Coral

[miked78231]

right now im running a cheap compact with 45 watts of light. this will change but for now is there any kind of coral that i can keep with this lighting?

[hobogato]

you could probably keep some leather corals. there are also corals that don't need a lot of light, like sunburst or gorgonians, but they can be challenging to keep. Sun corals have to be fed and gorgonians are filter feeders, so you water has to have lots of nutrients in it. you could also keep sponges, bet they also need lots of nutrients in the water. green star polyps an brown button polyps might do ok as well.

[C.Mydas]

yeah, I would go with star polyps or button polyps...the other ones hobo mentioned are definately not for beginners. Remember too, that with lighting like that corals will lose their color and their polyp extension (like the Star polyps) might not be what you are expecting. Id start a coral jar... Everytime you see a coral you want look at the price and put that amount in a jar...then when you get the lights you want you can go crazy.

One more thing, keep in mind the kinds of coral you want to keep in the longrun. Many softies and especially the leathers release massive amounts of toxins into the water and can hurt other corals...or just run a lot of carbon to avoid having to think that far ahead.

[miked78231]

id rather wait then, im fine with the fish i have now. i just wanted to throw somthing a little different in just for color. thanks

[gjuarez]

Hey Mike, I would definately save up for some nice lights, once you have the right lighting, granted you have the parameters stable, the sky is the limit

[cbianco]

Hey Mike

Check out what I found at Wet Web Media. It talks about lighting requirements for invertabrates. There is so much information at Wet Web Media :) !

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marlgtganthony.htm

Read, read and read some more :) !

Christopher

[MattK]

Hey Mike

Check out what I found at ReefKeeping.com. It talks about the different types of lighting.

There is so much information at ReefKeeping.com :) !

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/dw/index.php

Read, read and read some more :) !

:ph34r