New to reefing... a few q's please
- Thread starter fishiefishie
- Start date
I went with T5HOs and love them. But definately take a look at what sort of corals attract you the most, because its an addictive hobby and once you start... lol. Spend some time investigating and doing research on what you plan to keep, that'll really help you pick which type of lighting and flow setup you require. Good luck with your new aquatic adventure!
the k ratings just mean what spectrum of light it produces. 10k is popular because it offsets the actinic blue and makes the tank look fairly natural while still having alot of growing power. a lower k rating would have better growth of coral but turns pink and red and yellow the lower you go. The higher you go the more blue it becomes but decreases growing power. 10k is a happy medium with 14k being popular for more blue to make the colors pop if you have your tank the way you want it and don't need your corals to grow much anymore.
The fixture I'm looking at now comes with (all T5 HO) 2 X 12000 k bulbs and 2 x actinic bulbs, = 96 watts total.
I am thinking of just getting a couple of different easy frags from my LFS and see what they do, if you think this lighting will work.
By the way, how do I put them in the tank? Just sit them somewhere and let them do their thing or what? Will I need special chemicals to help them grow?
Thanks for helping me out with this!!
I am thinking of just getting a couple of different easy frags from my LFS and see what they do, if you think this lighting will work.
By the way, how do I put them in the tank? Just sit them somewhere and let them do their thing or what? Will I need special chemicals to help them grow?
Thanks for helping me out with this!!
as to lighting T5HO are all well and nice, but if you decide you want to add sps down the road MH (or LEDs) are the way to go IMHO. Also in my experience watts per gallon don't really mean much in reefing, it's the PAR values that are important.
When introducing corals, some people dip or QT them, I personally don't because I don't have the room or light for a QT coral tank. you don't have to QT if the coral are from a reliable source (LFS with good, parasite free tanks or fellow reefer with the same) Also some drip acclimate coral too, again I don't I feel that corals aren't as sensitive to rapid changes especially when they are coming from bad water.
One thing that I do is acclimate new coral to my light, placing it first in the bottom of my tank, and slowly moving it up to where I want it.
When introducing corals, some people dip or QT them, I personally don't because I don't have the room or light for a QT coral tank. you don't have to QT if the coral are from a reliable source (LFS with good, parasite free tanks or fellow reefer with the same) Also some drip acclimate coral too, again I don't I feel that corals aren't as sensitive to rapid changes especially when they are coming from bad water.
One thing that I do is acclimate new coral to my light, placing it first in the bottom of my tank, and slowly moving it up to where I want it.
