SW Lighting

[Julie]

Why the need for so much lighting? Is it for growth and  appearance?

Also is this a good one and what could I grow under it:

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=33942;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

and opinions on this one please:
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/details/l-pc.php?product_ID=pc-ll30652

thanks,
Julie

[DARKPHREAK]

You'd want to have atleast 2x65 watt. Get the Lunar Lights, a cool feature for night viewing. We ran our 72 bow with 4x65 for a year and found it good for low light corals. I think you have a 30 inch tank so it should be ok with 2x65... not sure if your on the AC board but hes got good prices and local(save shipping).

http://aquariacanada.com/osCommerce/product_info.php?products_id=450

[Julie]

Dark:  Nice to hear from you .
So corals and everything will grow.

tx,
Julie

[BigDaddy]

Basically.. if you think planted tanks need high light... coral tanks need INSANE light.   :lol:

[Insane79]

Get lights that stand on little feet, versus the power compacts that sit right on the glass.  The ones that stand on feet tend to have fans built into them, which helps cool the lights.  These lights heat up a fair amount and will start heating up your tank as well (if you have a small tank like in the 20-40 gallon range, forget everything I have said if you have a swimming pool size tank).  The heat can become a loosing battle in the summer-especially during heat waves!!!  65 watt 10,000K lights are better then a 50/50 bulb.

[Mettle]

Someone's been bitten by the sw bug.

I would suggest going for as much wpg as humanly possible. In going for a 30" long fixture, your best bet in this case is to do the 2x65w cf. It's what I'm looking into, except in a 24" model (as I'm mainly looking at a 15 gallon tank).

Also, investigating what types of corals you want to grow is also necessary. Some require such high lighting that you'd inevitably need to go the route of metal halide. But that raises the price tag substantially. I'd probably suggest researching what you want to grow and make a decision based upon that.

[DARKPHREAK]

Julie,

I was thinking about this while drywallin around the new tank... its something I should have done when we started our tank. Why not just get MH right now and be done with it. For around the same price you can buy a complete unit that will allow you to keep everything, LPS and SPS.

Look here 175w MH...

http://aquariacanada.com/osCommerce/product_info.php?cPath=1_74_90_95&products_id=492

For about 300$ you'd never have to worry about upgrading when you want to start a bigger tank. I know that it seems abit drastic, buying MH lights now when your just starting off but it might just be the way to go.

[rockgarden]

As others have said, it is important do a bit of research before making the leap to SW.

I would suggest that you take a look at a few different tanks that have been established for awhile (preferably a year or longer) to help in deciding what you would prefer to have. IMO marine tanks look uglier than freshwater tanks for the first three months but the variety of invertebrate life makes up for the ugliness.

The three choices tend to be:

a) Fish only (FO)
b) fish only with live rock (FOWLR) and
c) full reef

Sizes range from the high maintenance 5 gallon nano-reef projects and go up from there.

The first option (FO) requires just enough light to see the fish whereas the full reef environment requires enough light to satisfy the needs of the coral species that you choose to have. Light is important to most of the common aquarium corals because of a symbiotic relationship which the coral have with the zooanthellae living within their tissues.  

Scientific sidebar: The zooanthellae are unicellular yellow-brown (dinoflagellate) algae living in the tissue of the coral. The nutrient by-products of the photosynthetic processing of the zooanthellae provide nourishment to the corals. There are many different sp. of zooanthellae and the coral apparently is able to adjust the type and quantity fo zooanthellae in its tissues in repsonse to differnet lighting intensities and spectrums. Hence the importance and impact of lighting.

My primary reef tank is a 40 gallon long (approx. 48by 12 by 16).  I have 6 regular output four foot fluorescents over it and have about 40 different corals growing in it including some that are considered to be needy "high light" species.  3 different colours of  Montipora digitata and three different colors of Montipora capernicus and another encrusting Montipora sp that are doing nicely near the top of the rock pile would be considered to be "high light" corals that would have a tough time surviving closer to the bottom of the tank.

A pretty wide choice of interesting corals of various colours and polyp characteristics are available that will survive nicely under my lighting. However, mine would be considered close to the minimum in terms of lighting and tech support.

If you want to:

1) have more than two or three fish in your tank or
2) keep some of the more high-light corals (Acropora spp in particular) light becomes a major focus - generally, the more light, the faster the growth and in most instances the brighter the colour of some of the corals.  

you will need lots of light and lots of water treatment capacity to deliver near "perfect" coral environment. At least that is what everyone tells me  

Hope this helps a bit.

Ron

[redbelly]

I think if you are going to be spending in the ballpark of $200 you would be WAY better off making the jump to MH's.

if you dont want to spend this much then i would do as rockgarden has done and as my previous set up was and go with the NO lighting.

[Julie]

You are all a wealth of information-  thank you for your input.
So Corals are the roses of the marine environment; very interesting.  I find their relation with algae very interesting; it's a different ballpark in fresh.  Invertebrates are very cool indeed.  
Yes I have been bitten by the bug after seeing someone's sw tank last week.   Unfortunately I've been told no more tanks; or the one in one out rule.  So I've kind of decided to work with what I have.
Ultimately my goal will be the 90g bow, but I haven't decided which it will be - Discus or sw.

thanks,
Julie

[rockgarden]

Bow tanks look great but are tougher to light than a rectangular or square tank. They also tend to be rather deep relative to their other dimensions and therefore require more care in selection of compatible lighting if SW is the goal.  Same issues apply to trying to light hex tanks, corner tanks and octagonal tanks to SW standards.



Ron

[gvv]

Nice info here!
But what is interesting, if you will have a look at various sites selling corals you will see: need "low to medium light", but  nobody saying exactly how much light you need. As I understood thereis also dependence of the location - higher or lower you are placing them.

[gator]

there are countless lighting types, spectrums, set-ups etc.  For example, you could have crocea clam in a tank with only pc lighting, but you'd have to put it high up in the tank, while if you had metal halide lighting the same clam would do okay at the bottom of the tank.  After a while, you kind get a sense of what your lighting situation is, and can sort of figure out the best placement for different types of corals.   If the corals are'nt doing well due to too much light or not enough, there are signs, and you can adjust their placement in the tank to correct the problem.

[93GTCANADA]

the lighting issue is something i worry about too julie. thats why i think i have chosen to go with the 20 g long. the light as less water to travel through. so for now im looking at a 20 g long but the more i read maybe ill change my mind lol.

[Julie]

I think Costco should get into fish tanks.  Do any of their lighting and electrical seem compatible to a diy project?

Julie

[Insane79]

eek..MH are not possible with small tanks.  They will boil a small sw tank.  They should definately not be going over a 15 or 20 gallon tank.  It was explained this way to me....you could put 4 power compact (55watt/65watt bulb that has a special fixture-one equals about 4 florescent bulbs) and not come near nature, but a MH about a foot of the top of the tank just about mimics the sun.  These babies are hot, and need to be properly ventillated and put over a big tank.  You can pretty much keep anything with power compacts except the super cool stoney corals (the bright, thin stocked kind, not brain coral-you could keep some forms of stoney coral).  I have never felt limited by not having MH.  I have an absurd amount of corals in my tank, and they do great without MH.

[Julie]

There are tons of fresh in the gallery, but I think I see one sw tank.
Why is everyone keeping these gems hidden??  :wink:
Rockgarden - very informative piece.
I really don't need a book, because the fellow ovas'ers know all the answers and all the input is excellent.
It's certainly a learning curve.
Tonight I was asked if I was still scheming; fish tank scheming -can you imagine?

tx,
Julie

[93GTCANADA]

u should sign up to aquaria very good sw info.

[rockgarden]

There are tons of fresh in the gallery, but I think I see one sw tank.

In addition to OVAS there is also MASO (Marine Aquarium Society of Ottawa).  OVAS has been established for a long time, conducts regualr monthly meetings and runs this great web site.  As you have noted FW tends to be the focus of most OVAS members although as you also already know, there are some of us with both FW and SW in our veins and then there are those who in the brackish camp who want to have both but can't really decide. They are the puffers who think that they might like to try being reefers .  

MASO on the other hand is more of an ad hoc organization of individuals whose primary interests are SW related.  MASO meetings are held when someone donates their home for a meeting location and when enough folks can agree on a suitable time and date for the meeting.  The last MASO meeting was in Orleans, the one previous to that was in Montreal in May and the next one will be in Rockland in January.  The most active local saltwater forum is hosted by on-line retailer AquariaCanada in Hull. http://aquariacanada.com/

I'll post a picture of my SW set-ups in both locations once I get that new digital camera that Pegasus says will freeze the action of everything including my bank account .

Ron

[Julie]

Look here 175w MH...

http://aquariacanada.com/osCommerce/product_info.php?cPath=1_74_90_95&products_id=492

For about 300$ you'd never have to worry about upgrading when you want to start a bigger tank. I know that it seems abit drastic, buying MH lights now when your just starting off but it might just be the way to go.

My bow is about 4ft across, so in order to light this bow, I would just simply buy another fixture in addition.
What lighting do you use on your bow?

I see there is an optional fan, which I assume would be necessary over a small tank.  Seems to be some difference in opinion on lighting small tanks; I understand if this fixture mimics the sun it would naturally heat the tank up - but I wonder to what degree?
Another thing is the 29 is in the bedroom on the 2nd floor, not compatible during a heat wave - I would definitely need a chiller for the summer.  I think probably the best option would be to have the tank set up in the basement.

Does anyone have a metal halide fixture over a small tank?
How often do you replace the bulb?

I was checking out the small nano reefs....kudos to those that successfully keep them.

I've been reading up on the different corals and their requirements.
Alot of the lower light tanks do have some nice softies and what Ron is saying does make sense, closer to the sun.

Julie