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View Full Version : what kind of lighting do you guys prefer for lps?


SLOreefer
03/19/2008, 12:08 AM
I know this question is lighting, but I am interested in the requirements pertaining to lps specifically...I know they are low to mid light but are there much higher light loving lps as well?
I've just started collecting some lps pieces and am in the process of building a new tank so thought id ask here for some advice...

my new tank is 36x18x12 lwh....I have a lumenrc3 mini with a 250w mogul that i plan on running an xm20k bulb...if i run this light say 10 inches above the tank will this be ok for most lps? if not, I was thinking about looking at a 2x150w pendant or something....not completely sure just yet. what do you all think?

le-collector
03/19/2008, 05:06 AM
If you only want lps you could go with t5's even if you want acro's later you could put them up high under the t5's,personally i love halides but i have a t5 setup thats growing on me

hobogato
03/19/2008, 07:27 AM
we just set up a 180 lps only system and are now changing the lights around. it did have 4 80 watt t5s and 3 150 w DE halides with 80 w of pure actinic supplementation. that combo nuked all of the aussie acans that were in the tank at the time. they are now at the bottom in the front corner. I have an aussie acan hillae that was as the bottom of the tank ( tank is 24 inches deep and the halides were about 9 inches off the water). It was right under a halide, a 150 mind you, partially shaded by the rockwork. The top part started to bleach so I also moved it to the front corner. Where the coral was shaded, it kept the dark lavender and purple with bright green rims. The top was really almost white. It has since started to recover and is regaining both the purple and green. We are trading out the halides for 2 more T5s. The is an LPS ONLY system. Now we'll be able to put the corals higher up on the rockwork without killing them. It was a hard way to learn that lesson.

Christy