Lighting

[rittern]

What kind of lighting is needed to maintain a reef tank? I will eventually be buying an anenome. I wanted to stay away from HM lighting because it is too expensive. Will just regular Power Compact lighting work or T5?

 

[ebauman75]

Depends!

Compact flourescent and T-5 fixtures work fine as long as your tank is under 21-24 inches deep. I'm in the same boat (sort of!) setting up a tank that wont need any equipment changes when adding coral. My LFS staff has given me different wattages depending on what I'm trying to keep, but it's generally just extra fixtures. For me HQI/MH Fixtures are way too expensive and way too hot (I'm not buying a chiller if I don't have to!) for anything smaller than a 200 gallon tank! Any help?

 

[dorkfish]

I wanted to stay away from HM lighting because it is too expensive.

Sorry but, to get enough lighting for nem's, going with any of the other lighting options except maybe natural sunlight (though natural sunlight may not work depending on your location) will cost just as much as metal halide. Not only that, but metal halide also seems to be the cheapest when it comes to replacing bulbs(this assumes you are running about the same wattages out of the other lighting types). But...

How big is your tank? What are you planning to keep(sounds like a mixed reef?)? Are you aware of how poor the survival rates for nem's in captivity is? Are you aware of the fact that most clowns are now either tank bred or tank raised and it's very possible that they won't host in a nem (Most people buy nem's for thier clowns. I've heard of them hosting in everything from soft corals to fake nems to macroalgae and of course real nem's and fact is there equally likely to host in all those things)?

But, back to your question, most any light source will work... just you have to have enough of it. FYI, just a single, "regualr" PC or T5 light fixture will not cut it for nem's.