Zoanthid Polyp?

i hope my rock looks like yours some day. very nice

 

Well I cant entirely take all the credit fot that. Its a funny situation. kinda like buying a new used car lol. I had about 15 lbs of LR from my FOWLR tank before having to dismantle it. but i kept it in a 10 gallon tank with salt water and a littler filter. actually tried to create a little nano tank but the temperature would not regulate properly due to low water volume. anyway, I started up my old 29 gal again with saltwater. By that time my old rock was pretty barren so i went to my LFS and got this rock that was very well established. I figured he would help my old LR come back to life, which he is slowly but surely.

 

Ordered some better lighting. A current single strip 65watt 50/50
and an Aqualife single 65watt. 50/50
Combine total of 130 watts. Not bad, but both are 24" fixtures so i will need to get creative with how i rig them to my 30 gallon. I work for a custom framer and we have some interesting hanging hardware in the store, im sure i can make it work.

 

Are those PC lights you ordered? Or just new bulbs for the t5? I would stay away from PC lights, as the bulbs are very expensive. And remember its not so much about watts, it more about par. A lower watt t5 fixture will give more par than a higher watt PC fixture.

 

They are PC, I was looking at some T5 lights but no overly great deals stood out to me. I kinda wondered about difference between the two types. Can you explain a little more how the two differ in function and about how many watts of T5 is relatively equal to PC/CF. I often wondered why T5's were so expensive.

 

The first light came today as i was leaving for work, (Current single strip 65 watt PC w/fan and 1 lunar) so I took it with me and got some suspension hardware. Had to be a little creative. I used 2 Decorative plate hangers to clamp onto the light and hold onto the groves where the legs attach. Also bought 15' of braided galvanized wire. Used 2 screw in hooks in the ceiling that i had for an old lamp and I put my new used light to work. Light= $35 ebay, Plate hangers= $ 2.00 each, Galvanized wire= $ 1.50
Total of $38.50
First pic is old lighting
second pic is new lighting
third pic is suspension hardware
fourth is one of my zoa polyps opened up (angle of glass skews the photo some sorry)

 

Are the T5 lights, normal T5s or T5HO? T5HO's at that length are 18-20w, not 14w.

 

I guess they are normal t5s then cuss it says 14w on the bulb.
Man I gotta update pics of these, they have grown some lol.

 

Your lighting should be fine to support your zoanthids. Positioning them higher up towards the top third of your tank can offer more light intensity(PAR/PUR) as well.
Good luck!

 

Thanks everyone. This tank currently runs 2 single strip 65w 50/50 PC fixtures. And all seems to be doing well.