Any advise on reef tank lighting?

[Rais]

I have a 29 Gal tank that's pretty new. I've got a 30'' coralife T5 dual bulb (2 18W bulbs) light for it. They are the normal output, not high output t5's. It came with a 6700k daylight bulb and a colormax bulb, which are the suggestions on the box for a freshwater planted tank. The box also suggests you use the 10,000k, and actinic blue bulbs for reef tanks.

I'm buying an actinic blue bulb, but was wondering what anyone else thinks about the other bulb with it. I have 2 green chromis and I've noticed they look very pale and colorless when swimming under the 6700k bulb, but look a beautiful blue or green when closer to the colormax bulb.

Doing some research I'm noticing people say 3-5 watts per gallon, or others say the watts per gallon rule is irrelevant. If I were to switch out the bright white bulb and use colormax and actinic blue for my 2 bulbs would that diminish the usable light for corals/anemones/plants? Or would it still just count as 2 18 watt bulbs? I also have a small blue R2 moonlight if that makes any difference. (Amazon.com: R2 Extreme LED Aquarium Moonlight: Kitchen & Dining)

Also would you consider this to be "low light" for reef?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

[Reefing Madness]

Wattage is irrelevant in a fish only tank. the color of the lamps is up to you. But, using what you have, without using T-5 HO lights, you are not going to be able to keep coral in the tank. Yes, 6700k lamps are a bit yellowish on the light spectrum. 4-5 Watts per gallon would be for a Reef tank. 3 or less would cover fish, but you really don't need lighting for fish only tanks. So, if you prefer a certain color for the fish, then by all means get what you think. You have 2 18 watt lamps, if you change one out for Actinic lighting, then you really only have one lamp that is a daylighter and used for lighting purposes, the Actinic is for color rendering. the higher the number in the Kelvin Range the bluer the color. 6700k lighting is the Sun at high noon. 10k a blue white, 14k blue lighting and 20k deep ocean lighting.

[Original Fin]

On that tank, a 4 bulb T5HO fixture would do well if you intend to run it as a reef tank. The better quality fixtures don't come with bulbs as most reefers Ike to come up with their own color combinations, but most of the affordable fixtures will come with half actinics, and half 10k's.
Google the Grim Reefer for all you'd ever want to know about T5HO lighting. He's one of the most knowledgable guys out there...he's got a very long Q&A thread on RC, but he also started his own web page which is a little easier to digest.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rais]

Thanks guys, that helps a lot. What I have now is fish only but I was thinking about adding corals later on. That's good to keep in mind.

[chrisfont23]

I have a 30 inch Coralife Lunar T5 (4 bulb) on my 29 g and it works just fine (SPS, LPS and softies).

[Rais]

So if I want to add a bunch of corals later (without spending a ton) I'd probably want to add another t5 light with 2 more bulbs? Any recommendations on types of corals/plants/anemones that I should try with my current setup?

Yours is the high output T5 though right?
Man that looks like a way better deal than the one i bought : (
I might get one of those eventually, and use the other light for my planted FW tank.

[chrisfont23]

Yes. HO. It is perfect for a 29g. reef.