minimum of 3watts/gal before adding any low light corals like shrooms. I had a 65w PC on my 20 which supported low light corals but I upgraded to 130w PC and they are now doing much better! HTH.
 
I agree. That is a bit on the low side for even the lowest light corals. You should be able to get a CF fixture for preatty cheap on line. Might be worth looking into if you are thinking about corals.
 
How is it it mounted? What kind of canopy do you have on the tank?
Is it loud?
 
I agree, go for a the double-strip 130watt fixture. The single 55watt fixture is still not enough for most corals. Also, keep in mind that a 20H has more depth that the light needs to penetrate so more wattage is better to get more usable light down deeper in the tank.
How is it it mounted? What kind of canopy do you have on the tank?
Is it loud?
If you have a glass top it can set right on top of it. I, however, recommend that you do not use a glass top or a canopy. In this case you will need to get the option mounting legs for the fixture. It will elevate it a few inches above the water. Without a glass top you will get better light penetration into your tank. No, they are not loud.
 
Originally I just wanted a FOWLR tank. The light fixture that is on the tank now (this tank is still being used for FW) needs to be replaced so I figure why not upgrade so I can keep corals down the road. I need some kind of top to keep the fish from jumping out, becuase the fish are the main reason I decided to go SW.
 
I need some kind of top to keep the fish from jumping out, becuase the fish are the main reason I decided to go SW.
while a small percentage of fish are known to be "jumpers", I have never lost a fish to this in the over 2 1/2 years I have been toppless. The benefits far outweigh the risks.
 
I want and ocellaris clown and a clown or neon goby. Are any of these likely jumpers?
 
you should be able to keep a nice variety of soft corals, polyps and even some LPS corals.
 
What would be the best surrogate host for my ocellaris that I could keep under these conditions (most commonly accepted next to an anemone).
 
The odds of your clown using a coral as a host are pretty small. However, mine have used my torch coral, hammer coral and hairy muchsrooms in the past. Honeslty, it is not really a behavior you want to encourgae as it can stress out the coral.
 
Would be possible for me to have one more fish like a royal gramma or two ocellaris instead of one? How do I get a pair of ocellaris?
 
I ordered the 130w PCs (w/ lunar light) from coralife and the Fission nano skimmer. What is the importance of the lunar light? Can I keep a Frogspawan, 2 varieties of mushrooms, and Zoas in this 20g setup? W/ this skimmer and 20lbs LR do I need to run activated carbon w/ three fish? Which fish should I add first? How long should I wait before I add any corals? Which coral should go in first? Could I have an Ocellaris clown, a yellow clown goby, and a bicolor blenny in this set up? Do you have any objections about my coral choices for a SW noob?
 
Back
Top Bottom