So i got my marineland tank a few weeks ago and it came with stock lights which are the T8 24 inch 20watt.. So today I just got a actinic so its 50/50 now... can i even have any type of soft corals or anything.. I beelive my lights are to weak to have have anythign? let me know what everyone thinks...
my lighting
- Thread starter niakon22
- Start date
The Ng Thing
Non-member
How many watts & how many gallons is the tank?
jarrodsanborn
Non-member
well it depends on the size of tank. i have a 29 gal with easy stuff= mushrooms, kenya tree and xenia and i have 2 white 10k 17w t8 bulbs on it. i wouldn't say its ideal, but it is a start. the corals are also in the top 1/2 of the tank.
most here will say my lighting is too low, but its working. also if you are running underpowered lighting, do not use actinic or blue bulbs. the blue is more for us than the coral. the 10k white bulbs will have more usable light for the corals
t5 fixtures really are what you should be looking at though. more power, more efficient, more bulb options, etc
ask some of your local reefers for some free easy stuff to get you going.
better to have a frag of kenya tree die than an expensive store bought coral.
happy reefing
most here will say my lighting is too low, but its working. also if you are running underpowered lighting, do not use actinic or blue bulbs. the blue is more for us than the coral. the 10k white bulbs will have more usable light for the corals
t5 fixtures really are what you should be looking at though. more power, more efficient, more bulb options, etc
ask some of your local reefers for some free easy stuff to get you going.
better to have a frag of kenya tree die than an expensive store bought coral.
happy reefing
RayD
The Chicago Experience!
I say yes. There are many low light coral that you can add. Mushrooms for sure, some leathers would do ok. If you want something more exotic how about a Sun Coral? Really nice looking with no real lighting requirements. You just have to feed them but I bet they'd look nice in your setup.
I have the same Marineland setup for my bedroom freshwater. The lighting in the canopy is really frustrating me. Crappy ballasts. The front light doesn't light without me opening it and fussing with it. Other than that I really like the setup. Self contained and easy to keep up.
Back to the original topic. You certainly can have a really nice looking reef with the low lighting. Just take your time and research before you buy something. Good luck!
I have the same Marineland setup for my bedroom freshwater. The lighting in the canopy is really frustrating me. Crappy ballasts. The front light doesn't light without me opening it and fussing with it. Other than that I really like the setup. Self contained and easy to keep up.
Back to the original topic. You certainly can have a really nice looking reef with the low lighting. Just take your time and research before you buy something. Good luck!
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