Did I buy a good enough light for soft corals

[gwolfe]

Hello all,
Yesterday I rode over to Petco to buy a light for my 20 Gallon Long FOWLR tank. I am new at reef tanks, and am in the stages of upgrading. So anyways, I talked to the manager, who told me that for a 20 Long, I should get the 24 In. Zoo Med Coral Sun Actinic 420. The box says it's 18
Watts. Would this be enough for me to put soft corals or even an anemone in? Here's a link for more details: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003C5PQZ4/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/175-5960910-1543862
Thanks,
Garrett

 

[mandarinlove]

This is just my opinion, but generally the rule of thumb is 5 watts per gallon, which would be you at 100 watts for your tank. I really don't think you are going to have much success with an 18 watt light.


If you really want to get into the hobby, you really need to do this the right way. When I say these things it scares people away, but you are going to get frustrated if you are looking to not spend a lot of money. You are better off with sticking to a fish only tank.

Hope this helps. If you want to go cheap, at the very least, with having some success, I would go with something like this.

Coralife Aqualight Power Compact Fixture With Single 50/50 Lamp

 

[mandarinlove]

Here's another light that could support low light corals

Coralife Aqualight Dual T5 Lamp High Output Fixture

 

[carey]

I would return the light and get something more appropriate.

A dual bulb is the least you should be running.

If you want a cheap 4 bulb fixture try fishneedit.com. With 4 bulbs you can grow anything almost and it's cheap.

 

[gwolfe]

Thank you!
Just wanted to clarify!!
So, nothing will live at all under 18 watts. I should have known. I struck me that I only paid $18 to upgrade the lighting. The manager told me that it will work for soft corals, but hard coral, you would have to move further up towards the light. It's okay if I have to return it, besides, I hate the strong blueish glow the light gives off. Will it be okay for low light plants. My original light that the cover came with was 17 Watts, so not a huge downgrade. But, my current cover only supports a single lamp, so how will that work? I don't have the room nor money to get one of those hang-over lighting systems. And if I do upgrade to a hang-over lighting system, won't the fish jump out?
Thanks,
Garrett

 

[Sarcothelia]

Not really anything will grow under 18 watts. I have mushrooms, palys, and cloves under 3 watts per gallon of 50/50 PC bulbs. I'd go no less than this if you want a nice reef.

 

[gwolfe]

Thanks for the info!
I guess I will stick with a FOWLR. I was told that all corals need daily maintenance, are expensive to maintain, and are almost impossible to keep. The manager of Petco also told me that I couldn't return the bulb, and that a new "Policy" went into affect today. So, I call up Petco customer support, and the lady, who was really rude, told me that it was my fault for buying the bulb and visiting the store in the first place. She told me that I needed a better reason to call customer service, and that it was a waste of her time talking to her about a stupid bulb. I hung up right after I heard that sentence. Geese! Talk about rude people! I don't care about the $1 per gallon sale anymore, I'm never going to buy anything from Petco ever again.

 

[nohika]

I would do some more reading around...from what I've read, most corals don't require daily maintenance nor are they impossible to keep. Thinking of zoas and mushrooms, as those are commonly quoted beginner corals.

 

[mandarinlove]

Your first problem is that you went to Petco. Do you have any stores around that actually sell just saltwater fish? Petco doesn't know anything when it comes to fish, let alone saltwater. Don't give up, a reef tank is a lot of work, but not impossible. Take a look at my photo gallery and look at my tank.

Regards.

 

[leftyfish]

Not sure this is appropriate, but...I'm selling a 20" (goes up to 24")current nova pro extreme it is a 6 light 18watt each fixture, I had softies, zoas, etc, etc, in there, everyone loved it. I also had some SPS and they were growing slowly, but growing with it. Just in case you were seriously thinking of upgrading. The fixture cost me $275 (I added four moon lights to it) and I'm selling it for $200. I'm in Ohio. I used it for two months, so the bulbs have a lot of life to them. And even if you don't want mine, I definitely would recommend this light, it is great, 3 12k bulbs, 3 actinic bulbs. I thought metal halide was too hot for a smaller tank, I seemed to loose water like crazy, with the T5HO it was minimal loss of water, and temperatures stayed stable (some other things to think about with lights).

 

[gwolfe]

Not sure this is appropriate, but...I'm selling a 20" (goes up to 24")current nova pro extreme it is a 6 light 18watt each fixture, I had softies, zoas, etc, etc, in there, everyone loved it. I also had some SPS and they were growing slowly, but growing with it. Just in case you were seriously thinking of upgrading. The fixture cost me $275 (I added four moon lights to it) and I'm selling it for $200. I'm in Ohio. I used it for two months, so the bulbs have a lot of life to them. And even if you don't want mine, I definitely would recommend this light, it is great, 3 12k bulbs, 3 actinic bulbs. I thought metal halide was too hot for a smaller tank, I seemed to loose water like crazy, with the T5HO it was minimal loss of water, and temperatures stayed stable (some other things to think about with lights).

I'm sorry, unless you ship, I can't take the offer. I live in California, so it's going to be hard for me to get to you.
Sorry!

 

[gwolfe]

Your first problem is that you went to Petco. Do you have any stores around that actually sell just saltwater fish? Petco doesn't know anything when it comes to fish, let alone saltwater. Don't give up, a reef tank is a lot of work, but not impossible. Take a look at my photo gallery and look at my tank.

Regards.

No, my local Petco does not anymore sell Saltwater fish. They used to about three years ago. They put a big fish compatibility chart over the old Saltwater tanks so you can't see it. Check out my other post on my custom built 300 Gallon Saltwater. I'm not making the 300 gallon a reef tank due to the fact I'm getting fake, colorful coral. You can check out the company that's building my aquarium here: livingcoloraquariums.com
When I get the 300 gallon set up, I will use the 20 gallon as a hospital tank. So I may not want to upgrade if I'm only going to enjoy it for 6 Months. Plus, I may not have the room due to me temporarily housing a hippo tang. Don't worry, the hippo tang is moving to the 300 gallon and it's only 1 inch.