12g aquapod question

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Sonicblast12

Sonicblast12

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I recently moved, had to tear down my 75 gallon and sold my livestock back to the lfs for a store credit. So I ended up with this 12g aquapod. Saved my best rock and left it submerged, cycled in less than a week, enjoying diatoms now.

I believe it comes with 54w of compact fluorescent lighting. Never done corals, is that enough light to sustain anything, and how established does the tank need to be before taking that plunge?
 
FeatherDuster

FeatherDuster

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Thats plenty of light for the low demand corals. You could easily do mushrooms, zoanthids and some others.

Mushrooms would be best to start out with. They are practically indestructible so you can add them whenever you feel ready. I would wait two or three weeks before you add the other types of corals.
 
got2envy

got2envy

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def plenty of light for softies and most LPS..no clams! i have a 12g and have all softies(mushrooms, zoas, colt corals) good luck!
 
Sonicblast12

Sonicblast12

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OK, so I'm browsing these online sites just trying to wrap my head around these lighting needs.

I see low, moderate, and high lighting needs with no real way to relate to the information. I assume that 4.5 watts/gallon falls in the medium range. I've done searches here and elsewhere and haven't found anything concrete.

So I'm wondering how many watts per gallon is considered low, medium, or high. Can anyone give me a ballpark range?
 
archer772

archer772

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WPG doesnt really meen anything any more. I would think with 54 watts of PC's you could keep softies, leathers, most all of the LPS's and maybe even Monties. I agree no clams or nems
 
K

kryptic4l

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got2envy said:
def plenty of light for softies and most LPS..no clams! i have a 12g and have all softies(mushrooms, zoas, colt corals) good luck!
Click to expand...
I beg to differ about the clam thing, my crocea Is alive and well, under the same lighting conditions, slowly but surely building new shell
 
FeatherDuster

FeatherDuster

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4.5 watts/gallon PC falls into the low-medium range. So you could do corals that are labeled "low". "low-medium", "medium", but I would not chance "medium-high", or "high". I had 9.6 watts/gallon PC and tired some "medium-high" corals. They didn't do as well as I thought they would. They didn't die, but they did lose color and decrease in growth rate. If you want to go into the "medium-high" range then I wouldn't use PCs, but T5s or MH instead.

Of course all corals are different, but thats how to relate it to a general shopping guide.
 
Sonicblast12

Sonicblast12

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Thanks guys. I think I have a decent handle on it, not all watts are created equal. As a fish only guy I had no idea. The hardest part is figuring out the basics that everyone already knows. (Such as, when first researching saltwater fish, finding out how in the world to get the salt in the water.)

It's amazing the way the color has popped on my live rock just in the short amount of time it's been under the "correct" lighting.
 
FeatherDuster

FeatherDuster

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I think I have a decent handle on it, not all watts are created equal.
Click to expand...
Hehehe, thats a funny quote. Sounds like a perfect insider nerd reefer joke ;) I should tell that at my LFS next time to see how many people get it.

Actually..... let me adjust my signature.
 
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