Lighting question

[Dezzy]

I don't want to deal with the hastle and expense of metal halides at the moment and I was thinking of getting Power Compact lights. Are those better then the VHO? My tank is only a 30 gallon long which is

36 3/16 long x 18 1/4 high x 12 15/16 wide

I have almost 5 inches of fine sand now. Some was like fine powder and the other is the grainy size of the Carib-Sea Live Aragonite. Since the sand is so lite and my tank is so shallow the filter has made a drift of 8inches at the highest and 3 inches at the lowest in the spot that the filter pours into the tank. I don't have any sand dwellers yet. I assume they will even things out if they can?

The corals I am looking at keeping are mostly soft. Mushrooms, toadstools, etc. Maybe a frogspawn or something like that. Will look to you guys for that too! Right now I want to get good lighting without breaking the bank. I was told that with Power Compacts I could keep anything I wanted save for the really hard ones like acroporas and stuff. Said I would even be able to keep a clam if I kept him high in the tank. Is this true? The Power compacts I have been looking at are 2 x 96w bulbs plus the moonlight.

 

[Fishieness]

the sand may be evened out by your creatures, but depending on what you have, they may make it even more uneven.
for lighting, power compacts are not better than VHO or t5 HO. But they will get the job done for what you have mentioned you are looking to keep. although, VHO and t5 HO will get the job done better. haha. and no, you would not be able to keep a clam with PCs.

 

[Dezzy]

Corals

OK. If I get brighter lighting, like the VHOs, will that make it bad for the mushroom and toadstools that like lower lighting? Or does it just mean that they CAN do well in low light but brighter will be better?

 

[Fishieness]

it depends on the coral. i know from experience that all of my corals at the time, lps, and even softies and mushrooms did a lot better under halides than they did undder PCs and the color was much much better. But if you do run across something which is unhappy (sometimes it jsut dpeneds on the coral itself) then you can just put it to the side of the tank away from the center with the most intense lighting. or if you really have a lot of light, even under something. right now i have a black sun coral right under my halide, but it is doing well because i have it completly under a monti cap.

 

[Mr.Firemouth]

Hi Dezzy,

As far as the scour hole from your filter output goes...Place your live rock infront of the output to diffuse its force. That will stop the sand from being blown around.

As far as PC goes...the T5 fixture for that tank is a better option.
http://www.hellolights.com/364lateklisu.html

Make sure you understand all the water quality issues before purchasing livestock. If you have any questions PM me.

Rich

 

[Dezzy]

Hi Rich,
For that lighting, should I get the 2 11,000K and 2 Pure Actinics?

 

[Fishieness]

it depends what you like. i personaly think a 50-50 mix looks good. s oem people want more blue, while others want more white.

 

[Dezzy]

What is the best output for the corals? What corals could be housed with this type of lighting?

 

[Fishieness]

you will be able to keep jsut about anything with that lighting. lps and softies. many will claim that you will be able to keep sps and clams under this lighting and they will thrive. SOME will survive such as the lowe rlight demanding ones. but IMO, they will not thrive so i wouldnt recomend it.

 

[Dezzy]

you will be able to keep jsut about anything with that lighting. lps and softies. many will claim that you will be able to keep sps and clams under this lighting and they will thrive. SOME will survive such as the lowe rlight demanding ones. but IMO, they will not thrive so i wouldnt recomend it.

What are LPS and what are SPS?