Lighting called to question

[LCP136]

I have a 90 gallon tank with a four bulb fixture, 2 65w power compacts and and 2 65 watt actinic. I previously thought that I could keep almost all soft corals with these lighting conditions, but when I asked another question on a different forum, this was brought to question. A few people have said softies would do well in these conditions, a couple people said I need T5s and one person said for a 90 I would need Metal Halides for anything beyond mushrooms and zoas. I want to keep a leather heavy tank and LPS/SPS/Clams are not important to me. I can't really afford MH, and the reason I have PCs is because those are what came with the tank that I bought off of craigslist. Do I need to upgrade my lighting for what I want to do?

[Ninong]

Do I need to upgrade my lighting for what I want to do?

Not necessarily. Your lighting is marginal but it will support many different species of soft corals but not all. For a tank with your dimensions (the height of the water column is what matters), T5's would be ideal. You don't really need metal halides as long as you put enough T5's over the tank.

Most corals are capable of adapting to a wide range of lighting conditions. Unfortunately, most corals that are collected are collected from shallow water because it's easier that way. However, that doesn't mean they can't adapt to lower light condidtions in most cases.

It would be nice if you could add to your present lighting in some way?

[LCP136]

I would like to but there are a couple problems. One is the money. The reason I have power compacts is because thats what came with the tank I bought on craigslist. The other problem is that its a home build stand and the guy who built it made it to hold this light fixture. I would have to do some carpentry, which would be a problem because I am far from handy.

[charlie]

I got this moved into the lighting forum for you.

Is there a way to retrofit a 6 bulb T5 system. I have to agree with Ninong, T5 would be the way to go.
Have you got a pic of the existing canopy? Maybe we could get a better idea from that.

[LCP136]

The problem is the budget. It would be very hard on my wallet to get T5s right now. The canopy has a special inlet built for that fixture, but i'm sure I could figure out how to get T5s or metal halides on there. If anyone has another suggestion I would be very appreciative (which I already am. I don't want to keep a coral that wont thrive), although i'm not sure if there really is another suggestion to be made. The pictures not great, but I think you can get the general idea.

[charlie]

I tell ya I think you could do a nice tank with what you have, if you do the research and pick corals for your particular situation. A thought might be to replace one of your 65w actinics with a daylite bulb????? do you have the ability to control them on timers?

[LCP136]

I'm interested in doing a zoa heavy tank with some select leathers and other softies and mushrooms sprinkled throughout. What would replacing an actinic with a daylight do?

[charlie]

Make it just a teeny bit brighter.

I think alot of zooanthids will do just fine with what you have. You may have to fiddle around with their placement to get the right colors, but yeah, you'll be fine.
Whoever told you it was MH or bust is out of their mind. Sure, it is the best (?) option, but I had PC's on my 80 for 4 years, and had no problem growing leathers.

[LCP136]

I'm also adding some more rock to bring the structure a little higher for leathers. I was planning on doing a softy tank anyway, but I was a little worried for a while after I heard "Part of having a 90 is accepting you will need metal halides". I certainly think I can make a nice reef with PCs. Thanks for the help. I'll post pics as the reef advances.

[charlie]

When and if the opportunity arises, do look into the T5 option. Make do with what you have, we have all been there a time or 2.;);)
How much rock do you have in there now??

Oh, and one thing about posting pics, once you start, you can't stop. We'll be waiting.

[LCP136]

I'm not sure the exact weight, but it goes almost all the way across the tank and almost half way up. I think its around 90 or 100 pounds in a 90 gallon tank. Im just trying to get it a few inches closer to the lighting to potentially make some corals a bit happier.

[charlie]

OK, here ya go, post a pic, maybe there is a way to rescape, and save yourself the expense of more rock, I bet you could find a way

[LCP136]

I don't really want to redo the whole aquascaping, as its very well balanced right now. I would just buy a couple pieces of base rock at 2 dollars a pound, so the cost isn't terribly huge.

[charlie]

That'll work.

[reefer69]

There is no beating metal halide in my opinion. They are the best for reef tanks with soft and hard corals. For a 90 gallon with soft corals, 4 x 65 watt should be fine. That is enough light for that.

[Ramer]

I had the same compact also that came with my 90. They worked just fine. The bulbs cost more to replace than T5's. So once I could afford it I made the switch to a 4 bulb T5.