HELP!! Confused by lighting combinations...

[wedgee]

Hi guys, I'm really in a spot now, cause I will be taking the step towards corals slowly, by next month (when I'm super sure the tank is cycled)

But after reading up so many articles, the only one type i'm sure of keeping is the mushroom corals. Even so, I'm not sure wat kind of lighting these guys need!

Can any kind soul just gimme a view of: wat types of corals i can get as a beginner; and wat type of lighting they need (eg atinic? normal? at wat intensity?) Be grateful if u guys have pix of the corals, cause the name confuses me even further, hahah!!!

Anyways, I have one dual tube PL hood w one normal and one atinic(JBJ, alas!) at 10,000K 36W, and a normal FL with just 20W output...can any expert tell me wat combo(PL how many and wat type, FL wat type) in my current setup i shld be using to provide lighting good enuff for most corals?

Hope its not too much to ask!!!

@^%#&^ CONFUSED....

[wedgee]

Ooops, by the way, my tank is 36x18x18...

[Tanzy]

Softs corals are good, not that they need less light, just that you don't have to worry so much about water quality and Ca,alk,pH.

Mushrooms are colourful and have interesting textures. I love them and I believe they are good corals to start with. I don't keep them because they grow so fast in my tank that they are a pest!

Zoanthids or buttom polyps are great too! Get a mix of colour and they look will look stunning under actinics.

[bawater]

wedgee, Zoanthids or buttom polyps will do fine under 2x PL 36w- as will mushrooms. Good intensity FL are good enough for mushrooms.

Another one that is nice is star polyps- u can watch them spread almost daily. i count 1mm a day.

One thing about them i found out is that they dun reproduce in high temp- (e.g 30c-32c). But below 30c & they start cloning.

& as tanzy mentioned, u dun really have to chk abt elements- but i do dose very small amounts of strotium,iodine & calc(but cause i got bubble corals)

i got some small Zoanthids(were half dead when i got them)which are increasing size under a direct 10k PL 36w(i think its about 8" below bulb)

another one to look for is leather...these can tolerate really bad water conditions & with good lights they get huge.- they may not look appealing in the shops but when they are at their best u will be amazed.

i shall try to attach a close up pic of a leather when i get home tonite.

Tanzy, no worries if shrooms become trouble- i shall gladly help u clear excess-if u harvest.

what about those giant size mushrooms- do they reproduce as fast?

my mushrooms are spreading but get very scattered.& then it looks sparse..go all over the place.

[wedgee]

Wow, thanx for the chunk of info bawater! Hope u guys can keep feeding me with info, cause most of wat i know is only from LFS and net; i need actual experiences in sgp...

Hmm, i've been eyeing star polyps too! But they seem so fragile, so i have only one block of mushrooms in my tank now-the uncle at Reef World very friendly, gave me $2 discount and tons of coral care advice! I love to see them glow green under the lights...

Btw, can i change the bulbs from 36W to 55W or other higher ratings? Or is the ballast only for 36W tubes? Wat is the max Wattage for FL Atinics?

Heheh, once again have to trouble u experts to help me with these questions...

[bawater]

i dunno abt using 55w for 36w ballast....i using 36w for 36w.

BUt FL is directly related by Length to watts(bigger tubes higher watts)

unless u asking about VHO(very high output) tubes- in which i have never used.

but indirectly- it has been said that FL actinics 03 are much better than PL actinics- so u may want to think of using ur tubes- 2x PL10k + 1x FL actinic.

but if ur happy now then no need.

whatever u decide upon- just watch ur temp.

[wedgee]

Hmmm, any idea where to get VHO tubes? Dont they need special fittings? I dont suppose they would fit in a normal FL hood rite...

Yah, all lights create havoc on the temperature! Me using A.C fan to blow onto the light hood, so not too big a problem

[Tanzy]

I think VHO is only available by importing from US. You need UV and heat resistant waterproof connectors for VHO and a ballast of the correct wattage. The tubes are the same size as NO tubes. They will fit into a FL hood.

I used to run VHO until I switch to MH, but intend to supplement my MH with VHO again.

[wedgee]

Oh yah, i think u or someone else once posted a thread describing the cost of ordering VHO from US rite? I remember the shipping alone, for a few tubes, came up to S$300++!!! So that would make the total of; replacing the ballasts, getting the UV, heat, waterproof thingies, and the actual tubes, to come up to a few hundred dollars?

Pardon me is i'm mistaken though!

[Tanzy]

Unfortunately, you are correct, but VHO does pack a lot of light into a very small space. PL/PC tubes produce more light per watt than VHO, but true actinic 03 tubes are only available for NO and VHO fluorescents only.

[Achilles Tang]

Nope... there are 03 actinic PL tubes also.

They cost a bomb though.

Coralife has them.

[Tanzy]

Really? Where can you get them and in what wattage? They will be a good replacement for VHO.

[Bluebeard]

Coralife 03 actinic PL tubes can get at quite a lot of places, Petmart, Aquamart, Ocean Life, and others.

it's $55 each but i heard from lots of others that PL 03 actinic is not as good as FL ones as the colour is different.

[B|uEc@rpEt]

I've used the Coralife 03 actinic PL stuff b4....for my previous tank...

The colour (in layman terms) is very purple.....so much so that even my white pipe organ looks light greenish under such light....

And I also found that their life span is pretty short....I think I changed the bulb like once every 3-4mths....

fyi...

[Achilles Tang]

Coralife 03 actinic PL tubes can get at quite a lot of places, Petmart, Aquamart, Ocean Life, and others.

it's $55 each but i heard from lots of others that PL 03 actinic is not as good as FL ones as the colour is different.

Same colour... I have compared them.

Same deep purple colour that produces the same flourescent glow effect on corals.

Don't mix these Actinic 03 PLs with the blue PLs (brighter blue, less flourescence effect).