Can Acropora and Montipora thrive under power compact lighting?

[shark_bait]

Since I started my reef tank a few months ago, I have done as much research as possible but I have also spent a lot of time speaking with my local fish guy. I understand that I shouldn't believe everything my local is saying since he is trying to sell me things but he has been very informative and patient with me, and really hasn't pushed many products on me.

With that said, he is my only local option for corals since all other shops have either lost my trust or has closed down. But I don't want to take anything away from him since he has been very reliable and pretty inexpensive.

He has a large tank where he keeps his corals. This tank is lit with 90W Power Compacts - White and Actinic. I ultimately went the same direction as him in regards to lighting for my tank so I know I can trust that if a coral exists in his tank, my lighting will be sufifcient in my tank as well.

So I inquired about hard corals since he never has any in his tank. He said that hard corals need Halides and that power compacts are insufficient for them. When I dug a bit deeper, he mentioned that I should stay away from Acroporas and Montiporas.

Unfortunately, these corals were on my list of coral to maintain since seem to be hardy, the most colorful, and add a different look to the tank as they branch out and sometimes form shelves, etc.

Is this true? Power Compacts aren't sufficient lighting for these? If so, what is the closest to the Acroporas and Montiporas which still thrive under power compacts? I am mostly interested in Acroporas so what would best resemble those?

[Poseidon]

He is correct for the most part. My friend was able to keep a Red Monti under PC lights, but it didn't "thrive" it survived.

I am keeping an SPS tank under T5 lights, and I like them almost as much as I liked my halides. The reason I changed was for energy consumption, my halide/VHO system drew 610W, the T5 draws only 320W.

Keep reading!!! Knowledge adn PATIENCE are the keys to this hobby.

[Ninong]

Your post doesn't give any of the information necessary for someone to answer your question. I looked up one of your previous posts and learned that your tank is 55 gallons and that your lighting is on for 14 hours per day.

Assuming it's a standard 55-gallon glass tank, then it's dimensions would be 48"L x 12.5"W x 20"H. If those are not the dimensions of your tank, then we would need to know what they are because the height of the water column is a factor to take into consideration in choosing your lighting.

Assuming your tank is 48" long, what exactly do you have in the way of power compact lighting? Do you have two 3' lamps or do you have four 2' lamps? Or do you have eight 2' lamps? What are your Kelvin ratings? Are half of your lamps actinic?

The only thing that really matters is the amount of light that reaches the corals but we can't even guess at that without knowing the height of your water column, the exact number of lamps and the distance between the lamps and the water's surface.

It's possible that you might be able to keep some hard corals in your tank if they are placed high in the tank but that all depends on exactly what lighting you have. You're going to have to be more specific about exactly what you have if you want opinions.

[shark_bait]

I have a 55 - 48X12X20. 3 ft pc lights, 90w 10K, 2 bulds - 1 white/1 actinic. The lights are currently approx 2-3 inches from the water surface with a clear plexy glass cover to prohibit fishy suicide (since life is rough on the reef!!) and minimize evaporation.

I was considering raising the lights an inch or 2 by hanging them instead of letting the unit just sit on the plexy glass and framework, to allow for easier access and better distribution of the light to the outer edges but I guess that would minimize my chances of creating an optimal situation for these hard corals heh?

My top of my LR is approx 2/3 up to the water surface so these additions would be set on the top, with a few options for placements half way up as well.

So what do you think? Please note, since my knowledge of ideal corals is minimal at this point, I do not want to be closed minded and insist that I obtain Acropora. If there are other options which provide the same look/color/hardiness, etc. I am all ears.

PS Ninong - Your extra effort to research my tank specs is above and beyond and greatly appreciated. Out of respect for you and any other reefer who is going out of their way to better educate newbies such as myself, I will do my best to provide all of my specs in my profile to better assist anyone, such as yourself, next time I have a question.

[Ninong]

Your present lighting setup is probably not adequate for hard corals. You have a single 96w 10,000K PC and a single 96w Actinic PC. The actinic puts out about one-third the PAR of the 10,000K lamp.

One of the problems with a standard 55-gal glass tank, is that the dimensions are NOT very good at all for a reef aquarium. It's 20" tall but only 12" front-to-back, so you really can't fit very many lamps across the top when choosing to go with fluorescent lighting.

[jle9123]

This is my 55 gallon and I had sps in the tank with a orbit 264 watt light fixture with moonlights. I had it for yrs under this condition, and yes you do need more light ot sustain SPS in your tank. I had two of them for my probagation 55 gallons. I'm accually selling the light fixture for 150.00 on criaglist in my area, only used for 3 month until I decide to close the tank down.

[art_of_war]

shark bait,

I was sort of curious also. So, Sunday I got myself a small frag from a friend. I put it somewhat high up on a rock. The water movement IS moderate to strong depending upon location in the tank. My set up virtually identitical to yours. It's been up and running for just over a year. Mostly softies and some LPSes; a few fish and a bunch of live rock.

I guess we'll have to see what happens.

[ReeferSD]

Im with everyone else here. 1 light is not enough for sps in your tank. If your gonna spend the money on corals do it right and spend money on quality lighting. In the long run when you dont have die off problems, you'll realize good lighting was essential. In this hobby since everything is expensive I learned go all out. My next tank will be in wall and there wont be a piece of livestock in there untill i have everything to successfully maintain it. the moral to the story is don't skimp on lighting. It is a must.

[Reefland]

There are some SPS corals that will survive under this lighting, such as Montipora spp.. I wouldn't expect the most spectacluar coloration from them though. Just my opinion, experience.

[salt-rookie]

The answer is NO! These animals deserve the very best we can give them. If you have PC lighting keep softies...If you want to do stonies...get halides. Aquarium Lights Hellolights.com is VERY reasonable if you get the DIY retros!

[shark_bait]

I wasn't tryin to be cheap but saving some cash doesn't hurt. I actually went in this direction because I was a bit afraid of having an in-wall 55 (standard shape) with such hot lighting right near the wall.

Just trying to be safe.

It's not the end of the world if I can't get the acros and montis. There is plenty of colorful stuff I can buy instead.

But I will keep the lighting switch in mind once I go all out with a 200+ gallon one day.

[art_of_war]

I wasn't tryin to be cheap but saving some cash doesn't hurt. I actually went in this direction because I was a bit afraid of having an in-wall 55 (standard shape) with such hot lighting right near the wall.

Just trying to be safe.

It's not the end of the world if I can't get the acros and montis. There is plenty of colorful stuff I can buy instead.

But I will keep the lighting switch in mind once I go all out with a 200+ gallon one day.

Don't worry Shark-bait,

I'm with you in some sense. I'd love to go to a 200+ gallon system someday also. Most of my corals are softies and LPS's. I do have 3 derasas; they all do pretty well in my tank. The only two corals I've had trouble with in the past are the red sea gorgonias and a chili coral. The funny thing about them is that they're non-photosynthetic. Strange huh?

It doesn't EVER hurt to experiment. There's no harm in learning!

[Reefland]

The problem with those corals is that we typically can't add the right food in the correct amounts to keep them happy. In some cases for these corals we have no idea what to even feed them.

[shark_bait]

How do you all feel about the sun corals? I see they actually need shade but direct feeding?

[Reefland]

They don't need shade, or light, but do require direct feedings. Each polyp. They are a great coral if your willing to dedicate the time to feeding them.

[Ninong]

Looks like Scott beat me to it.

They can live in either shade or light. The reason they're found in the shade in nature is because that's where they find the least competition for available space.

They're azooxanthellate, therefore each polyp needs to be fed regularly, preferably daily. How you accomplish that is up to you. If necessary, you may have to spot feed them manually.

Ask Scott what he's feeding his.

[Reefland]

I don't have one now but have in the past and fed it brine and mysis with a syringe.

[shark_bait]

To make it easy to feed them, it would obviously be best to set them high in the tank. if I have pc lighting, 2-3ft 90w (1 white, 1 actinic), will it be okay. if I was to pick a spot to put it off the top of my head, i would say it would be 6-8 inches from the light.

[Reefland]

Light will not change the coral in any way, so yes it will be fine as far as that is concerned. But most people put them on the bottom and leave that expensive real-estate open for corals that need more light, and it is a good reason in my opinion. If your worried about reaching it for feeding time, there are some long turkey basters tha work just as well.

[Ninong]

They would be easier to feed if you attached them underneath an overhanging rock or from the ceiling of a cave pointing down.