lights

[Cruella]

ok i amtrying to get the best lights for my tank. i have on my 75 a 4bulb power compact 65 watt a bulb. but what is so great about metal halides? i just got into corals and i am starting with your basics"mushrooms,zoo's and leathers. do i really need mh? and if so what size 250<400???

[Dave ESPI]

Cruella,


Don't take this advice the wrong way, .......


SLOW DOWN !


you are making a lot of common N00B mistakes with this reef hobby, and it is costing you money, and perhaps animal lives (if not already, perhaps in the short future).

There is a disease called "Reeferupgradeitis". It is a very addictive substence that chemicaly our brains become dependant on. Unfortunatly treatmetn for such is very expensive, and the Treatment Centers (LFS) are there to take your cash (for healing your affliction) as fast as the quacks who set up a practice on the corner of Trinity and Grand Street in Downtown Arborhill.

Reefing is a very involved hobby. To be sucessfull at it, you must do onething, and a lot of it before becomming mired up in all the deep muck that there is to wade through in this hobby of onethousand answers to the same question.

SLOW DOWN, take a deep breath, then sit back with a good reef book (or four) and just read.

Read.



Read a bit more, then when not sure if you are ready,

Read another book.

Go to the forums, look at stuff, get ideas, ask questions, begin to
formulate a reef tank plan.

Ask yourself :
What do I ultimately want to keep ?
Howmuch money will it cost ?
What is the right stuff ?
Lighting ?
Filtration ?
Reef-ready, or FOWLR ?


Advice you can bank on for mental and cashological sanity:

DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

Get an idea what you want, then go with it. If you keep adding on, you will make your disease worse !

Many of us are recovering Reefupgradeitis victims, and the only way we can help prevent the spread of this deadly disease is to nip it in the butt before it consumes another excited and enthousiastic new to reefing person !

You are already "touched" with the spores of the disease, but with proper medication (research and reading) you will pull through and be given a clean bill of health :D

[Lakeside518]

Very well put Dave!..

In the last few months i can vouch for this. Experienced it. Starting to look at the bigger picture.

I did do my reading and have made some mistakes along the way. Learning greatly from each one. Ahemmm paying for each one greatly. In my case, all n' all it hasn't been that bad. Thanks to good advice"mainly this site" & its members and not rushing into things. Its defin a spending addiction i would have to say.

Agree 100% with Dave ESPI

[Cruella]

I was just wondering what the difference was between the lights, I wasn't going to run out and buy lights. I have just been reading about the different lights that are offered

[TA]

Ok guys...stop the attacks...cruella has been asking some very legitamate questions and she's heard your concerns (more than once!). Won't be long before she stops posting at all and I know thats not your intent.

Cruella, the simple answer to your question as it relates to your system is...you really don't need MH lighting with what you currently have in your tank. In fact, your current light system should be fine based on what you've already said. If you ever intend on keeping corals which require more intense lighting (ie., SPS corals) you may need to go with MHs

For now, keep what you have and focus on getting your system's parameters stable and getting all you current water quality issues under control. Upgrading your lights at this point will more than likely generate more troubles for you worry about.

We all wish you success. :fish1:

[Cruella]

thank you. I don't want to get involved with any hard corals. they are way to complicated for me.I had my saltwater fish tank up for two years. I just up graded to a bigger tank and now I would like to become more involved with just zoo's,toadstools,xenias and other hardy corals. I talked to tony @swamp bottom tonight who explained the difference between all the different corals(which helped) the reason I was asking about lights was I noticed some have 6-8 bulbs, VHO,MH??? I just have a power compact and lunar lights. I was just making sure I had the right light system

[jallard]

Lighting for a reef tank is very important. I know from experience...that trying to get by with cheap lights only costs you more in the end. If you can afford GOOD lights go for it. SPS corals aren't that bad if you have the proper lighting and flow. There are some easy to keep SPS corals....if ya wanna try some.

[Ken668]

You could always try a frag of Dan's green digitata. I think that stuff would overgrow a tank with an occasional flash of a camera! Probably one of the fastest growing and most hardy sps I've seen.

[Dave ESPI]

I've been using Halides and PC combos for almost 10 years now. It really is the best way to go even for softies and "low light corals". If you aquascape correctly, you will have shadowed areas tht you can acclimate stuff in, and then place them later, or move them around to a suitable area. I've had a few corals do "ok" in one spot, but totoaly flourish in another about 5 inches away with slightly different current and light. It takes trial and error, but having a ball park idea is a starting point.

Not attacking by any means, just seeing a pattern, and hoping to get Cruella the most bang for her buck and not have to go to reefers-rehab :p

[scorp1on]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7134869#post7134869 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ken668
You could always try a frag of Dan's green digitata. I think that stuff would overgrow a tank with an occasional flash of a camera! Probably one of the fastest growing and most hardy sps I've seen.

Amen!!

[michaelg]

I am a total advocate for halides. They don't need to cost your first born to get it going either- minor electical work if you have a hood that is high enough (12" recommended) or you can hang a pendant. Fans are something else to consider- but again, you can find them cheap.

Glitter lines- says it all.
and I never worry about enough light for the corals. for a 75- 2x175 or 250 would be fine.