# do i really need natural sunlight?



## tyourkie66 (Mar 13, 2003)

i have heard from many sources that i HAVE to have natural sunlight for my saltwater tank. i plan to start off wtih fowlr. and i plan for my tank to be in my basement. however, later on in my sexcperinec i tend to have corals


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

no, I do not believe you do need natural sunlight, I'm pretty sure there are special bulbs you can buy....

lol but you better get a 2nd opinion


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## Seany B (Dec 12, 2003)

Combo of 10,000 K and Actinic will do you well. you can buy these in combo 50/50 bulbs or you can buy 2 separate bulbs. WHat size of tank are you lighting?
P.S.- 10,000 K is the equivilent of nat. sunlight. 
Also depending on corals some need more light than others. If you plan on getting an anemone be aware they need an abundance of light and if you trust the knowledge of your LFS. Then ask them about the diff. corals.


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

natural sunlight is not needed...aquarium lights will do the job..


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## tyourkie66 (Mar 13, 2003)

i am lightin a 55g. its 18in high. what lightin watts do i need to have. and what do u think the cheapest, or best deal for the lightin i need is. i decided anemones need way too much lighitng. but i would like to have things such as polyps and mushrooms.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

on my 55g i run a jbj aqua lighting system (about $400- $450) with 4 bulbs and 3 fans 
i have corals so they need it
u can go a little cheaper but i recomend this set up


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

You'll find a lot of opinions on this subject. I like hellolights.com myself. (specifically the power compacts)

www.hellolights.com


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## Andrew (Mar 3, 2003)

This light would be great. I am assumming you have a normal 55g that is 4ft long.

The 4ft long model has 4x65w pc plus 4 white moonlights.
These moonlights are badass for nightime viewing.

With this wattage you could easily keep all soft corals and some or the LPS corals if you put them near the top.

Here is a place to buy it on line but it is out of stock right now. $ 265.00
http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_pc_csl.asp?CartId=

I have this light but in a shorter length, the fan is very quiet.

oh, you don't need natural sunlight, matter of fact if you have a window that lets sunshine in on your tank, you will develop bad geen hair algae.

HTH


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## DrewBoOty (Nov 23, 2002)

Seany B said:


> P.S.- 10,000 K is the equivilent of nat. sunlight.


 10k is _not_ the equivilent of natural sunlight. 10k is a very white spectrum.


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## Jebus (Feb 29, 2004)

I suggest using those lights u can get at hydrophonics stores people use for growing dope i mean there meant for plants they should work pretty good in an aquarium. if there's a problem with these let me know im very uneducated on the subject


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