is this a good idea

i have stock lighting on my 55 gallon tank, and i was planning on hanging 2 48" flourescent fixtures above my tank, removing the stock crap, and covering the openings with acrylic. im going to put 2 coralife 10,000K 40 watts each in one fixture, and 2 coralife actinic (also 40 watts) in the other fixture. would this be enough light to start adding corals??? i know the fish i have aren't really for a coral habitat, but i've got some frags from my LFS and they are thriving well.. and info would be great.

thanks
cerpin_taxt

 

I would have to say you could keep some less light demanding corals like mushrooms and toadstools but behond that you would want to increase your lights again.

J

 

If I were doing that, I would at the very least, put in VHO's and get more watts..my 36 inch VHO's are 96 watts each, I think the 48 inchers are 110 Watts? If you are not planning to switch to a reef, that may be fine. Still, lower light corals, like Jason said, but a little more choices.. ;D

 

i had a question about vhos, this might have relevance to the thread...i have 265 w of pc over my 55 gal 2/2...i dont wanna walk to my tank to check the 10k...stuff its like 10,000k + somthing else then 6500k and somthing else (they r like mixed lights) anyways...if i wanted to change them to vhos to get more watts would my corals be pissed? how much of a change is it from pc to vho?

 

for just a few more dollars over the cost of those bulbs, you can find a 48" power compact light online. Check out pet solutions.com or that fish place.com

 

i got the lights up and couldnt be happier. all in all it only cost about 100 bucks