LIGHTING

[zhonk]

I have beein wanting to upgrade to a reef for a while now. I was planning on keeping some bubble coraland mushrooms and the like. What level of lighting can I get away with with life like that. My LFS said that VHO was the way to go, but my wallet stings a bit when I see the price of a fixture. Would compact flourescent work or will I need something bigger?

 

[WeeNe858]

PC will work if your planning to stick to LPS or soft corals only. you can get a PC setup to run about 3-4 watts per gallon which will give you sufficient lighting

 

[zhonk]

I will be sticking to lps and mushrooms. Secondly will a coral beauty hurt corals?

 

[archer772]

I have had a Coral Beauty in my reef for 2 years without any problems so far.With your lighting what size tank and how tall is it.

 

[zhonk]

55 gal and 2 ft.

 

[fsn77]

A 4 x 65w PC fixture will grow most softies and many LPS quite well on a 55g. We had that lighting set-up on our 90g reef for over a year and our softies and LPS corals did very well.

 

[zhonk]

Thanks

 

[Grins]

Secondly will a coral beauty hurt corals?

It might and it might not. Some people have luck with them in a reef and some don't...this seems to be true of most of the dwarf angels.