lighting

DrzFishFan

AC Members
Feb 28, 2007
120
0
0
33
!!!!!New Haven!!!!!
I was wondering because every one says i cant keep my regular lighting with my new 30 gallon that im planning to get up in December hopefully....

Now on to the point i want to keep....

1.Coral(anemones,feathers,goniporia)stuff like that...

2.Live rock hopefully fiji or Caribean (which ever one is cheaper)

3.Fish(clowns,blennies,gobies)

4.Invertabrates(cleaner shrimp,snails,crabs)

What lighting would i need and can you please tell me the cheapest one im only 14 and my parents dont whant to give me to much money..... :dance2:
 
Your lighting does not give off enough PAR to support coral photosynthsis. You will need more light like PC T-5 or MH. If you want an anemone I would suggest MH as it produces the most PAR.
 
I can see a nem living in the top half of a thirty with a individual reflector t-5 set up but a DIY halide would be cheaper at that point for a tank that size.
 
It's good that you have a lot of time till December, to plan your tank and all of it's aspects. You need to research what you want to have, how to maintain them, compatability, space each needs, order to put in tank, and many many more things.
It is not a cheap hobby so if you can't get sufficient funds from working and from parental help, it's best to wait until you can afford to do it properly.
(gonoporia by the way, is mostly a failure even in mature tanks with experienced hobbyists. There are many other poor risk inhabitants as you will discover)
In addition to this site, there are two excellent online magazines with archives of top notch articles written by very experienced and qualified people.
Reefkeeping Online Magazine and Advanced Aquarists Online. Google search should find them for you.
Most corals need more lighting than freshwater tanks have over them so I'm guessing you don't have enough, although you never did say just what you had so no one can say one way or the other until you tell us what your lights are.
 
goniapora coral did fine in my tank for about a year then it gotso large i had to give it back to my work where it was sold to a guy who still has it doing great today. and all the ones in the store survived in the crapy water my boss said was "just fine" untill they were sold and all but 2 of the 14 or so i can think of are still doing great today in there homes. not to say ur wrong ive just seen a very good survival rate with them it depends on the supplier. one we got them from they were alredy half dead in the bag so we didnt get corals from them anymore.
 
you need at least 4 watts per gallon. and for an anemone u need the penetration that halides produce
Anemones DO NOT need metal halides!
This false information has been passed on for long enough from people who haven't taken the time to learn. You are unfortunately a victim of this perpetuation, and, unfortunately, becoming one who also passes it on.
In fact, while Dr Shimek says that he prefers a lot of light for keeping anemones, he said lack of light can be supplemented by extra feeding.
When I started in Jan 94, I never had a computer and no info to guide me and I bought a sebae anemone and kept it in a 30 g tank with NO lighting for a year until I moved it to my new 90g also lit with NO lighting. I DID though, increase the number of lamps to 8 40 watt lamps over that 90.
Today, my anemone is still under 8 40 watt NO's but I plan to change to T5 HO with SLR's soon, but certainly not because my anemone needs it.
In fact, I don't even feed my anemones directly, as they get sufficient from the water when I feed the fish.
 
Unfortunately it's still a fact that most harvested don't last much more than a year, if that. Check out the threads on the Big forum.
It's not impossible, but the odds are against it in spite of your success.
 
Anemones DO NOT need metal halides!
This false information has been passed on for long enough from people who haven't taken the time to learn. You are unfortunately a victim of this perpetuation, and, unfortunately, becoming one who also passes it on.
In fact, while Dr Shimek says that he prefers a lot of light for keeping anemones, he said lack of light can be supplemented by extra feeding.
When I started in Jan 94, I never had a computer and no info to guide me and I bought a sebae anemone and kept it in a 30 g tank with NO lighting for a year until I moved it to my new 90g also lit with NO lighting. I DID though, increase the number of lamps to 8 40 watt lamps over that 90.
Today, my anemone is still under 8 40 watt NO's but I plan to change to T5 HO with SLR's soon, but certainly not because my anemone needs it.
In fact, I don't even feed my anemones directly, as they get sufficient from the water when I feed the fish.

ur point is true but isnt the best for the anemone. i just stated whats best. you can keep one in a fish bowl with only your room light and feed it twice a day and change out the water every other...but thats not the best for it. they can do fine under low lighting for sure and mine even split under my powercompacts in my old tank. buy when u switch to halides like i have and all the others have u really see the difference.
 
AquariaCentral.com