lighting my new 90 gal

[percman]

hi everybody thx in advance for your help. I just bought a new 90 gal aga mega flow that i plan to keep soft corals, anenomes, polyps, mushrooms and some lps in. i have a few lights from my old tanks ( a 55 and 33 long both conveniently 48") so tell me what you guys think

1 custom sealife 48" pc with 2x65 actinics and 2x65 10,000k= 260w
1 coralife 48" pc with 2x65 10,000k= 130w
1 standard flrsc. fxt. with coralife actinic bulb (very purple?)= 40w
4 moonlights
for a grand total of 260
130
+ 40
430w is that gonna cut it?
i've had a ritteri anenome, colt coral, alveopora, yellow polyps, and some zoos under the 260 custom sealife in my 55 for over a year now and they have all grown and look healthy i'd love to hear your opinions so please post a reply. this is only my 2nd message on this board and i'm hoping that i learn as much here as i have from other sites thx again-adam

[saltjunkie]

how much did you spend, total?

[Poseidon]

Do I read this as you have 6 PC bulbs? The 40 watt NO is for color only so don't count it in your equation. I think that this should do fine for softies and LPS, but I would not keep anemones under PC. They may survive, but will not thrive in most cases. I would suggest 4 WHITE and 2 Blue PC's to give you the best aesthic balance of PAR and appearance.

[percman]

i'm currently running 4 10,000k 65w pc's and 2 actinic 65w pc's the ritteri i've kept for the last three years has done fine under the pcs and before my filter ate my carpet he was doin good too. i try to place them real close to the lights. to be honest i've seen some beautiful tanks (55s, 75s, and 90s) containing polyps xenia anenomes colts and soft brains with 260 w power compacts. Most of the people i know in the hobby are college students like me and money can be tight so we do the best we can with what we've got. The one thing that we do pay alot of attention to is water quality and feeding. I cant (at the moment) afford a mh but i can do weekly water changes and feed live zoaplankton. maybe i am missing out by not having halides but i know that i've experienced good growth for over 2 years in my alveopora, anenomes, colts, and polyps. i'm not saying any of this to contradict you guys or to say that you aren't probably right. i'm just trying to give some hope to people who cant spend $700 on a fixture but would still like to keep some soft corals and anenomes (i make sure to add iodine to the tank along with my other supplements and i have noticed a significant increase in growth)

I'm still in the process of rounding up some stuff for the 90 gal i'm setting up but here is a price list for what i got so far 90 gal aga megaflow with stand and plumbing kit for $400
$300 for my amiracle wet dry and mag drive pump
$100 for coralife 9w uv sterilizer
$100 for new pc bulbs
$ 50 for salt
$ 45 for protein skimmer and air pump
$995 grand total (so far) I'm sure that i'll spend another $400 before the tank has fish in it but we'll see


i'll have pics as soon as im up and runnin thanx again guys- adam

[saltjunkie]

not bad!!!!!

[percman]

yeah the guy at my lfs is a straight shooter. he has a unique philosophy to reef keeping and has greatly influenced the way my friends and i keep our tanks. to be honest his store is kind of hole but his prices are rock bottom and his livestock is top notch. He can be a little stubborn when it comes to the new products me and my internet savvy friends constantly bombard him with because he has a real minimalist attitude towards reef keeping emphasing water changes and and consistincy with water quality levels alomst to the point of ocd but he keeps beatiful tanks with way less light than most hobbyists insist on.

here's to you frank the lfs man-nothing you have ever sold me has died

ps you guys know anything about ipsf.com?

[Key Of David]

yeah the guy at my lfs is a straight shooter. he has a unique philosophy to reef keeping and has greatly influenced the way my friends and i keep our tanks. to be honest his store is kind of hole but his prices are rock bottom and his livestock is top notch. He can be a little stubborn when it comes to the new products me and my internet savvy friends constantly bombard him with because he has a real minimalist attitude towards reef keeping emphasing water changes and and consistincy with water quality levels alomst to the point of ocd but he keeps beatiful tanks with way less light than most hobbyists insist on.

here's to you frank the lfs man-nothing you have ever sold me has died

ps you guys know anything about ipsf.com?

It sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders.

[saltjunkie]

ipsf is good to deal with.. no problems........