shamrock4u Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Hello everyone, I have a 20g tank with 4 happy little damselfish in it. After reading about all the choices on this site I am a little confused about what low light is. I have the standard fluorescent lighting on my tank and without buying a new lighting system would a full-spectrum bulb be enough light for the low light corals? I just want to start out with a few corals and any help would be great. Vicki Link to comment
ELGORDOINAVW Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 i would say no, what length is the tank? also do you have a 18" or a 24" bulb? if it is 18" that would be 15 watts of light, 24" is 20 watts. i would say you are super lowlight, lowlight is 2-3 watts per gallon, med would be about 4-5, high would be about 5-12, nuclear detonation would be 13-???? basically if you have a a 20 gal then you want 40-60 watts. that would be the minimum i would go for mushrooms, try for at least 60 watts. a good option for low light corals would be one 55 watt 10000k pc and a actinic for your no flor. that way at minimum you have 70 watts in your tank, also by going with the 55 watt it is long enough to light from one end to the other end of the tank. or you could go 2x 55 watts and basically keep most corals. Link to comment
shamrock4u Posted July 29, 2003 Author Share Posted July 29, 2003 I have a 24 in. tank. The light is 18" 15 watt 5000K high intensity lamp wih peak emissions in the blue and red felds. It is very bright in there. If this is not ideal than that is ok because my fish are pretty enough. I was just wondering. Vicki Link to comment
dickwayne Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Low light corals: non photosynthetic Gorgonians, sun corals, and other non photosyn. corals. Make sure you feed lots of "Marine Snow" to feed these corals. Quit being cheap and buy some decent lights! http://www.hellolights.com/24cfpchoods.html I have the 2x 65watt on my 20, and they work great. Link to comment
edmund67 Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 go for some mushrooms they do good. I have a 20l and i use 40 watts. It took some modification. but it worked. lower light corale do well. be weary of to much wattage. U'll start getting heat problems. Link to comment
shamrock4u Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 Thanks everyone for the info. It is not a question of being cheap but of being a first time salt water keeper. I want to start off small and if I like the hoby will no doubt get a larger tank set up along with all the stuff. Vicki Link to comment
dickwayne Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 If you don't do it right, you will have problems, things will die, you will get frustrated, develop drinking problems, get a divorce, start a life of crime to support yourself, then end up in jail with nothing but a hatred towards reefs. Link to comment
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