What kind of coral can I have under this lighting?

[aborrero4u]

Hello all,


Quick Question. I have 2 t12's 40 watt lights on my 72 bow front (80 watts total). My question is what kind of corals can I have under this? I know I need stronger lighting.

But with what I have right now what can I exactly have under this light?



xenias?
polpys?
Zoas?
Corals?
mushrooms,
leathers


I know I really cant have inverts, cause I need t5s or mh. But any info is appreciated.

 

[Quang]

Hello all,


Quick Question. I have 2 t12's 40 watt lights on my 72 bow front (80 watts total). My question is what kind of corals can I have under this? I know I need stronger lighting.

But with what I have right now what can I exactly have under this light?



xenias?
polpys?
Zoas?
Corals?
mushrooms,
leathers


I know I really cant have inverts, cause I need t5s or mh. But any info is appreciated.

aborrero4u, just to clarify a few things first:

Xenias, zoas, mushrooms, leathers are all corals.

The term "polyps" can have different meanings. In this case, I'm assuming you mean "button polyp corals" which couldmean zoas or palythoa--- also corals.

And when you wrote "corals" I'm assuming you mean SPS (small stony polyps) corals that is the first to come to mind when people say "corals.

To answer you questions, I've been successful keeping mushrooms, xenias and certain dull-colored zoas, palys, and leathers in low lighting. The other types of corals you mentioned will survive, but won't thrive (often turning brown) in low light.

By inverts, I'm assuming you mean hermits and snails--- which really don't care about lighting.

I'm making a lot of assumptions here since you've been a bit generic with your post, so correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[basiab]

Very few inverts need light.
Bow fronts have a lighting problem in general because of their shape. But aside from that the generic lighting requirements are 3 watts per gallon as a minimum for corals. And that is for those not requiring a lot of light. One option would be to keep the corals within the top half of the tank just along the path of the light.

 

[anthony27]

I had t8s on my old tank and I kept kenya trees and mushrooms very well. I replaced the bulbes and used actynic and coral glow. But then I said to my self lets grow some coral so I up graded to pc and now I have 245watt 6 t5 retro fixture. It all depends. Look on this web site and it will tell you the lighting needed to grow the coral.


http://www.asira.org/caresheets

 

[DCG1286]

Very few inverts need light.
Bow fronts have a lighting problem in general because of their shape. But aside from that the generic lighting requirements are 3 watts per gallon as a minimum for corals. And that is for those not requiring a lot of light. One option would be to keep the corals within the top half of the tank just along the path of the light.

Just for reference ... watts per gallon is old and outdated ... 150's of T-8/12 is NOT the same as 150W of T-5 or 150 of MH for that matter.

You should be fin keeping shrooms under those lights for now.

(just a small note to Anthony ... isn't it 234W over your tank? 36" T-5's are 39W each ... 39x6 ... 234 )

 

[anthony27]

yeaaa I was off sorry about that. I just got the lights lol

 

[aborrero4u]

aborrero4u, just to clarify a few things first:

Xenias, zoas, mushrooms, leathers are all corals.

The term "polyps" can have different meanings. In this case, I'm assuming you mean "button polyp corals" which couldmean zoas or palythoa--- also corals.

And when you wrote "corals" I'm assuming you mean SPS (small stony polyps) corals that is the first to come to mind when people say "corals.

To answer you questions, I've been successful keeping mushrooms, xenias and certain dull-colored zoas, palys, and leathers in low lighting. The other types of corals you mentioned will survive, but won't thrive (often turning brown) in low light.

By inverts, I'm assuming you mean hermits and snails--- which really don't care about lighting.

I'm making a lot of assumptions here since you've been a bit generic with your post, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Hey, guys thanks for all your input and clarifying things. And your assumptions were DAMN right on, like a psychic or something lol. Anyways thanks for all your help. I now have an understanding of what I can and can not put in my tank with my lighting. Thanks once again for all the info, it was very useful.:tongueani