compact flourescents????

[azriel]

eventually im gonna be setting up a 40 breeder reef tank. ive decided to do compact flourescents for lighting but im TOTALLY new to compact flourescents. i need to know what brands are good... what to look for in bulbs...etc. any info would be greatly appreciated. thanx.

[gcvt]

What will you be breeding? And, when you say "breeder reef tank" - do you mean a breeding tank with inverts and corals?

[OrionGirl]

I think he meant the tank he's using to setup a reef is a 40 gallon breeder--meaning it longer and shorted than a standard 40.

What kind of bulbs you want depends on what kind of reef you want to setup. We need a list of organisms you want before we can help with their lighting requirements.

Unless you meant you want them to reproduce for you--in which case the list of needs is longer and different.

[gcvt]

Aw shucks, you're probably right, OG. I was just hoping for pics of some salty babies :)

[Altivelis]

I had that same tank set up with one three foot all glass double powercompact fixture (2x55watt) and then in the front I had a double flourescent fixture with one white light and one actinic. It was a good little set up but you just have to be really carefull the tank doesn't over heat. I had no problems (other than a fair bit of algae growth) until the summer when the tank cooked and I lost a number of my favorites.

[azriel]

i meant the tank is a 40 breeder... 36" x 18" x 16". im looking to have shrimp, snails, crabs, anemones, maybe soft corals, sea stars, and maybe a mandarin goby and a coral beauty angel. thanx for any input.

[slipknottin]

well anemones have vastly different requirements than the other things you list, not to mention there extremely uncompatable with mandarins (who have their own problems BTW)

soft corals is a fairly vague defintion. Some softies prefer very dim light and some of them like full blown MH lighting.

[azriel]

ok slipknottin... im REALLY new to saltwater (as if you all hadnt figured that out yet) so i havent had much of a chance to research possibilities of corals and other stuff. i hadnt heard of any problems with mandarin gobies in with corals but the amount of people i know with salt tanks is limited. however a friend of mine has had a mandarin in with corals for about six months... no problems yet but that could change.

[slipknottin]

well anemones arent technically corals.

Ive heard of quite a few cases where the anemones have killed and eaten mandarins.

Mandarins on their own have pretty poor survival rates. They are notorious for not eating any kind of prepared food, and usually are only recommened for established tanks with a great deal of small living animals (pods) for them to eat.

[OrionGirl]

I wouldn't put a mandarin in a tank with any other fish that will compete for pods, or in a new tank (under 1 year).

Anemones shouldn't go in a new tank either--reduces their survival rate even further.

Do some research on the specific critters you want--there is a book list around here somewhere...

[RJJ_EXPERT]

i use 10,000k and 50/50 with 12,000k 250 watt MH
but that cosat some money to do that

for you get a 96 watt 50/50
or 1 10,000k and one actinc (7,200k,420nm)
mine are custom sealife but you could also use coral life