Light Bright Enough

[will8]

just upgraded my marine tank to a 100 g. want to add some corals when the PO4 has dropped. the problem i might have is the lighting might not be bright enough. in the hood there is 4 30watt t8 bulbs. 3 white 1 blue. as i am new to the hobby about 6 months. my knowledge is not great. any help please.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah that's way underpowered for just about any corals will. What are the dimensions of your tank? And does it have any cross braces across the top? If so, where?

 

[Crazy fishes]

As Ski says the current lighting is far too weak for most, if not all, corals and any definite suggestions on lighting requires knowing about the tank demensions; I would definitive say halides are the way forward for you. You will need a 150-250W MH lamp to illuminate a 2'x2'x2' volume in the tank hence the need for tank dimensions. Marine lighting is never cheap, however it is possible to use ordinary MH units like those used for shop signs, garden lighting or by builders. You do have to change the bulb/lamp to aquarium lamp/bulbs remembering to match connector type, wattage etc. It isn't as pretty as a luminaire or pendent but it is just as effective and a lot cheaper. Also select what type of coral you wish to keep before choosing the wattage.

Look forward to hearing about those dimensions

Regards