Power compact lighting

[crossxfire2]

What kind of corals/anemones or anything reef related will this type of lighting support long-term? Will this type of coral thrive?

[txstateunivreefer]

soft coral meaning leathers mushrooms and zoanthids will do ok, LPS will grow very slowly, and sps will just survive without growing, clams are also difficult.

they also run hot and you most likely will be better off with t-5 or VHO lighting

[alton]

Compact Fluorescent is pretty much a U-Bent T5HO. The only real difference is the lamps for Compact FL's are made in China and less quality than there T5HO counter parts which are made in America and Germany. Also the ends of the lamps are a different technology and therefore have a trend to leak gases which in turn is the reason they only last 8 months on the average. I have grown SPS under them with great results but the tank I used was only 18" deep. Another difference is the reflectors available for T5HO which makes them a better choice than CFL's.

[envy]

what if i have the Coralife Lunar Aqualight Plus Deluxe that produces 260watts for a 55 gal. and i'm getting 6.5watts per gal.

[alton]

I had a 260 on a 75 and it was fine for LPS and softies, the only problem was paying $120 for lamps every 8 months.

[MissT]

Anemones don't seem to fare well at all under PC lighting long term. I agree with the soft corals like zoanthids, leathers, and mushrooms. Possibly even clams as long as they are placed as close as possible to the light fixture. I think the nano at our store (RCA) is a testament to the possibilities of PC lighting as long as you take good care of the tank and give it the attention and water changes it deserves. But I guess that could be a biased opinion...:wink_smile:

[profntbtr]

i have a long tentacle anemone that has done awesomely under 260 watts of compact flouro in my 55. it has expanded to the size of a salad plate from about as big as a baseball over the last 5-6 months. i also have some elkhorn that is growing pretty swiftly, so i would say that as long as you place things correctly in your tank, the type of lighting is not as important as some would have you believe. i have recently purchased a 250w mh setup, but only because i want more sps, although i will probably figure something out so i can use both cf and mh, as there is a big black plastic support piece in the middle that makes things a little difficult .

[crossxfire2]

oh ok, well what if I have 2-straight pin (2 bulbs per piece) at 65 watts each? 65+65=130 watts.

[Darth-Tater]

Most soft corals will grow. My wife keeps zoas,shrooms and a long bubletip in her 30 with 130 watts pc and they are doing super.

Tater

[kaiser]

oh ok, well what if I have 2-straight pin (2 bulbs per piece) at 65 watts each? 65+65=130 watts.

What size is the tank? If you have this on a 20 gallon it'll be fine. But if you have a 75 I'd consider to at least double that.

[MissT]

Also depends on how deep your tank is. 12" deep frag tanks do fine with PC lighting... 30" show tanks, not so much

[apedroza]

I would stick with softies!! Mushrooms and zoas thrive under them, SPS not so much!!

[hobogato]

i held on to my PC actinics for a long time, and when i finally switched over to T5 actinics, i kicked myself for waiting so long. the T5 bulbs supposedly last much longer and are visibly brighter than equal wattage PC. my coral colors greatly improved when i switched.

i have seen tanks with PC grow all kinds of corals, the only issue may be coloration and growthrate. both may be less than ideal with SPS corals.

[erikharrison]

T5 VHO!
You can grow anything under the VHO bulbs!!! The VHOs have more output wattage and last much longer (I've read, but not experienced 18 months). I have been seriously debating my lighting scheme and selling my 250w MH to switch over to a Aquactinics T5 VHO with the IceCap SLR reflectors. It's going to cost me alot on the frontside, but in the long run I should fare better in cost effiency in comparison to the three 250w Metal Halides that I have been pondering. www.zeovit.com (http://www.zeovit.com) Tons of pictures of T5 driven tanks... WOW.

[crossxfire2]

ok, Thank you!