Live Rock Lighting

Guy W

Guy W

AC Members
Apr 8, 2002
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Naples, FL
If you were going to setup a tank just to grow live rock, what type of lighting would be best?

I thinking of making some aragocrete live rock and just putting it in a tank and letting it grow coraline. Along with healthy calcium dosing what lights would help produce coraline rapidly?

MH are out because of cost. But VHO and PC's are possible. I just don't know what would produce faster growth. We are talking about a 4 foot tank, and I think it's like 24 or 26 inches tall.

Would you recommend VHO or PC, and in what color spectrums?

I was thinking 1 10k VHO and 1 Actinic VHO, both 48 inchs. Not sure of the wattage on those.

Any thoughts?

Guy
 
That's 2X110W. Should be plenty for coralline. If you did 2X96W PC, you'd get more light per watt, and the bulbs last longer (depending on who you ask).
The spectrum is up to you. Daylight or actinic should be fine, but I like a combination of daylight (either 10000 K like you said or 6700K) and actinic.
 
MH is Metal halide. VHO is Very High Output. It's similar to Normal Output florescents, just higher wattage. PC is Power Compact. About the same wattage as VHO, but supposedly the bulb lasts longer, and the bulb looks much different.

Guy
 
I have some 48 in. vho bulbs that are a few years old but only have about 1000 hrs from when they were new, they've been sitting for about 4 yrs. Are they still good?
They are are labeled Ultraviolet Resource International, they are 2 super actinic and 2 white actinic. but I don't see a wattage rating on them.
A previous post said that 48 in. vho were 110W. Is that a general rule?

Thanks,

clay
 
Considering that I see coralline growing at 60+ feet under water while diving, I would suggest that really high output light isn't super necessary.
 
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