Marine Fish?

Question

I'm looking at setting up 5x2x2 tank but not sure what lighting to go for.

If i use flouresent tubes (comes with 4) will this be enough to keep corals, anemamies and fish or should i invest in arcadia series as these are quite expensive??

Answer 1

For fish, the amount of lighting doesn't really matter. The corals and anemones (also giant clams) it does, since all these have photosynthesic bacteria in their cells, and need enough light intensity to produce their own food (the extra of which provides food for the host).

The depth of your tank won't allow much light to penetrate to the bottom if this is a standard fluorescent tube, regardless of the number you have. At the very least, you'll need to use a compact fluorescent or T-5 system, but adding some metal halides (even a small one in combination with the CFs) would be better for the distance the light needs to travel to the bottom. What fivespeed suggested with the light meter is the best way to be sure that your corals are getting enough light. The output (wattage) you have doesn't matter nearly as much as the amount of light received (lumens).

Along with intensity, you also need to have the correct wavelengths, since only a few are used for photosynthesis. There's also color temperature to consider. This refers to the color produced by heating to different temperatures. Have you ever noticed that when you take a photo (using film) indoors that the color looks "off" by turning everything orange under normal household bulbs? This is due to the color temperature of the film, which is balanced for the color temperature of sunlight which is warmer. Aquarium bulbs also have differences for color temperatures which involve how close to the water's surface the light would be, since the deeper you go, the more light that's lost in the red end of the spectrum so the color looks "bluer". Reef lighting of 10,000K simulates what it would look like around 30 feet underwater, which is a good depth (and light coloration) for corals. There's also an actinic, which is a deeper blue, almost to blacklight, which shows off the photosynthetic organisms by making them appear to "glow" - this can be used to simulate a dawn or dusk by themselves if they're on a separate circuit, and enhance the colors of the corals when the 10,000ks are also on. There's also 50/50 tubes which are a combination of 10,000k and actinic, but they don't operate separately.

See the links below (and additional links to articles at the top of each page) for more info on lighting for saltwater tanks:

Answer 2

I would suggest getting a submersable light meter. Different corals have different lighting needs. You really need to research the specific corals you plan to stock. Many of the corals available on the market today will need light brighter than what you can provide with fluorescents. Some corals will also need to be closer to the surface than others. This is where the light meter becomes very useful. It is easy to calculate watts per gallon, but it is much more difficult to determine the strength of the light 15" below the surface. You might want to consider metal halide for corals. For a FOWLR set up, 4 fluorescents should be more than enough. Check out wetwebmedia.com for more info on SW setups and lighting info.

Answer 3

That's a pretty big tank.

I suggest you project your expenses first before deciding which kind of lights to use.

Figure that you need to perform 10% water changes per week, calculate the cost of salt and RO/DI water over the course of a year.

Also you need to decide what kind of tank you want, fish only, soft corals, LPS corals, SPS corals as this will greatly affect not only your lighting decision, but also the other kind of equipment necessary to successfully sustain a healthy environment for these animals. (protein skimmer, calcium reactor, etc).

I suggest you do some more research first. Your question implies that you have not thought this through very well.

I also recommend that you read "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner from front to back cover before proceeding any further.

This will save you a lot of time and money, and will help to spare you of the heartbreak and frustration of losing very expensive animals to a poorly executed fish tank.

Answer 4

If you want to keep soft corals you can get VHO lights. For sps (small polyp stony) coral ,lps (large polyp stony) coral and anemones i would reccomend metal halides with blue actinics and LED moon lights. If you decide to go with the metal halides a 10k bulb will look really white or some brands more yellow. 10k metal halide bulbs will help your coral grow faster but if you want the tank to have that really nice blue shimmer a 20k bulb will look much better and really make the colors of the corals pop, but your corals will grow slower. You can also go with a 14k bulb thats like the happy medium youll have decent growth rate of the coral and will have a blue hugh to the tank and the colors of the corals will still pop but not as much as a 20k bulb. So depending on what you decide you want to keep in the tank should be the deciding factor in what lighting system to get. With a 2ft deep x 5ft long tank i would go with two 400watt metal halides and 4 blue actinic flourescent bulbs. with that lighting system you will never have to worry about what you can or cant keep due to lighting. there may be other factors of what you can and cant keep like if the fish are compatible and what not but you will be set in the lighting department.

Answer 5

Swap the bulbs that come with it for the narrow T6 versions, you will need to buy the adapters for the sockets as well. These bulbs are a lot brighter, brightness is everything with corals. Build up the back of the tank with rocks and keep the most light demanding species at the top of the tank and the less demanding species further down.
Most importantly find yourself a good marine aquatics dealer and LISTEN to their advice, go for the easy species first and progress to more demanding species as your experience improves.

Answer 6

Fish: Orchid Dottyback Crustacean: Cleaner Shrimp

Answer 7

The wattage is what you need to look at not how many bulbs there are.2 to 5 watts per gallon depending on what you are keeping.So you need to figure out what wattage the light you currently have is and then you will know what you can keep with them or if you need an upgrade.

Answer 8

What kind of tubes???
T12 ? T8 ? T5 ? VHO ?
With the t5 you can stock soft corals and some LPS corals but I would stay away from clams and SPS corals.
With VHO you can stock just about anything.

Answer 9

coralife sells 50/50 t5 lights of all sizes. best bang for your buck!