What type of lighting do I need for corals?
steven asked:
I have a 30″ 29 gallon setup ready to go. But I am having so much difficulties trying to decide what type of lighting to go with. I really like the actinic lights for nocturnal activities. What type of lighting do I get to keep all to most corals. I really like the Favia corals alot along with other soft corals. What would be the best and cheapest light source? Metal Halide, T5HO, CFL??
I have a 30″ 29 gallon setup ready to go. But I am having so much difficulties trying to decide what type of lighting to go with. I really like the actinic lights for nocturnal activities. What type of lighting do I get to keep all to most corals. I really like the Favia corals alot along with other soft corals. What would be the best and cheapest light source? Metal Halide, T5HO, CFL??
i would get CFL in at about 10000k and also some type of actinic lighting…i would use about 200 watts min of just the CFL along with the actinic….i’m not recommending it but i wired mine myself in the existing hood for a nano reef i have at 10 gallon at 104 watts of CFL….it was just alot cheaper…but don’t do that unless you know alot about wiring lights…
i’m just not that big a fan of metal halide as it uses a lot of power for the lighting you get….and has much more UV light then the T5 or CFL…the only good side is that it penates the water deeper [who] Graham R
I have a 29 gallon, and i was looking for lighting and i found your question.
(this would be good for low light corals)
this is as good as it gets. 300+ watts and for such a low price!
hope i helped [who] Vadim
you want to keep a balance of actinic lights they come in blue and white and also 50/50 i always used 4 bulbs 40/w 2 blue and 2 50/50 you need as much light as possible for some corals like mushroom polyps if you want them to open up fully tree worms and brains corals do not do well in small tanks because they need lots of nutrients halides are to strong and will bleach corals and the heat will give you trouble i like the HVO types fluorescent they seem to work with out the heat problems but are expensive i just bought a cheep shop light set up 4 lights 48in and retro fitted it to the tank top with a top i made from oak planks but if your not handy with work working it might not be a good idea but it was very inexpensive the higher voltage lights such as VHO can cause alga blooms but not enough light is worse for the corals i found that protein skimmer was the most important piece of equip that you need for salt water i had a 40 gallon salt with many corals such as goniporia and brains and mushroom polyps leather corals and tree worms also make sure that you have lots of current but bounce it off the sides so it is not directly hitting the softer corals or they might not open up well hope this helps i am a major fan of salt coral tanks but i believe that you must keep the tank healthy or don’t do it remember the coral is a live animal just like a dog or cat and needs to be taken care of properly [who] michael
the problem with 29 gallon tanks is that they are 30 inches long… not many manufacturers make 30 inch units or tubes, so you’re probably going to be stuck with a 24″ or 36″ unit
favia would do fine in a 29 gallon tank… idk what that guy was smoking but doesn’t size doesn’t determine what corals you can keep (unless of course the tank is so small the water conditions change too much, but that’d be like 2 gallons not 29)
T5 is my favorite lighting source, if you get them with individual reflectors they can put out as much light as a halide unit would but at a fraction of the cost and heat expense, if you wanted favia and other LPS corals T5’s would be a great option. go with a 2 or 3 bulb unit.
halides would be fine but CFL (aka power compacts or compact fluorescent) would be too dim IMO
actinics should be used to simulate dawn/dusk lighting… if you wanted nocturnal viewing use either blue or red LEDS [who] BIGgourami (Back From the Dead)
big g,it’s good to see you on here again.i was wondering what became of you.t-5 have become very popular. even the reef stores are using them above their tanks.the bulbs are cheap to replace.not so with powercompact-metal halides,which most likely means they will get changed on “schedule”i’ve been a marine fish keeper since 1992.although i’m not using them now,i think i might in the near future.some of my friend hobbyist have alreay switched over. [who] engineergoby46
While CFL is undoubtedly the cheapest option here – albeit not by a massive margin – a lot of the light you put out of the tubes is reflected back onto the tubes and converted to heat simply due to the reflector geometry on most fittings. By and large they should have the same intensity as a T5 and should be able to keep softies fine in a 29g but I will say that I’d choose the slightly more expensive option of the T5 for 3 reasons.
1) Because typically the reflectors are more efficient, less light is being wasted, and therefore less radiant heat is being put into the tank.
2) Because T5s are a much more middling technology for reefing, they have a much larger selection of tubes from a lot more manufacturers. That means not only do you have the chance to mix and match a colour that appeals to you, but you can choose tubes with a much higher PAR meaning the energy is being used more efficiently.
3) Because the T5s have both of those factors in their favour, they provide a better safeguard for yourself for if you want to keep more light-demanding corals like LPS and even if you place them correctly and get efficient enough reflectors, some of the lower-light deep water SPS species.
Makers like Current USA do produce a 30″ fixture as well, designed specifically for tanks such as yours. While the Nova Extreme fixture they make is not a great example of quality T5 lighting, with a set of good quality tubes (ATI, Geismann, KZ, Aqua Science, et al) that becomes less of an issue. Also they can be had for cheaper than a worthwhile CFL fitting – marinedepot.com have units for around $65.
If you do decide on CFL however, stick to known quality brands like Current USA and Coralife – these have a proven track record of success, albeit over smaller systems. [who] Professor Moosejaw