Coral lighting

[IceTurf]

hmm oh yes and currently I'm leaning towards these http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod...tm_term=209268
bulbs as they are fewer $'s then the other ones and they work for my tank top/light system

I was reading about a few 14k 50/50 bulbs, well more accurately tank packages, and the match I found closest to those bulbs were the ones above so thoughts?


Currently I have one 6.7k compact fluorescent bulb.

[michika]

With those bulbs the best you could keep is probably softies, some zoas, some LPS, and MAYBE some forgiving SPS. The intensity isn't enough to keep the vibrant colors that most SPS have, it may also hinder their growth.

[IceTurf]

so, just maxing out all possibilities here, what would be a rated bulb/stats of a bulb for acropora corals? (other then metalh's)

[michika]

For SPS, you can try either metal halide lighting, or overdriven T5s. T5s are popular in Europe and gaining popularity here.

[IceTurf]

does the mh bulb matter? T5's are just fluorescent's, what makes them better then the other 10k fluorescent bulbs?

[mark]

First understand there's lots and lots of variables (tank depth, clarity of water, bulb spectrum, efficiency, etc, etc) but to get an idea of total wattage required for rough estimate purposes of coming up with a budget for lighting a tank with photosynthetic corals, use 5 watts/gallon.

[IceTurf]

hmm sorry i should fill out what tank I'm gonna run. I have your very basic 10 gallon tank W/cover+lighting system (basic bulb input, think round) -two 20W versions of those bulbs http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod.../1/product.web
would be about 20% shy of what I need, which I can work with-
BTW, how well do bio-filters work for nano's, I know that skimmers are prefered but would a good bio filter work?

[mark]

Wish you luck, as might find a tank that size for starting out and then as a hardcore reef to be a bit of a challenge.