Lighting Questions

[DavidA717]

Hey, I am just now getting ready to start a 30-gallon saltwater tank. I'm debating on whether to put any corals in it or just have my live rock. I have gone to some websites to look at corals, and some sites may say you need low, moderate, or high lighting for certain corals. Does anyone know what may be considered moderate lighting? I kind of want to put a few polyps in my tank.

 

[yote]

You could go with something like the coralife 192 watt power compact.Thats what I run on my 30 and polyps do great under them.

 

[Bifferwine]

"Low" generally means 3 to 4 watts per gallon, "High" at least 8 watts per gallon, "Medium" is somewhere in between.

 

[DavidA717]

Ok, thanks yall. You've helped me out a lot

 

[bobby]

I'm also running 2x96 PC's on my 30 and I'm keeping kenya, zoanthids, shrooms, ric's, xenia, and PSP and everything is doing great. You can also keep some anemones under that light.

 

[DavidA717]

So, with 4.333 watts per gallon (since I currently have a 130w light), what kind of corals do you guys recommend? anything in particular?

 

[DavidA717]

Another quick question, will a clown host in a tube anenome?

 

[AndyB4784]

Low = PC, Moderate = VHO, High = HO T5 (depending on depth) and MH (also depending on depth, 150 DE MH on 30" depth would be moderate at lower 50% of the tank). Watts per gallon is WORTHLESS.

 

[reeffreak]

So, with 4.333 watts per gallon (since I currently have a 130w light), what kind of corals do you guys recommend? anything in particular?

You should be able to go with any soft corals and most LPS(large polyp stony).
Mushrooms,Zooanthids,Green Star Polyps(GSP),Leather corals,many soft corals make good beginner corals.Then later on try some LPS like Frogspawns,Hammers,Torches,still fairly easy corals.Stay away from the SPS(small polyp stony)since they typically need intense lighting.

For now I would stay away from non-photosynthetic corals,since they are more demanding than most corals including Suns,Chili,Carnations corals.A good coral book comes in handy.

I don't know if a clown will host a tube anemone.They are beautiful anemones but have dismal survival rate.

 

[squibley2]

I have a couple tube anemones and several bta in my tank clowns if they are wild caught will not normally host to a tube but will host to a bta and several other anemones just not really tubes. If the clown is tank bread then it will host to anmost anything leather, fragspawn, xenia, anything it can find if it will host at all.

 

[yote]

If you want a real confidence boosting coral,get yourself a kenya tree.
Easy as sin to take care of,and grows like weeds.