Coral Specific Lighting -02/20/08
Hi all,
First let me begin by saying how much I appreciate all you provide to the aquarium lover. I'm new to the hobby and your advice has proven invaluable.
Currently I have a 46 gallon bowfront aquarium with a Current 192 watt, dual daylight, dual actinic compact fluorescent fixture. I also have a Typhoon skimmer, Magnum 300 canister filter, and 25 watt gamma UV sterilizer with 60 lbs. of live rock for natural filtration.
My livestock includes, 2 tomato clowns, an algae blenny, a purple tang ( who will soon have a larger FOWLR home ), 3 peppermint shrimp, and a scarlet cleaner shrimp. I'm new to corals but have had success so far with a Australian Duncan whisker, a silver pulsing xenia and a Montipora digitata ( which has changed from blue to pink ).
My question relates to some LPS I have taken interest in. I'm looking into an Australian Acanthastrea, Micromussa or Blastomussa, and possibly a Lobophillia. Will my existing lighting be sufficient to support these new corals or should I upgrade to a Current SunPod, dual 14k HQI fixture which seemed to be an economical upgrade.
<You don't need much light for Acanthastrea, Micromussa or Blastomussa corals. You might want a little more for the Lobophyllia, but they can also adjust. In any case, you should pay attention to the lighting they are currently being kept under at the LFS so that you can acclimate appropriately. This link might also be helpful:
http://www.asira.org/caresheets>
Thanks in advance for your help.
<De nada>
Shawn Green
Baltimore, MD
<Best,
Sara M.>

Is My Normal Output Fluorescent Lighting Suitable for Anemone and Corals? (The Short Answer Is…No) – 02/12/08
Hello,
<<Hiya, Joan!>>
I read and then reread your article on lighting.
<<And?...>>
I have used Vita-Lites for many many years and thought they would be fine for my introduction of inverts, an anemone to start with, and maybe a coral or two.
<<Mmm, you will need to be more specific than “a coral or two”…and some specifics about your tank would be a big help too...oh, and do read up on our site re anemone systems/mixing with sessile inverts (not recommended). As for the Vita-Lites…these are a great “daylight” spectrum fluorescent bulb, but being a NO (Normal Output) bulb you need a fair number of them over the tank, with actual “numbers” depending on the light-requirements of the organisms you plan to keep. And while it is possible to keep some coral species under NO fluorescent lighting (I did so back in the late-eighties and early-nineties), I don’t recommend this for keeping Anemones>>
The Fish Store says No, I need MORE.
<<Without more information/detail re your system and its proposed inhabitants, I must agree…and I certainly do where the Anemone is concerned>>
I.e. 10K etc and recommend the Coralife compacts.
<<You don’t “need” 10K bulbs; these are usually suggested because they provide a “balance” between what is suitable for/useable to the photosynthetic organisms and what is pleasing to the human eye. In fact, if you like or prefer a lower Kelvin temperature (e.g. – 5500K – 6500K), these will generally provide a better output/PAR rating watt-for-watt than the higher Kelvin temperature bulbs. A mix of 10K and 6.5K bulbs provides far more intensity, as well as light in the more “useful” wavelengths, than a mix of 10K and Actinic bulbs>>
I am sure they are great, but do I really need that much light?
<<The answer here likely is, yes…I am doubtful your NO fluorescent bulbs will support an anemone>>
Especially when a retrofit is $200+ on sale.
<<Unfortunately, the price of lighting suitable for keeping many/most of the reef-associated photosynthetic organisms often proves to be as much as one-third the cost of the entire reef system. If you do decide to upgrade, I would like to recommend T5 fluorescent lighting over the PC fluorescent lighting. Not that the PCs can’t work, but the T5 is better technology in my opinion, and has greater bulb selection/allows more flexibility over the PCs. The smaller size of the T5s will also allow more bulbs to be fitted/placed over any given tank size>>
Please drop me a short note with your ideas.
<<You have my thoughts…do write me back if you wish to discuss further>>
Joan in Seattle
<<Regards, EricR in Columbia>>

Bigger Marine Tank Coming...Which Lighting Choice? – 07/25/07
Hi guys,
<<Daniel>>
I have got 30-gal reef tank for about 9 months. My lovely wife is gonna buy me 90-gal (48*18*24h) next month for my 30 birthday
<<Sweet>>
(aren't the Polish women great?)
<<Indeed, so it would seem>>
And finally my question is:
What kind of light should we purchase?
<<Mmm, much to consider here...have you read through our lighting articles/FAQs? Here’s a good place to start, and do continue to follow/read among the links in blue: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marlgtganthony.htm >>
I have two options:
-8x54w T5
-2x150HQI+ 4x54w T5 (actinic)
I am gonna keep there some SPS (just a few like 5-6) and rest are gonna be LPS. Remember that tank is high (24 inches), SPS are gonna be just under the water surface,
<<Be sure to allow room for growth>>
are T5 gonna be ok, or I need definitely buy MH?
Regards'
Daniel P
<<I think it very likely the T5s will do just fine. But before you make “any” purchases, do be sure to read where I have directed you...and do identify/research the organisms you plan to keep. EricR>>

Coral Lighting 4/13/07
Hello,
<Hello, whoever you are.>
I was looking to upgrade my lighting so I can add some corals to my 36 gallon tank. It has 45 pounds of live rock and a Clown Goby and Flame Angelfish. It has been a FOWLR, set up for a little less than 4  months. I wasn't sure what type of lighting to get, and how many watts, so  I need to decide what corals I would like to keep first. These are some corals I  have looked at.
Orange Sun Coral - They say it's hard to keep, but you need to feed them 4 times a week directly to the coral, and they require strong current and low   lighting.
<Yes, a hassle to keep.>
I have a strong SEIO 620 powerhead.
I was also looking to add Montiporas, Brain Coral, and some  soft corals, along with a Ricordea Mushroom. Suggestions for corals would be  nice to work under one lighting. Don't want something real strong, but maybe  about 3-5 watts per gallon would be good.
<A 150 watt HQI would work well here for corals you have mentioned.  If aesthetics or wife are not a problem, the Coralife Clip On fixture would work well and sells for around $230.00 at most etailers.  I got mine from Drs Foster & Smith.
James (Salty Dog)>

MH Tweaking   3/31/07
   Hello there,
<Hi from HI>
    I bother your crew way to
<too>
much so I will be short and to the point.
<Sort of like me!>
125G display, all SPS, predominately Acros.  Previously ran 3X400W radium 20Ks but my corals became very pale some bleached at the tops on an 8 hour photo period 14" from the surface.
<Yikes... ever try placing your face this close to these lights?>
I downgraded to 3X250W 20K Radiums, they run 9 hours @ 10" from the surface, and while the undersides and deeper Acros show more color, the higher placed corals are still very pale.
<Mmm... have you heard of the term "photo-acclimation"?>
I don't have a single coral in my tank I would consider "stunning"  they were all "stunning" when I bought them, however they quickly grow very pale.
<Can/could be a few "things" at play here...>
I have tried adjusting the height however it takes so long to notice any change I feel fairly lost.
<The lighting needs to "start" higher, screened, electronically dimmed... the animals lower... however less-intense initially... graded to brighter over a few weeks time...>
My question is having ruled out all other factors like chemistry/flow/etc. and being fairly confident my problem is related to Photo period/distance from water, what suggestions would you give me as a place to start and how long would you give it to notice positive change?
<Mmm, please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm
and the linked files above>
Is there something else I am missing in regards to this pale plague?
<Mmm, could be... as stated, there are other possibilities... and you've presented no real data re actual measures, set-up, maintenance... Not a mind reader... but do have very strong intuition at times>
Color aside the Milli's grow .5-.75"/month, the Montis grow like weeds, even the very thick branched Acros are growing at a very pleasing rate, they just look like crap.
<Can you define this? Or send a pic? Not of the fecal material... Heeeee!>
All frags show low/medium daytime extension and crazy full bloom moonlight extension.
<Okay>
   Any guidelines or pointers would be great.  The only other piece of info that's relevant is that I did start the new 250s at about 20" and brought them down 1" per week until they hit 10-11"
<Oh! Well that's an equine of a different hue altogether... Perhaps there is some sort of allelopathy at play here... Again, you don't present a stocking list...>
  I don't know WWM crew, getting pretty frustrated.  Thanks for your time,
   Jeff
<Guess so. BobF>

Re: MH Tweaking, pale scleractinians...   4/1/07
  SG: 1.026
  PH 8.3ish
  dKH 10ish
    CA  400ish
<Mmm... what is your Magnesium? Easy for this to get out of balance with Kalk use, some types of melted media in Calcium reactors>
  20G water changes every Sunday
  I only keep a couple of fish (pair of black percs, pair of F. Pseudo's, Six Line.  I have a peppermint shrimp, 2Xskunk cleaners, and a pistol.
  Flow is achieved with a Oceans Motions 4 way on a 4800GPH External Pump.
  I under skim slightly, using a 240G rated skimmer on about 300ish gallons
  I run a CA reactor and drip Kalk.  CA reactor maintains about 10.2 dKH   Kalk is only about 5G per week.  but holds the PH and CA steady.
  I have undetectable Nitrate/trite/PO4
  All water is with RO/DI with a TDS of 0
  The 300g system is split 125G display, 80G sump, 75G fuge, and a little 25g AquaPod for a Mantis species only.
<All this sounds/reads very well/as good...>
  All in all I feel like I have built a good system and I have good husbandry, I just have pale corals.  I don't use any additives at all except about 1.5ml of P. Iodide daily
<Mmm, I would add this only once a week... during water changes... This alone could be "the" problem here... I would not add Iodine/ide/ate more often than this unless you had good tests for, and a real need...>
or at least when I remember to.  I feed the corals reef chili about 2 or 3 times per week.  I have a wide variety of Acro species (maybe 12 different) plus Pocillopora, Pavona, Montipora, all of which are pale in color.  Bleachish tips, pale branches.
<Mmmm...>
   I hope this provides the extra info you were looking for,  thanks again for your time.
<And lastly... am sure your water temperature is rather stable... Thank you for this further information, follow-up. I would expand your feeding menu here... including the addition of vitamins, HUFAs (like with the use of a product like Selcon). Bob Fenner>

Re: Coral lighting vs. water flow   1/4/07
The plate has been on sand since we first received it.
<Ah, very good. Read like it was placed in the rocks, I apologize for this misunderstanding.>
Our goby seems drawn to burying the plate in the night, so the plate coral has been moved twice which I would guess creates stress on it.
<Yes, sand sifting gobies are certainly good at this activity *grin*>
Still, some readings indicated that hard corals do fine under tumultuous water conditions (which the goby is good at replicating!)
<I think this largely depends on the species>
Our lighting is a  150 watt metal halide spotlight with 2-  30 watt florescent lights across the  6 ft. long 125 gal. tank. Since we moved the brain coral to a higher water movement area it looks a bit better even though it is farther out of the range of the spotlight.
<Good. These corals are not the highest in light demand.>
The soft corals seems to  thrive directly under the spotlight and particularly where water flow is strongest.
<Sounds like they're happy as is>
We are not looking to have a tank so bright and as tumultuous as we see at LFS's, but we do need to know what we need to provide what our corals and fish need in order to thrive.
<It sounds like you've got a good handle on things, Gloria. Just keep with your current husbandry, and I feel everything will establish comfortably in time.>
Thanks, again, Justin for your time. We really do take your advice very seriously.
Gloria
<Thank you for the kind words, Gloria. The pride in feeling you've helped your fellow hobbyists is certainly reward enough. -JustinN>

Coral Lighting   8/21/06
Hi gang, great site it’s been a source of information for me for many years.
<Glad you enjoy/learn.>
I am in the process of planning out a new 125 gallon SPS reef.  I’ve had a 55 gallon Zoa tank set up for the last 2 years and I’ve been very successful
with it and now I’d like to upgrade to something a little more challenging.  
That being said, I have a few questions on lighting.
I had initially planned to go with 3 250watt MH HQI (10000k) and also use 220 watts of VHO 20000k for some additional color.  However, I was told that
I’d need to go with 3 400watt MH HQI for Acro frags.
<Who told you that, Edison?>
I question this; it seems like an ungodly amount of light for a tank of this depth and I worry it would overwhelm even the most demanding corals and I wanted to get your
thoughts on it.
<Three 175 MH's should work fine providing they are not pendant lights.>
Second, I plan to use my old 55 as a fuge with a remote DSB and would like to place some of my more colorful Zoa colonies in the SPS tank (probably more towards the bottom) for additional color.  I run activated charcoal regularly to help maintain water clarity and I skim aggressively, with that said, do you see an issue with the Zoa's in a SPS tank?
<I'd filter with Chemi-Pure in this regard.  You will have some chemical aggression taking place here and we want to minimize the chemical content in the water.  If you are going to mix corals, stay away from the potent types like Galaxy, Elegance, etc.  Do search our site and others for Allelopathy/Chemical Aggression.>
Thanks,
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
John

Candy Cane Coral...Turn Off Your Brights  - 05/19/2006
Hello WWMC !!
<Hello Esteban>
Always a pleasure to have someone to send an e-mail too that will guarantee a great response!
<Thank you.>
I have had a nice colony of about 15 1 inch pink Caulastrea (trumpet coral) <Caulastrea curvata>  about halfway vertical up my 125 gallon and half way horizontal in the tank.  I was using two 175 watt MH's on for 10 hours and two 6 foot blue HQI actinic bulbs on for 12 hours (1 hour on before the MH turn on and 1 hour after the MH shut off) for about 3 months.  The colony would come out beautifully - which after my reading I am guessing was because it was reaching out for more light.  Well, I switched the MH's to two 250 MH's running for 10 hours, and the same 6 foot bulbs running for 12 hours.  That was last month.  About two weeks ago, I noticed that the heads of the coral were not as expanded as before.  They will come totally out for an hour or so in the middle of the 10 hours, then close back up.  Their tentacles still come out when I am feeding the tank.  I'm worried that something might be wrong?  The water levels are still consistent with No ammonia, Nitrite, PH 8.5, nitrates around 40, calc 440, 1.025 SG.  I have not changed my usual dosing of iodide, C-balance, Reef Calc, Reef Plus, Reef Complete or Magnesium.  Should I consider moving the coral lower in the tank?  Is it getting too much light?
<I think they are going through a light adjusting period with the more intense lighting.  These corals only require moderate light and they generally do not open their feeding tentacles until the lights go out.  My Candy Cane <furcata> has never opened during the daylight photoperiod.  You may want to try putting them in the lower level of the tank to encourage opening.>
Thanks mucho!
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>

LPS Lighting (One More Time!) - 05/18/06
Dear Eric R.
<<Hello Diane>>
It's been a long time since I've written in and the first time to you.
<<Welcome back>>
I have been trying to follow Bob's advice; read, read, read some more, then make up your own darn mind.  (To paraphrase).
<<Indeed>>
Well, I got the first part down.  However, just when I thought I had this lighting figured out I went to a different LFS and POOF! here we go again.
<<Ha!...nature of the beast/hobby...opinions abound!>>
If you would be so kind to go over what I have and help me straighten this out.
<<Would be glad to provide my input>>
We have a 125 gal. acrylic tank 72" X 18" X 20"  with a 6" DSB.  Lights hang 11 to 12" above the water line and can be raised or lowered as needed.
<<Ok>>
The lights are two 36" Power Compacts, the left-one is SunPaq 10,000K/460-Actinic and the right-one is SunPaq  Dual-Daylight 6,700/10,000K.  The halides are 3 X 175 watts.  Left is 6500K, middle is 20,000K and right is 14,000K.
<<Mmm, why the variation across the length of the tank?  Are you attempting to create differing "zones/niches"?>>
The yellow of the daylight halide is tempered by the blue of the actinic and the blue of the 14K Halide is tempered by the yellow of the daylight PCs (the 20K is because I have read so many raves and Anthony's book BOCP says for LPS you can go bluer.)
<<Ok>>
Well yesterday we went to a different LFS and they had the MOST beautiful corals!  We purchased several and during the selection and bagging process I questioned the manager as to his procedures for maintenance and lighting. He told me that 15K are THE best and that my 6500K should only be used for high light SPS.
<<Too "general" a statement...I disagree>>
Now Drs. Foster and Smith will let me return bulbs for replacement but am I that far off with my lights?
<<I don't know, what are you keeping/trying to accomplish with this lighting?>>
There can't be that much difference between 14K and 15K!
<<Or even 20K...agreed>>
However, I am not sure about the 6500K and the 20K.
<<A marked difference in spectral output...but the 6500K still contains enough "blue light" for most all corals>>
We have: (all bought yesterday),1 6" green Bubble (Plerogyra sinuosa), 1 6" Favites (?) shared corallite walls.
<<Favites, yes...a shared wall between the calyces>>
They are both under the 65K with the Favites on the sand and the Bubble three inches higher, on a rock.
<<It may be fine, but keep an eye on the Bubble coral.  Plerogyra are not high light requiring corals, if the "bubbles" looks to be turning brown or stop expanding, do move it lower/to a more subdued lighting location>>
One 4" green Long Tentacle Plate/Disc (Fungia scutaria) on the sand under the 20K with the most gorgeous green Fox (Nemenzophyllia turbida) also under the 20K but under a ledge.  To the right of them are 2 separate pieces of Branching Hammer (Euphyllia parancora) consisting of 8 and 9 heads respectively (after adaptation, thought of moving apart under different lights to experiment?).
<<Sure>>
They are also placed just three inches above the sand bed, however the highest two heads are 6" below the water line and they are centered between the 20K and the 14K.  Now, under the 14K is my baby, an Open Brain coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi) whom I’ve had 2 years now.  She is not the vivid color when I purchased her (bright green and deep maroon) but I would swear in the last few days her red is coming back!
<<Maybe had "too much" light before hand.  It's not a hard and fast rule by any means, but many LPS with "red" pigments require/demand lower light levels than those with "green" pigments>>
The new bulbs are either more to her liking or else the color was always there and I just couldn't see it under the old 5500Ks.  
<<A bit of both>>
After all that I guess my questions are, is the 6500K that bad?
<<Nope...especially considering the wattage/distance you have the bulbs above the tank.  That's not to say I think it's the best bulb for your particular selection of livestock.  Speaking for me...for an LPS dominant tank I would go with a higher Kelvin rating...10000K is a good "all around" spectrum...but in this instance I would be tempted to go with a quality 14000K or 20000K bulb for each fixture.  Much depends on your own sense of aesthetics and what your trying replicate in your system>>
(I have a 10K that I can replace it with but it is WHITE!)  Am not interested in SPS (never say never).
<< <grin> >>
Is the 20K a good bulb for LPS?
<<With enough intensity, yes.  If you go with 20000K I recommend you move the lights to within 6-8 inches of the water's surface>>
The blue look is nice and the corals are beautiful under them but I want what is best for the animals (short of leaving them in the oceans of course).
<<...of course>>
These are the only corals I want with the possible addition of a nice Hammer (E. ancora) and maybe, sometime down the road a ways, I would love to have an Elegance (Catalaphyllia jardinei).
<<Do please read up/research the Catalaphyllia well (you can begin here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/elegance.htm).  This is not an easy coral to keep, and is best tried in a specie specific system designed to/for its care>>
Thank you so much for your time and patience.  All of you are appreciated and I hope one day you will all know how much!
<<Thank you for the kind words...we're happy to assist>>
Wishing you the best of life, Diane.
<<And to you in kind, Eric Russell>>
P.S. the LFS is ATM in Las Vegas, Nevada the one on the corner of Patrick and Sandhill in the Southeast part of the valley.  Beautiful corals and good prices.
<<Hmm, will have to make a point to stop in next time I'm in Vegas.  EricR>>

LPS Lighting (One More Time!) II - 05/20/06
Polyp Bailout in Branching Hammer
Dear Eric, Thank you so much for answering so quickly. You guys (yes, and gals) are great!
<<You're welcome...and thank you>>
But it seems quick as you were problems arise quicker!
<<Uh oh>>
The Branching Hammer has just been dissolving continuously since adding them to the tank.  I have been reading for two days now and since 2 a.m. this morning,  But other than photo shock (?) which I didn't think happened that quickly, I am at a loss.  I have also siphoned off two more gooey brown heads of the Hammer.
<<Mmm, photo shock "can" have a rapid effect, especially if the coral was already stressed...but from the "gooey brown" description, I'm inclined to suspect a bacterial/protozoa infection.  Though admittedly pure speculation, but have you read through our coral disease FAQs?>>
I separated the two pieces, leaving the best (?) of the two in its original location and moving the other to the far left end where I have removed the 6500K halide (to be replaced by another 14K Thank You <<welcome>>).  I also dipped this piece in an iodine mix of one quart aquarium water and ten drops Lugol's for ten minutes.  It only has two heads, out of nine, that look even halfway viable so I figured we had nothing to lose.  The other piece has two heads that look great and two that look iffy.
<<I would dip "both" pieces in the iodine solution:  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/iodfaqs.htm >>
We bought these corals on the 17th of May and this is the first day the Green Bubble has inflated but it is no longer the fluorescent green it was in the store, but rather a much paler green.
<<Hmmm, would have thought the bubble coral to inflate before now...possibly telling (something in your water parameters?).  The color is "possibly" a function of the lighting...maybe the LFS had more "actinic" over the coral in the store>>
The Long Tentacled Plate is starting to show himself and the Fox looks to be doing O.K.  Only the E. parancora crashed (but I know it's still real early in the game).  At the LFS the corals were in maybe six inches of water approximately 18 inches under 175 watt 14 and 20K (3).  The salinity was 1.025 but I forgot to ask about pH.  Anyhow I drip acclimated them over four plus hours and swore I would not move them around for at least 2 weeks if at all.  But I'll probably move the Bubble lower when the new bulb gets here.
<<Okay>>
Right now it is about 16 inches to the left of 20K, 5 inches below the water surface and 15 inches under the 10K/actinic P.C.  My water parameters are temp. 80 ; salinity 1.025; my pH was 8.3 at 6:30 last night and 8.0 at 7 this morning.
<<Is fine>>
I had added 1 tsp. Seachem Reef builder directly to the tank in an effort to get my alk. up from 2.5.  Added it last night and this morning my alk is 3.  Amm. is 0, nitrites are 0, but my nitrates are 10.
<<Mmm...possibly a result of the decomposing Euphylliid...or an indication something else is amiss>>
I have a 6 inch DSB and never had a problem with nitrate.  I use a Turboflotor-Multi HOB skimmer and (temporarily) an Aquaclear 110 with 2 new bags Chemi-pure and one Polyfilter.
<<Both good stuff>>
My iodine kit showed no iodine even after a couple of small water changes (approx. 20%) over 2 days so I added 4 drops Lugol’s, still nothing on the test so I added 3 more drops, still nothing this morning.
<<Hmmm...>>
I use I.O. salt and the new water tests at .05 iodine, (perhaps the chemical filtration).
<<Ah...yes>>
Water movement is with 3 Aquaclear 70s
<<...?  Aquaclear 70 power filters?  How often do you clean these...should be done "at least" weekly>>
and 1 Seio 820.
<<Some additional "vigorous" water movement would likely do this tank some good as well>>
I don't know what else to do except maybe another small water change today to get the nitrates back to zero.
<<I recommend a 30-40 percent water change>>
I did not think my set-up was that different from the LFS where all the corals looked fantastic!  Do you have any suggestions.
<<Mmm, yes...dip both Euphylliids again (remove any diseased/dying heads first), perform a 40% water change, and keep monitoring water quality/performing water changes as needed>>
The sad thing is I truly love the Euphylliid family and could easily picture a tank of just them.
<<Would be beautiful I'm sure.  Don't give up...get over this hurdle, learn from the experience, and pursue your dream tank>>
One more thing.  Do they dye corals?
<<Some...mainly "soft" coral species...a terrible practice>>
The Bubble was a very vivid neon green and the Fox is bright, almost fluorescent green. (But the Hammer is/was a more normal brown and green).
<<Is rather unlikely these were/are dyed corals...have not heard of this being attempted with stony/LPS corals.  Regards, Eric Russell>> <Unfortunately... I have. RMF>

Frogspawn & other various corals ... health, sys.   - 03/26/2006
Hi I am currently having a small problem with my frogspawn and my maze brain coral. My setup is an 80 gallon peaceful reef with metal halides (double ended) actinics and moon LEDs. Last week I installed the LEDS and I also left the glass off of the tank on the right side. The brain has since had a mucus coating and does not open up very much. I blew off the mucus the first day and thought that I had "burned" the coral.
<Reads like this>
The frogspawn has about 6-7 different colonies I guess you could say. They have been opening up huge until I left the glass off but they are not directly under the light. Now only 2-3 open up and maybe only get about halfway to what they were doing. All of my water parameters are the same and I add a full regiment of Kent additives. I also have a leather that is on the opp. side of the tank and it looks waxy and no polyps are coming out like they used to. My LFS said that they do this to expel waste and algae, etc.
<This is so... you want to remove this waxy material once it is shed>
every once in awhile. I guess that my main question is how can I help my frogspawn and brain back to good health. I am very appreciative of your website and all of the help that it provides.
Thanks,
Dustin
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Lighting/Corals  3/22/06
Hi, <Hello Zach.>  I'm in the process of setting up a new reef tank.  I have run a poorly planned but successful reef tank for about half a year now, so knowing what I know now I am definitely interested in planning the system before I start. The primary purpose of the new tank is going to be coral propagation (mostly soft/polyp to begin with, then if all goes well sps).  I already have the tank, its a 40 breeder so it is not very deep.  I am wondering about what to get for lighting.  I think I would prefer a setup with at least 1x150W metal halide.  I was wondering what the limit for lighting on a shallow tank like this would be for soft and Zoa corals?  The tank is only 16" deep so I was wondering about the possibility for too much light.  I am considering systems up to 2x250 10k MH + 2x39 t5 actinics. I am interested in if this much light would be too much, and if not, is there any advantage (other than being ready for more light loving corals) to having this much light in terms of soft/Zoa growth.  <Zach, would be very difficult to out-do Mother Nature's lighting.  No worries about too much light.  I would suggest a fixture with two 150 watt HQI lamps, 10-14K. You will then be ready when you decide to do SPS corals.  Do take a look
at the HQI clamp-on fixture (HQI) available from www.drsfostersmith.com.>
Thanks in advance.  <You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
-Zach

SPS lighting   1/30/06
Crew- <Craig>
Quick question:
I am planning on putting some SPS about halfway up the rockwork in a 300 gallon tank (31" high). I am also planning on trying different lighting
schemes throughout the tank. I would like to leave some recessed lighting on the ends so that private entreats exist for more reclusive fish to feel
comfortable. Since I do not want the whole thing lit up like the midday sun, I am only planning on putting 400 watts of 20K metal halide on the middle
third of the tank (a length of about 32"). If the SPS are put directly below the fixture 1-2ft deep, would this amount of light likely suffice? Let me know
if this is ill-advised. <Sound be a pleasing effect, no worries my friend, sounds good.>
Thanks as always, <You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
Craig