# Corals And Lighting



## moron (May 26, 2006)

What are some really nice corals and what kind of lighting will they need. I'm looking in ebay for some light strips just getting ideas.

I'm pretty sure the tank will be a 36"x18"x20"


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

You have a couple options for lighting.... a T5 setup would prob be best. I have heard some bad things about some Ebay light fixtures so... be warned

THIS is a good fixture

You could also do a Metal halide retrofit... but that might be overkill and give you heat issues down the road. ALSO, lighting is the last thing you should be worrying about right now... Skimmers, and other important things should come first, because all lighting is going to do is grow algae when your tank is cycling.

As for corals... that depends on what you mean by "really nice"... there are 300$ and 400$ FRAGS, and you need an established aquarium, that meets specific needs of the SPS or LPS coral to keep them... a temp spike of 3 or 4 deg killed several pieces in my aquarium

Get your tank going, the basics figured out, and mainly stable. And then start worrying about high end lighting and corals...


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## moron (May 26, 2006)

Ægir said:


> You have a couple options for lighting.... a T5 setup would prob be best. I have heard some bad things about some Ebay light fixtures so... be warned
> 
> THIS is a good fixture
> 
> ...


Thanks way to much money for a 36" lightstip. I can't do that much


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Well you can find other ones, but its going to require something about like that (4 or 6 bulb T5 HO) to keep "high light" SPS and LPS... its also going to require: lots if in tank flow (powerheads), Pristine water, and eventually daily testing and dosing of 2 part to keep up with calcium and alk demands unless you buy more equipment. * the depth of your tank will also require more light to fully penetrate to the bottom.

Like i said man, get the tank going and focus on water quality for a few months... save up money for a while and buy a nice light and then get into corals after you have kept some easier things like mushrooms or zoas. You can use a standard FW aquarium light for the time being, and things like a skimmer and sump setup are more important than lighting right now.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

moron said:


> What are some really nice corals and what kind of lighting will they need. I'm looking in ebay for some light strips just getting ideas.
> 
> I'm pretty sure the tank will be a 36"x18"x20"


 What are nice corals? Soft corals, lps, sps? A retrofit MH fixture will probably be the most cost effective, but you will probably have to hang it over the tank to avoid heat issues. Like said get good equipment first then do lighting last. The more money you have left the better. Lighting can be as simple as a 100$ strip light for some soft coral to 1000$ for some MH combo hood. I would start with soft corals as even soft corals will be expensive to fill a 40 reef


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