lighting

[kirtis]

hey my new 55 gallon has two lights instead of one long one , they say you have to have two kinds of lights to have coral, can i put one of those lights on one side of the 55 and the other on the other side of the 55

 

[bigtank]

If you have 2 24" NO (normal output) tubes over a 55, you do not have enough light for any corals IMO. It would look funny if you put an actinic on one side and a daylight on the other. You would be better off with the same type of bulb in each strip. I like the 10,000k the best but 50/50, 6500k, or 20,000k will also be fine. Higher numbers generally mean a bluer bulb. 6500k is the color of the sun. 20,000k is blue and 10,000k is neutral white to blue-white.

If you plan to keep corals later on, I recommend saving up for a pair of metal halides. I will get into that more later, this stuff is overwhelming at first.

 

[mark h]

hello kirtis,

lighting is perhaps the most confusing thing when you first get into the hobby.
here is a link that may help you....

www.thereefweb.com/lighting.htm

 

[31-2c]

The lights that come with the tank are no where near enough, I wouldn't even recommend using them on a fish only tank. I have 4 55w PC's on my 55. You can buy one of these hoods on Ebay for $220 plus shipping.