Read If You Have Strong Lighting!!

[JSinger884]

Alright I have a 30 gallon tank that measures 30 length, 18 height, 12 wide and I am so confused about lighting.

 

1. What kinda lighting do I need to keep coral?

2. Whats the cheapest I can find this lighting for?

3. Where can I find this lighting??

 

Right now I have a single fluorescent 30W lamp, which I know wont work for coral, so help me out here

[tinyreef]

welcome jeff! the first thing you need to tell us is what kind of livestock you plan on having. sps, lps, species, clams, inverts, etc. your livestock's needs will direct you to the system's requirements (lights, equipment, setup) as you tailor it around them. good luck!

[JSinger884]

can you tell me the different levels of lighting for different livestock, because right now I have no idea

[Dave ESPI]

There are a LOT of threads on lighting... Digg around in a few forums, and try a few searches with different key words.

 

FYI the main lighting options U have is NO, HO, VHO, PC, MH, or any combination of those in a hood. the DIY section has a lot too.

TTYl. Hope this helps.

[JSinger884]

whats the best lighting I can get for the cheapest price??

[tinyreef]

not to be a pain but these are loaded questions. we can recommend a wide use light (less expensive) but you may want to outgrow it later (more expensive because you pay twice, ouch!)

 

physh1 has a great link for lighting info. mh's are the best hands down imo but also the most expensive in setup (fixture & bulb), maintanance (new bulbs, more frequently), and upkeep (electricity).

 

vho is a runner-up (and some will put pc here instead) imo but very good lights and quality (not as good as mh though). still pricey and not as bright to human eyes as pc's or mh.

 

pc's are next (we'll ignore NO as obsolete). good price and decent light quality. bulb quality is questionable ime and uses a lot of electricity and generates a lot of heat.

 

get a book or corals (borneman, sprung, or heck even axelrod's) to start thinking what kind of corals you want to raise. tullock does a good job explaining the various 'zones' of a reef if you want more in-depth (but not too 'advanced') info.

 

follow dave's advice on searches though. you'll get a full spectrum of opinions and experience rather than the ramblings of two psychopathic regs.

[NaNO ReeFiN]

JSinger,

 

You really need to do a search on this board, (as well as other message boards) to get an idea of what kind of lights you would like... Or... go to a bookstore and just sit down and read some of their marine books. Many of your questions on this board are soo vague... Do some research, it'll help.

[NanoReefer53]

1. There's high light coral and low light and occasionally no light corals (that need to be fed), so it all depends on which kinds you want to keep.

 

2. DIY is always the cheapest way. You can buy the ballast, MH or flourescent, from a local electrical of lighting store. You must although have a basic knowledge of electrical usage or else u can blow up a ballast .

 

3. e-bay ! or the ReefCentral classifieds. I have found many many great deals on there.

 

So basically, do some research and find what's right for u. Give us more info on your plans too.

[gobies]

I have the exact same tank dimensions. Do a search for "lighting" posts by "gobies" and you should find some of my posts about lighting my tank. Sahin has a tank with similar dimensions, so you might want to look up his comments, too.

[rmedtr6]

Hi Jeff,

There is another link to this site somewhere in Nano-reef so I don't want to steal anyone elses thunder but check out this link I has pretty much what you are looking for I think...http://www.geocities.com/printerdown01/lig...g.n.corals.html