low light

[weez1959]

I could give you an example,

I have 500 watts MH and almost 200 watts actinic in my 75g, my corals are very happy,
My daughter had 130 watts of 50/50s in her 50g, her corals were mostly closed and generally didn't look good.
I've taken several of her corals since she closed up her tank and they are now fully extended and happy. She had a really nice leather coral, when I gave it to her it was almost 1 foot across ( gave it to her because I needed the room and she had no corals) and she put it in her tank and it slowly shrank down to about 5" across and never fully opened after a while, it was always folded up until we brought it back to the LFS.

I'm not trying to influence your decision but in the end you'll spend $130 for the low end lighting and then you'll end up buying the $250 lighting, add both shipping fees to that and you'll be at almost $500...

[meat]

Right, you don't need 500 watts of metal halide for soft corals to thrive, but the additional light intensity would be beneficial....or should I say, it wouldn't hurt them either.

ive seen a lot less than that on soft coral tanks. they seemed healthy to me
how did you go from this(Coralife 48 Inch Aqualight W/ 4-65W Straight Pin Base And 4-3/4W Lunar Blue-Moon-Glow LED Lamps - Marine Depot - Marine and Reef Aquarium Super Store)
to 500 watts of metal halide

[returnofsid]

Meat, Reefland was just explaining that going with better lighting is always beneficial. You seem to have already set your mind on the lighting you're going to get. You ask for suggestions and then when given them, you seem to disregard them. Get the lighting you're determined to get. If it works, it works....if it doesn't, you'll either end up paying more in the long run for better lights, your corals and tank will suffer, or you'll do as so many do when they don't start right, give up and leave the hobby out of discouragement. Who knows, maybe it'll work out great for you.

[meat]

i dont have my mind set on anything. all i said was ive seen a lot less than that on soft coral tanks. and they seemed healthy to me

[dibenni]

for what it is worth (i am no expert) - i had a very similar fixture (just no moon lights) on my 55 when i started last year. i too figured it would be enough for soft corals and even some others - and to tell you the truth it is.

that said - i recently upgraded to an aquactinic t5 fixture and wish i had not wasted the money on the coralife fixture in the first place. i upgraded for 2 reasons: 1) i decided that i wanted the option of keeping a broader range of corals (and my guess is you will too shortly) and 2) even though it is true that soft corals will do fine and look healthy under these lights, they do better and look better under brighter lights - also your whole tank looks better - the fishes' colors are brighter and you see more detailed items on your live rock and little critters. i compare it to watching regular cable tv, then watching high def - it just looks better!

if money is an issue, as i said - the coralife fixture is fine. but for not much more you could get a t5 fixture (which many people feel is even better than mh if you use the proper bulbs). remember, lighting is considered by most to be the most important part of a reef aquarium - that is why it has its own separate forum on this site.

and in support of returnofsid - you do seem to be quite negative when everyone on this site is just trying to help. trust me - i am the first one to be reasonable. some people will recommend some very extreme things - the fact of the matter is you can have a good reef tank without too much work as long as you do 4 -5 key things correct: supply proper lighting, properly cure enough live rock for your system before introducing other life, use a decent skimmer, generate enough water flow, and stick to less dificult to keep fish and corals.

hope that helps!

nick

[meat]

negative?

[weez1959]

Hi Meat,
Just one more thing, the softies will do fine under 130 watts but don't buy anything too colorful as after a while some will fade to brownish. My daughter's zoos were a beautiful orange with green skirt when purchased and when I took them out of her tank they were a uniform brown. They have been in my tank for almost a month now and the color still hasn't returned although under the moonlights you can see some of the original color.

[returnofsid]

Yes, negative. Go back to the beginning of this thread and read some of your responses.

[meat]

Yes, negative. Go back to the beginning of this thread and read some of your responses.

k read them. still dont see how i was being negative, but you can show me if you want.

you mean when ityped this "ive seen a lot less than that on soft coral tanks. they seemed healthy to me
how did you go from this(Coralife 48 Inch Aqualight W/ 4-65W Straight Pin Base And 4-3/4W Lunar Blue-Moon-Glow LED Lamps - Marine Depot - Marine and Reef Aquarium Super Store)
to 500 watts of metal halide??????

[meat]

Hi Meat,
Just one more thing, the softies will do fine under 130 watts but don't buy anything too colorful as after a while some will fade to brownish. My daughter's zoos were a beautiful orange with green skirt when purchased and when I took them out of her tank they were a uniform brown. They have been in my tank for almost a month now and the color still hasn't returned although under the moonlights you can see some of the original color.

thank you

[weez1959]

You're welcome.