Lighting question

[FishMann]

I will be setting up a 60 gallon (36X20X20) soon. I just bought a 36in 2 by 96 watt coralife aqualight. I know im a little weak on lighting for the tank size. I was going to get a stronger light, but it was a retro....its a long story and it doesnt matter...anyway
i should be able to keep almost any coral in the tank right?
The only coral that i planned to put in the tank so far is a hammer, will that be alright in the tank with that lighting?
also, i know this might be a hard question, but what corals couldnt i keep with that lighting? Just ramble off what comes to mind, i dont need an entire list. Im just trying to figure out what i should do about the lighing.

thanks

 

[DougBak]

You should be able to keep most soft corals.. especially if you keep them high in the tank so they get the most benefit from the light. I had a hammer that was doing great in my tank before it crashed with 2x 65W PC and 2x 110W VHOs.

I won't even try any SPS or LPS until I get more lighting over my 90.

 

[fungia]

ya i agree with doug. hammer should be okay and most hard corals and softies too. i wouldnt try maxima clams or sps but i think you are ok with most things that are soft or lps.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree that softies will be fine under that lighing. Most LPS would probably be okay to. You might even be able to have a derasa clam too. You could always put the more light demanding items higher in the tank.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Hammers will be just fine. Befor ya get anything else...I highly recommend you read Aquarium Corals: Selection,Husbandry,and Natural History. I read this alot!

 

[BRose]

FYI - I have a standard 29 G. tank with only 3 Standard Output, 20 watt flourescents. While I Definately Do Not recommned this for beginners, you can acclimate almost all soft and many hard corals to this type of low level lighting. This particular tank has a large Hammer Coral and a Bubble Coral that have been happily growing for over 3 years. I have to trim frags every 3 or 4 months so they don't over take the tank. There's also several types of polyps and shrooms in the tank that are healthy and mulitplying.
BangBang has a great recommendation: Read and research, then decide what you want to do.

 

[taikonaut]

Yes, hammer can still very well under low light setting, but IME, you can't keep it from turning brown with that condition. They are still growing very well, but the green color just disappeared if you have it in the first place. It can be a big disadvantage for those that care very much about color.