# lights for corals help



## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Hi, I am trying to do my research online but terms like "moderate lighting" do not help mw much  so I need your help. 

Currently in my 20g tank I have 20" t5 high output lights by aquaticlife. One 10000k bulb and one actinic. Can I have any corals with that? If yes which ones? Thanks


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## TypeZERO (Jul 20, 2007)

Its awesome that you went with T5HOs they have a great track record in providing growth and coloration. One thing that is very important is that you need to get proper bulbs for them. I personally love ATI brand bulbs and would run a coral plus and a blue plus bulb on your tank. With those 2 bulbs you can keep majority of corals out there.


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

TypeZERO said:


> Its awesome that you went with T5HOs they have a great track record in providing growth and coloration. One thing that is very important is that you need to get proper bulbs for them. I personally love ATI brand bulbs and would run a coral plus and a blue plus bulb on your tank. With those 2 bulbs you can keep majority of corals out there.


Seriously? Many people I asked were like "no they are too weak. You need for sure halide ones or at least to add a second one of what you have so u have 4 bulbs"

I am too new to marine and I don't know what to do! Now I am still fowlr and I have the ones I described. Do u think just a change of bulbs will works wonders? What is the difference between what I have and what you suggest?

Thanks.


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## TypeZERO (Jul 20, 2007)

Halides are proven to be a winner for sure in colouration and growth.... but if you cant deal with the high temps your getting from them (especially from a small tank). that increased growth and colouration is canceled due to stress from high temps. Aquatic life makes good fixtures, its all in the reflectors and i believe they use high quality german reflectors. I would say 2 bulbs can keep everything except the high light demanding sps, but then theres coral placement. Just place higher light corals very top of your aquascape. 

But you would also benefit from another 2 bulbs for sure lol. Your fixture is good so differences in performance wont be due to your fixture. It will come down to the bulbs and again, I love ATI bulbs!


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## george (Apr 11, 2009)

Yeah, ATI bulbs are amazing. I have a coral plus and Blue plus and they rock.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

monk21 said:


> Hi, I am trying to do my research online but terms like "moderate lighting" do not help mw much  so I need your help.
> 
> Currently in my 20g tank I have 20" t5 high output lights by aquaticlife. One 10000k bulb and one actinic. Can I have any corals with that? If yes which ones? Thanks


The problem with those 20" fixtures (with 16" bulbs IIRC), is that the bulbs themselves aren't that great. I had a 6 bulb 20" T5HO fixture over my reef and while I got great growth and decent colour, it just wasn't strong enough to support SPS growth more than 12" from the bulbs (~8" into the water).

That being said, if you just want to keep LPS corals, you'll be able to keep any and all LPS. For SPS, as long as you keep them in the top half of the tank, you should be able to keep them just fine. Softies will do just fine under them as well.


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

thanks for the advice guys. the bulbs are 18" btw. I will take some time for sure until i introduce corals so by then I might have changed the bulbs. Truth be told I know NOTHING about different types of corals so any good site that explains it to dummies would be appreciated. Good news that I do not NEED to change my fixture though


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## wildexpressions (May 3, 2010)

I agree with the others. 

I use a variety of aquatic life fixtures in the shop and they all work good and with the right bulbs can grow most anything. Might not be able to grow SPS mid tank down but few people seem to do that regardless of what lights they have and there are many SPS that do not need intense light to look great. 

I see new folks starting out with way too much light all of the time. Lots of the common simple starter corals that are most popular in the first year (s) of reef keeping do not do thrive or look their best under intense lighting. 

You are good to go for a while anyway.


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## wildexpressions (May 3, 2010)

george said:


> Yeah, ATI bulbs are amazing. I have a coral plus and Blue plus and they rock.


What color spectrum are Coral Plus? I use and sell mostly Giesemann bulbs.


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## sooley19 (Jan 7, 2009)

*where to buy ATI bulbs?*

i tried searching for them but haven't had any luck on finding any... if you have any info on where i can find them please let me know.. thanks


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

NAFB usually carries them. I think ORG does as well?


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## sooley19 (Jan 7, 2009)

would you possibly have an idea on how much they are.. im currently running a 6 bulb fixture so im just trying to figure out prices


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## thmh (Mar 17, 2011)

They range from $20-25 per bulb

~Tony


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## noy (Nov 19, 2012)

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c273082/p17689011.html


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