Coral Lighting

[tat2life]

hey all what type of lighting do i need to keep coral ? like how many bulbs, what watts etc. i have the temprature and food sorted just not sure what type of lighting they need. at the moment i only have a blue moon light on my tank. though i do have a flourecent bulb laying around somewhere wich might work for coral. i just need to know the watts etc. thanks

 

[SkiFletch]

What kind of coral?
What size tank (including dimensions)?

 

[tat2life]

not sure wich kind of coral probally soft coral. the tank i think is 80 gallons or 80 litres im not sure... it is 3ft long. 2ft all and 1ft high

 

[SkiFletch]

Lol, list dimensions in Length x Width x Height

Is there a center brace at the top of the tank?

 

[tat2life]

length is 3ft, width is 1ft and height is 2ft. i dont know about in inches. the light i am using now is 2ft long but its only a blue moonlight wich is only 18w. so wont work for corals... well maybe at night time only as its supposed to help them grow. but if i need say a 50w light for corals i can just go and buy a 50w bulb. i have the fittings already. there is a kind of brace where you place the light at the top of the tank so it lays just below the roof of the tank. but its not one of them braces wich rise about 1ft from the tank with no roof. this one is about 5 inches away from the water. but i usually keep the sliding glass open and just put the roof on

 

[SkiFletch]

Ok, what you have is the standard 45 gallon tank. The height is difficult to deal with when choosing lighting for this model. If you want to grow soft corals, or even some easier LPS, I'd consider a 192 watt fixture with dual power compact bulbs.

 

[tat2life]

thanks... what are dual power compat bulbs though ? the 2 bulbs fixed onto the sheet metal ? or will just 2 192 watt flourecent bulbs be ok ?

 

[SkiFletch]

Ok, power compact bulbs are in actuality two T5 bulbs strung together. Common PC bulb wattages are 18w, 23w, 36w, 55w, 65w, 96w at I believe 6", 10", 12", 18", 24", and 36" respectively. The 96watt bulbs are 36" long. You should get a fixture that has 2 96watt PC bulbs in it for a total of 192watts. They're relatively common.

 

[tat2life]

ah ok i get you. thanks alot mate i will have a look around ebay