lighting question

[joetaylor569]

hi i have 12 watts of compact fluorescent lights per gallon and i want to know what limitations i have on what i can keep at this lighting thanks

 

[roland jacques]

Watts per gallon is a rule of thumb. There are much better ways of determining how much light you need or want.

What are you trying to keep/grow? Determine how much light they need. 200-300 PAR is good for most corals 150 PAR even may be enough.

Find out how much light you have now. You can use a LUX meter (cheep) or better yet a PAR meter ($$ or rent it).

 

[dakota9]

Clams and most anemones come to mind, probably a few sps you should steer clear of, but I'm sure some of our lighting speacialist will shed more light on the topic

 

[linda lee]

joetaylor569;82531 wrote: hi i have 12 watts of compact fluorescent lights per gallon and i want to know what limitations i have on what i can keep at this lighting thanks

What you probably have now would be considered *moderate light*. Check websites like http://liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=597">Live Aquaria</a> and see what kind of corals do okay under moderate lighting conditions.

SUGGESTION: Find an inexpensive coral that is listed as *easy care* and give it a try. Put the coral at the bottom of the tank and gradually move it closer to the top, noting how it does at each level until it finds a spot where it thrives. Bear in mind that flow is also a factor with most corals.

Possible choices:

Xenia
Kenya Tree
Mushrooms
Green Star Polyps
Ricordia

If you're anything like me, all the talk of PAR, watts, T-5's, MH's, PC's, lux, kelvin rating, actinic, 50-50 was like another language when first starting this hobby. I wanted some color and corals in my tank [B]now[/B] while I continue to learn about the more advanced options. Look for something that does well in moderate lighting and go from there.

If you decide to upgrade to a much brighter lighting system in the future, your *moderate light* corals can be re-situated in shaded areas.

Keep us posted on what you decide!

 

[showtime305]

What size tank do you have? As others have and will mention PC lights will not penetrate as deep as T5 or MH.

 

[krb]

It depends on the tank dimensions. PC lights don't penetrate the water as well as MH or T5. If the tank is a standard size, I would think all softies would be alright and even some LPS if you can place them in the upper half of the tank. I had a Purple Digitata (SPS) that I had under PCs. It lost its color but was growing decently. It was 2" from the surface though.

 

[showtime305]

We are talking about 12w of PC light here. I don't think any LPS can thrive under that light without actually being an inch away.

 

[tsciarini]

joetaylor569;82531 wrote: hi i have 12 watts of compact fluorescent lights <u>per gallon</em></u> and i want to know what limitations i have on what i can keep at this lighting thanks

What fixture do you have and what color bulbs?
(also what size tank?)

 

[showtime305]

Doah. Thanks for doing that Tony. I read that wrong. I was thinking 12w total, not 12w per gallon like it reads.:bash:

I'll go to my room now. No need to punish me.

 

[joetaylor569]

ok i have current orbit 80 watt an 2 more 20 bulbs on a 10 gallon how much more on a 10 is needed to be in the high range is it enough for a bubble tip that and a clown is all i really want and i have these little things on my rock looks like anemone purple with green tips i have fed it tiny peices of shrimp and it started growing really fast and split with a water change over night any ideas what it is

 

[joetaylor569]

and the colors are what comes with the orbit its like 4 different kelvin rating and the 2 20s are 10,00k/blue 50/50

 

[showtime305]

joetaylor569;82570 wrote: ok i have current orbit 80 watt an 2 more 20 bulbs on a 10 gallon how much more on a 10 is needed to be in the high range is it enough for a bubble tip that and a clown is all i really want and i have these little things on my rock looks like anemone purple with green tips i have fed it tiny peices of shrimp and it started growing really fast and split with a water change over night any ideas what it is

What you are probably seeing on the rocks are majano anemones. Some of them are nice looking but they all can be a problem when you add other corals. You should probably start getting rid of them unless you really like and want to keep them. You can use a product like Joes Juice to get rid of the majano.

As for your lighting, I would say you are borderline for an anemone. I think you can keep one but you will need to feed it also. You can also keep soft and LPS corals under that light. Some of them may need to be higher up in the tank though.

 

[linda lee]

joetaylor569;82570 wrote: i have these little things on my rock looks like anemone purple with green tips i have fed it tiny peices of shrimp and it started growing really fast and split with a water change over night any ideas what it is

Unfortunately, these sound like majono anemones and are pests that will take over your tank an damage other corals. Check out

 

[joetaylor569]

they dont look like the ones on that link but i did some looking around and i think thats what they are i think ill use the boiling water method because theres only 3 and i kinda like them for now so i think i just want to keep there numbers to 2 untill i start keeping some coral is that ok and can some one tell me when the meetings are and how to find out on my own im planing to join the club late next month but i really want to catch a meeting first

 

[joetaylor569]

im also planning to go to the north georgia frag swap so if anyone wantsto help me out with some corals i would like to buy a couple of easier corals from someone and transport healthy specimans myself then mail order them

 

[tsciarini]

Personally, I'm not a fan of having an anemone in such a small tank. They require a healthy stable system and that is very difficult to achieve in such a small volume of water.

 

[krb]

joetaylor569;82598 wrote: ...i think ill use the boiling water ...

The method I used was to inject them with lemon juice with an insulin needle. They die immediately and fall off. DO NOT do this if you have any livestock in the tank. You could, however, pull the rock out and inject them.

 

[roland jacques]

If your bulbs are new, and kept cool (fan...) no glass top on your tank, and no "oil" slick, you may have Very High lighting in your tank. its only 12" deep.