Will this be enough lighting?

I just bought a 60 gal tank and it came with a new 36" Coralife Compact light system. It has a 96w 10,000k and a 96w Actinic compact strips. The tank is 19.5" deep. Will this be enough lighting to have some corals and clams? if so would I need to place them up high or could they be placed anywhere? depth wise.

Any and all advice appreciated, have had FOWLR for many years just moving into reef. Still trying to learn about lighting needs.

 

You could probably get away with some softies placed at medium height in there maybe even low in the tank. I would not try clams without at least t5 lighting though.

 

I agree with Mike, Caverndiver, the thing is those lights you have are new. What would you do with them? It is a shame to waste them. Depending on the fixture, you may be able to convert it down the road to T5s. The other option is to add another fixture if there is room.

 

i don't understand the t-5 hype, ppl have been keeping coral for years with t8 and t12 bulbs....i'm sure i will get a lot of crap for this statement but i'm going to put corals in my tank with only t8 fixtures 4x48" 40 watts each on 2 separate ballasts...i'm having great success with an anemone so i think soft coral such as mushrooms and leathers will be fine after i find someone to frag off some for me i'll letcha know

 

I wouldn't call it hype Brian, maybe enthusiasm because of the greater spectrum and intensity, not to mention, longevity where T5 last 3 times longer than T8 or T12, a great savings.

 

Go research the lumens/watt ratio of each type of bulb. T5's produce more lumens, bulbs are smaller so you can get more under the canopy, and burn cooler. You say ur having great success with an anemone, what is great success to you? what kind of nem is it??

 

Cavern those lights are okay but I am going to have to agree with mike and would not put a clam in unless you upgrade your lighting. Lighting is something you do not want to skip on. Please keep us posted on what you deiced to do.

 

i'm definitely not underestimating t5's...i only wish i could afford them and i'm not saying i would try to keep clams or hard coral with my t8's but the bulbs mentioned in the begininning should support some soft corals and are a good start. i started my sw with 2x18" fw fluorescents....added 2x48" 40w 4100k t8s and kept a condilactis nem for bout 2 months then swapped the 18's for 2 more 48's and watched the nem swell to twice the size.....now larger than a softball

 

Not trying to be a jerk at all but nems will sometimes swell up very large to expand their surface area to gather more light for it's zooxanthellae. Not only does the zoox produce food for the nem, it also produces oxygen. The less light a nem gets, the more it will sometimes (not all the time) swell go try to regain some depleted oxygen. Did any of this mumbo jumbo make sense??

 

i feel ya...and i know everyone here is hard core bout the t5's so i hesitated posting anything about t8's but i was given the nem and the fixtures and not havin the $ for t5 i had to do somethin to save my nem, but all in all i think he's happy and healthy, but thanks for the info on nems...gonna change ballast and bulbs some year or another but i'm gonna try out my current setup for a while