Propigation Tank Lighting

[RandyJ]

Hello All,

This is my first post in quite some time, but visit the site often. I'm very impressed with the knowledge of all those who regularly participate in this forum.
Q.
I work at a LFS and am fortunate to be able to take home small coral frags, loose shrooms, zoos, etc. that otherwise would end up in the trash. I've had some success in propigating some of these and would like to do so more formally with a dedicated propigation tank. The tank will measure 24"x48"x12" deep. It will share a sump with my 90g reef tank, thus eliminating the need to duplicate much of the equipment.

My main question is: What should my lighting be? Though I want to concentrate on sps, there will be lps, leathers, shrooms, zoos, etc. I can segregate the different classes of animals into different areas of the tank and adjust the amount of light they get with light positioning, filtering, etc. so I suppose I should gear my lighting for the sps, as I can lower the amount of light a section gets easier than increasing it. (Correct?)

My initial thought is to go with 2-400w halides, but I'd like to get advise from those who know more than me. Are halides the way to go, or should I consider cf's or a combination? Do actinics provide a spectrum of light beneficial to sps, that the halides do not, or can I satisfy that concern with a higher temp. halide? Do moonlight LED's help at all, or are those just for the viewer? How about the Solaris system? I don't care what the tank looks like, just want to grow corals. Money is an issue, but performance is more important.

Also, can water flow be from all one direction or am I better off with a wavemaker type of effect?

Sorry, I can be a little wordy at times, but would appreciate any and all advice. Thanks!

RandyJ

[PhotoJohn]

If you want the sps corals to grow you are correct in assuming that you will need MH lights. 400w MH lights are crazy for a 12" deep tank IMO. I would go with 150x2 or 250x2 anything more than that is going to cook the tank. I would also run t5 or VHO actinic(2 to 4 tubes). Corals grow best under 6500k lights. That said all photosynthetic creatures grow best under 6500k. Thus algae is harder to control. Though corals will grow fastest under 6.5k they will not reach their optimum color under 6.5ks, for color you need 10-20k lights. You could split the tank in two with lighting half 6.5ks for growing out and then 20ks for coloring up the grown out frags in the other half. They will grow a bit faster that way but it takes more work, if you don't really care about having the fastest growth possible (i don't) I would go all 10ks with actinic t5s. If money is an issue stay away from solaris, big $$$ there. I would buy the parts off ebay and make your own hood, it will save you hundreds of dollars.

[CarmieJo]

I agree, 400 watts is way overkill for a 12" deep tank. I think with a 12" tank you could also consider T5's. They are widely used in Europe with great results and are becoming more popular here. Depending on the number of bulbs they may be more energy efficient than MH. They need individual reflectors.

[RandyJ]

Thanks for the info. So would you recommend a fixture like the Outer Orbit Pro which is a combo MH and T-5? They make a 48" fixture w/ 2, either 150 or 250w x 10k DEMH plus 4-54w T-5 HO actinics. If so, do you think I should go with the 150 or 250MH, given the dims of the tank?

Also would appreciate some general water flow advice.

Any other input from other members would also be appreciated.

Thanks folks!

[CarmieJo]

Understanding that I am a Solaris gal; I think that with a 12" the 150's would be enough. As I understand it, actinics are really more for us and for the possible benefit of creating a dawn and dusk effect. However, I also know some people who have said that some of their corals do better with actinics so there you go.

When I was saying T5 I was really referring to something like this light Tek Light T5 48" 8 Lamp: Aquarium Supplies - Aqua Buys with just T5's and no MH. I have not used them, but before I got my Solaris that was the direction I was heading. I am always looking for ways to save on the power bill and a T5 fixture would have had lower power consumption, potentially less heat meaning the chiller would not operate as much and growth equal to MH. What's not to love?

[PhotoJohn]

two 150w MH lights will do fine three would be overkill. A MH with a reflector effectively lights a 2ft by 2ft area.