random question

[dennit]

just wanting to noe how long would corals live without a marine light?

[Birdlady]

What corals and what do you mean by 'marine light'?

Short short answer...not long, 2 weeks maybe for some.

[dennit]

soft corals, zooanthaid and anemones...
coral lights the blue ones..

thanks for the reply birdlady

[kb.bear]

Not very long, Days The blue lights are not realy for growth Look at the threads about lighting

[Jason McKenzie]

Coral require light to sustain a living organism (Zooxanthellae) that they feed on that live inside them. Zooxanthellae are photosynthetic, single-celled dinoflagellates, living in the endodermal tissues of stony corals polyps. Not all the corals nutrition is met by this Zooxanthellae but a lot of it.
This is why Light is so important for Corals. With out enough light most corals will expel the Zooxanthellae and the result is bleaching then death.

So without enough light corals IMO would be out of the question.

To get things going in your tank, why don't you start with a fish only. and stock the tank will reef safe fish and save for a set of MH lights. Once you have enough for the lights it wouldn't be hard to start adding corals. Unless you stocked the tank with coral eating fish (Not reef safe)

Jason

[rickzter]

I would get the light setup before you get any corals at all. I didn't get corals until I got enough LR and lighting all set. I know, the wait sucks, but it will be worth it when the corals actually come out and thrive rather than die off while you save for lighting.

[dennit]

thanks for all the help guy..