[Reefer769]

okay, before i go out and buy any expensive corals, i need to know a few things.

-how long do i have to wait to put them in my 30gal tank thats only been up for about a week?
-will SPS corals need special lighting, like anemones?
-what kind of SPS corals does anyone reccomend for my 30gal cube tank?

i was looking around, and i saw a couple i liked, and i was just wondering of these would be alright:
-sml pocilapora
-sml sariatopora hystrix BIRDSNEST
-acropora humulis
-acropora valida

[Reefland]

You should not attempt any SPS corals without more intense light; again MH is preferred. Did you ever get any different lighting for your tank or are you still running the standard NO fixture that came with it?

[Reefer769]

im still running the standard fixture it came with, i have no idea what kind of lights i should get and from where, even if you told me the name i wouldnt know what to do with it . i just dont know the first thing about lightinga tank, so back to the Corals, how long do i have to wait until i can put some in?

[Reefer769]

i was actually looking through this marine depot catalog and i saw this MH, it was, PFO 150W HGI Mini Pendant with 150W 10000K bulb, it is $180.95, and i probably wouldnt be able to get it for a couple of months, but i think this would be the right choice, am i right?

[Reefland]

Originally Posted by Reefer769

im still running the standard fixture it came with, i have no idea what kind of lights i should get and from where, even if you told me the name i wouldnt know what to do with it . i just dont know the first thing about lightinga tank, so back to the Corals, how long do i have to wait until i can put some in?

Let's not go back to the corals yet because you will not want to put anything in your tank with the current lighting, unless it was a basic mushroom coral and even then your chancing it with a single NO bulb. You need to look more into lighting before you consider adding any coral to the tank, and while researching you will learn that the type of lighting will depend on the type of coral you plan to keep.

Since your mentioning SPS corals, a 150w 10k DE fixture would be very nice for your 30 gallon cube. PFO has a mini pendent that holds a 150w DE bulb and the power supply for around $220 and then you have a large array of bulbs to choose from; AB, IceCap, etc.

Scott Z.

[Reefer769]

lol i really cant spend over 200$ on all this lighting

i need a cheap solution bad!

[Reefland]

I deleted the new thread you started, no need to start another thread to discuss what we are already discussing here.

There really is no cheap solution other than changing the corals you keep in your cube but even then you are going to need more than the 15w NO bulb that you have now. At a minimum, I would recommend PC's or VHO's but the VHO's are going to be longer than what your tank is, which leaves you with PC's and a DIY hood or a MH pendent, which is your best bet as it will allow you to keep the SPS corals you desire. PC's will allow you to keep soft corals and LPS corals but not SPS corals and clams.

Scott Z.

[Poseidon]

Have a question for YOU...

Don't you think IF there WAS a CHEAPER solution to lighting our tanks, we would already have it? I mean seriously, do you think my first choice was to spend $500.00 on lights? That $500.00 would have bought me a TON of SPS Corals, Fish, and other equipment.

I guess what you are going to have to realize is that even though we may all want to own a Porche, Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, etc, we have to drive what we can fit in our budget. I drive a FORD. So for as much as I can appreciate you wanting SPS corals, there is NO WAY on this EARTH that they will survive in a tank lit by a single 15 WATT bulb.

Another way to compare the difference in lights, These Corals are all taken off REEFS in the TROPICS, where the sun is at its most intense. When you go to Disney World doesn't your Mom cake you with sunscreen? That is because the sun is so much more concentrated there. Now when you go NORTH the suns rays become dispersed over a greater area, so they are not as INTENSE. Have you ever heard of these corals come from Greenland? Cause thats the kind of light you have right now with that 15 watter. Thats why you need such intense light, you are trying to duplicate TROPICAL SUNLIGHT!!!

[Reefer769]

haha alright i understand now, sorry about bothering you with stupid questions i just wish i can some day come close to ever being as good a reefer as any of you guys. So i guess i will have to invest and get a job somewhere and start SAVING UP! HAHA

[Reefer769]

oh yea one more think, wont a 150W light fixture heat up my tank A LOT!!??

this means i would need to buy a chiller, right?

[Reefer769]

will 72 watts of lighting be good for the corals, becuase i found a MH at A H supply and its 17.5"L and it would fit perfectly on my cube tank, i would also get a 36W 10k compact bulb, and a 36W med blue compact bulb with it. Im only thinking on keeping 1 or 2 corals.

[Leddy]

i'd say slow down. you are very eager to jump right into reefs, i'd hold off for a little while, especially with SPS. you have all the time in the world. this hobby isn't going to be gone next year, so give it some time with the LR and maybe PC, but even with the NO with maybe a 50/50 bulb. get some more experience keeping a FOWLR tank, get a book on reef keeping, and wait a year or so to get into corals. but dont kill yourself trying to find out everything you need, you should relax and stare at your tank and enjoy it.

leddy

[Wind]

yeah i agree. i understand how the anxiety is to start a reef, to get it going, to light that first match..

anyhow. i say get the HOME all PUMPED UP.. furnish it w/ lights, filtration everything, rocks and what not, and let it stabilize.. that ALONE should provide a ton of joy, as one of the biggest joys is setting it up, pouring the sand in, getting ur hands wet, and LIGHTING the tank.. and seeing the slice of a soon to be reef. heheh ...

then the route is up to yours.. i say try some stuffs and build ur way up ..

anyhow good luck

[Reefland]

Originally Posted by Reefer769

will 72 watts of lighting be good for the corals, becuase i found a MH at A H supply and its 17.5"L and it would fit perfectly on my cube tank, i would also get a 36W 10k compact bulb, and a 36W med blue compact bulb with it. Im only thinking on keeping 1 or 2 corals.

These are not MH as you indicate as MH comes in 70w, 150w, 175w, 250w, 400w and 1000w; the blbs you list are Power Compact.

The Power Compact will be good for lower light corals on the bottom of your tank (i.e. mushrooms, etc.) and some LPS mid way, up to the top of the tank (i.e. brains, etc.).

Scott Z.

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by Leddy

i'd say slow down. you are very eager to jump right into reefs, i'd hold off for a little while, especially with SPS. you have all the time in the world. this hobby isn't going to be gone next year, so give it some time with the LR and maybe PC, but even with the NO with maybe a 50/50 bulb. get some more experience keeping a FOWLR tank, get a book on reef keeping, and wait a year or so to get into corals. but dont kill yourself trying to find out everything you need, you should relax and stare at your tank and enjoy it.

Couldn't have said better myself. The best thing you can do now is to learn to be patient, learn to watch your tank for any life developing on your rock, in a couple more weeks you can get couple/few snails and see what they do and observe them for a spell. Getting better lighting would be great for the tank but there is something you can do in the meantime...get your hands on some books and start reading. If you have some rock already,you can start feeding your tank with phytoplankton and watch for some new life to sprout in/on your roks.There will be tiny featherduster worms and some other critters that don't require a whole lot of lighting,I think there is alot to be said about watching your tank mature. You can also add few cups of good live sand from a fellow reefer and see how that affects your sand bed,I bet you'll be surprized when you see a worm or few pods running around...

Like others said, corals are not going anywhere and will always be available as fragments from your fellow reefers or your LFS. Another good thing that I did for a while is to watch for coralline algae growth and formations on the rocks,it was amaizing to see all the tiers and wafers that it was forming

Sorry for the long post,folks.


Edit: Sorry, almost forgot to add a link to a wonderful thread that I think every beginner or even seasoned reefer should read. I think it pertains to all of your questions,reefer769.
MATURITY ISSUES

[Poseidon]

Great comments from everyone Reefer, just SLOW down, and read that link Gene provided. I had not read that one myself... The more information you get the more successful you will be. I hope my explanation did not sound to harsh, I just couldn't seem to get the point across any other way. So take your time, enjoy the tank and get some experience under your belt. Also remember that not even 10 years ago SPS were for People like Sea World and other HUGE Aquariums. Just recently have the hobbiests began to be able to keep them with any success. So everyone is still very new to keeping them, that's a big reason for boards like these.

[Reefer769]

awsome, thanks for all of your comments guys! i appreciate it.


in the mean time ill just chill out and go slow from now on.

[new2salt2]

ok reefer here you go.. i think you can relate to me a bit better. I started years ago with fresh water fish. I always planned the salt tank and started looking for peoples websites with their experiance on Salt tanks. I will include a few sites. well i thought i could not afford it , but here is waht i did. I purchased a 50gal tank and went to the store.. I bought some LR(my shop keeps them in a tank so i dont have to cure it) then bought some base rock on line. I put in crushed coarl and used the standar light that came with tank. (store didnt tell me that the 65 W bulbs i bought from then would not work well in the 15W fixture, but they of course saw me comming and sold it to me anyway.) next i saved and bought a skimmer, SEa Clone (DONT BUY IT) i ran the skimmer, LR and waterfall filter with damsels for about a year. of course i put in the starfish, crabs and snails since they all cheap. I did buy a tang and he died within weeks wasted money jumping into the hobby too fast.

looked around and found that i need to test water and bought a master test for nitrate, amonia, ph and nitrites. kept things goins with this for some time while looking for lighting. I am on a strict budget too.. BELIEVE ME.. i bound a 65W 2 bulb 50/50 PC lights that was 48"long for 150 bucks from smartlite. and saved for new skimmer ( got a prisim deluxe).

i then went and bought some "hardy" coral polyps. 3 days later they were dying off and i didnt know why. I had bought stontium, calcium and iodide. What they didnt tell me was i needed to test, not just dose as directed on bottle cause each tank uses up the itmes at different rates. So now i am stuck buying test kits, dosers, and more chemiclas just to balance out my tank. AND I HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO USE THEM YET> so you see after one year i stil have no corals and have lights and such. Listen to them and dont jump in too fast it will cost you in the long run.

read these pages and check out the forums as well

http://www.3reef.com
http://www.saltreef.com