What could I keep with this amount of light?

[blacklabel]

I have a 125 I'm about to convert to saltwater. currently my lighting is 120 watts of t-8s, and 156 watts of t-5s. For a total of 276 watts or 2.2 wpg. Thanks a lot!

[power boat jim]

Not a whole lot, some zoanthids and mushrooms would probably be ok. Add a 3x250 MH to the t5s and you can keep pretty much anything. There are other combinations of light you can use but this one is pretty simple. Dont go by watts per gallon, it is a measurement that doesnt mean much since tank sizes and depth vary so much.

[KarlBob]

You could also try some soft corals. I don't know how deep your tank is, but if they're not placed too far down, I think many soft corals would be fine in that light. On the other hand, if you're looking to grow Small Polyp Stony (SPS) corals, then the metal halide advice probably applies.

I run two 48" T5HO bulbs over an 80 gallon tank, and I have soft corals, mushrooms, zoanthids/palythoas, and a few Large Polyp Stony (LPS) corals.

power boat jim is right about watts per gallon. Aquarium dimensions, especially depth, make a big difference when it comes to light penetration. Two tanks could have the same watts per gallon, but corals at the bottom of a 24" tall tank will receive a lot less light than those at the bottom of a 12" tall tank.

When you're dealing with point source lights like metal halides, coral placement is important, too. Metal halides shine more or less straight down. The light spreads in a circle, like a flashlight beam. Fluorescent bulbs put out a more "oval" beam, for lack of a better word. So regardless of watts per gallon, corals directly under a metal halide bulb get a lot more light than corals that aren't directly under the bulb. In order to spread the light out a bit more, many people use multiple metal halide bulbs to bring more of the tank into the "bright zone".

Edit: re-focused the last paragraph from tank shape to placement under point source lights.

[blacklabel]

ok thanks. so at least i should be able to keep SOMETHING to keep my interest. i just didnt want to have bare rock until i save up enough for a good fixture.

[otrlynn]

I think that there are a lot of soft coral that would do well under those lights. Some LPS (large polyped stony coral) like candy cane, duncans, and many acans. The placement of the coral means a lot--near the bottom vs. near the top. Do some research if you plan to mix softies and LPS though. My (limited) understanding is that some soft coral emit toxins and some LPS have long stinging tentacles which can result in coral "warfare" if the corals are in close proximity.

[KarlBob]

I've also read arguments that mixing soft and hard corals is a bad idea, for the same reasons otrlynn brought up.

Lots of people have different opinions about which soft corals work hardest to poison their neighbors. I don't really know enough to say which are the most toxic.

As for the LPS, hammer, frogspawn and anchor corals (all members of the Euphyllia genus) are notorious for stinging anything within reach, using sweeper tentacles several inches long. Other LPS have sweepers, but the Euphyllia seem to be the most active at stinging other corals.

With that in mind, if you decide to mix them anyway, I'd suggest having a protein skimmer to remove as many toxins as possible, and avoid placing any corals within several inches of a frogspawn/hammer/torch.

[reefworm]

agreed that LPS are a possibility. had success growing Euphylia sp. under PCs