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11-21-2005, 10:21 PM
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#1 (permalink)
| | Plankton
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 17
Karma: 8
 |  lighting?
im new to the hobby and wanting to know if 160w in a 8x2x2 is low or moderate lighting?
what types of corals would i be able to keep in these conditions?
can corals adapt to certain lightings?if if it doesnt meet their requirements | 
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11-21-2005, 10:24 PM
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#2 (permalink)
| | Giant Squid
Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles, California Age: 21
Posts: 3,451
  
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can you tell me how many gals it is? thanks  _________ Tank Specs:
55 Gallon Mixed Reef
48" Tek Light: 4-54W T5 HO Fluorescents
Bulbs:
1 x 54w Fiji Purple T5 HO Fluorescent
1 x 54w Super Actinic Blue T5 HO Flourescent
1 x 54w 14000K AquaBlue 75/25 T5 HO Fluorescent
1 x 54w 10000k AquaSun T5 HO Fluorescent
Hard Stuff:
100+ lb. Fiji Live Rock
65+ lb. Live sand
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11-21-2005, 10:26 PM
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#3 (permalink)
| | Giant Squid
Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles, California Age: 21
Posts: 3,451
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ok well its around 238 gals..thats about .67 wpg...thats very low for corals...but if 8x2x2 doesnt mean feet and ur talking inchies then...thats alot of light | |
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11-22-2005, 01:15 AM
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#4 (permalink)
| | Plankton
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 17
Karma: 8
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yea its in feet.. so does that mean i cant have any coral?
would i have to upgrade my lighting?
cause im on a low budget, but still wanting to keep some corals.. | |
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11-22-2005, 07:26 AM
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#5 (permalink)
| | Feather Duster
Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: jonesboro, arkansas Age: 29
Posts: 215
Karma: 12
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search ebay dennit. sometimes you can find some really good stuff cheap. not to be discouraging but if your tank is 2 feet deep your gonna need metal halides to get penetration near the bottom.
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125 gallon glass. 3 10k 250w metal halides, 1 4ft 110w vho actinic. who knows how much live rock. yellow tang, domino, cinnamon clown, percula clown, flame angel,peppermint shrimp, camel shrimp, skunk shrimp, a few turbo snails, lots of hermit crabs, leather coral, branching frogspawn, mushrooms, too much xenia, and several different zoo's and button polyps | |
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11-22-2005, 07:32 AM
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#6 (permalink)
| | Coral Banded Shrimp
Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Miami, FL,Florida
Posts: 352
Karma: 46
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I can relate to being on a budget. I say save the money you'd be putting into corals and get at least 2 MH fixtures I think 400watts should be good.
Like billy said, ebay. There's a guy there that sells used ballasts and fixtures for a great price. I got my kit (ballast, fixture, 400W 20K bulb, and reflector) Ready to plug in and go. For $90. Not bad I think. _________ &&&&20 Gal. , Millenium 1000 & 2000 filter, 130watt Corallife 50/50 reef lamp. Maroon Gold-striped Clown, Pygmy (Cherub) Angel, Skunk Cleaner shrimp, 8 Turbo Snails, 1 unknown cone snail , a branch of red grape calerpa , Sun Polyps, Blue-Green Striped shroom, Red shroom, Zoo Polyp colonies, & Green Star polyps, green monti. | |
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11-22-2005, 07:41 AM
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#7 (permalink)
| | 3reef Moderator |
8X2 is a large area. Typically most MH fixtures cover 2X2 so if you wanted any type of coral you would need 4 MH fixtures to cover the entire area
With your current lighting I don't think much of any coral would survive
J | |
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11-22-2005, 08:49 AM
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#8 (permalink)
| | Feather Duster
Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: jonesboro, arkansas Age: 29
Posts: 215
Karma: 12
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i agree with jason about how many metal halides to put in it. my tank is 6ft long and i have 3. it covers it well. you might be able to get away with 3 but 4 would probably be better. 400w ballast and bulbs would work but 250w will work also, thats what i have. i have never owned 400w but i have enough heat problems with the 250's i would think 400's would be worse. | |
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11-22-2005, 02:17 PM
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#9 (permalink)
| | Coral Banded Shrimp
Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Miami, FL,Florida
Posts: 352
Karma: 46
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I agree with you guys. But we need to take into account that there's a budget to rule by.
So I figure 2 mh's would cover most of it. Then the less lighted areas can be used for lower light corals like shrooms and polyps.
Know what I mean?????  | |
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11-22-2005, 03:55 PM
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#10 (permalink)
| | Feather Duster
Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: jonesboro, arkansas Age: 29
Posts: 215
Karma: 12
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absolutely. there is no reason you cant add lights later. i purchased mine a little at a time. | |
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