Enlighten me on Lighting

[noblejames1]

Hello, another lighting question for the experts out there. I have been a marine Aquarist for the last 4 years. I kept a fish-only 33 gallon tank and have since traded it in for a 55 gallon mini reef(well it is not exactly a reef yet).
The size of the tank is 48"l 12"w 20"D and it is glass covered. I have about 22 pounds of live rock with a Remora-Pro hang on the back P.Skimmer.
I first entered the hobby with dreams of keeping a Clown fish/ sea-anemone combo, and am working my way to that end...
So here is my question:\
1. how much lighting do i need for this(probably will never keep corals only 1 anemone and a few fish)
2. Do i HAVE to use the really expense metal hailades?( I live in Canada, and the U.S exchange rate is terrible for the weaker Canadian dollar.
3. What is the cheapest/easiest to install lighting for my needs

thank you very much in advance for your most expert ideas.
-James

 

[davelin315]

Just go to the hardware store and buy a flourescent fixture (I think the 40 watt dual fixture is 4 feet long). If you have a canopy, you can tear the fixture apart and install it in your canopy if it doesn't fit by itself. My first reef was a 20 gallon with 8 flourescent bulbs over it (30 watt? 20 watt? can't remember what their size was) that I had remounted into a wooden canopy that I made. I kept mushrooms, anemones, polyps, and soft corals, with a couple of LPS corals as well. They all did extremely well, and I didn't have to dish out a lot of money on lighting equipment (I think the fixtures at the hardware store were about $5 each). It wasn't pretty, and probably wasn't the safest thing in the world (the ballasts were mounted to the top of the wooden canopy to allow the heat to escape), but it worked, it was cheap, and my soft corals thrived.

By the way, you probably don't need a whole lot of lighting if you're not going to keep any corals, but your choice of anemone will dictate how much you need.

[ August 17, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]

 

[Carpentersreef]

If you want the best for your anemones, you must get MH, imho. Are you in western Canada? Buy some books on the requirements of keeping anemones, do you have any yet? Your clowns and anemones will thank you for it, probably by reproducing for you. I have a BTA that's split twice now, under my 3 X 250W HQI and if you're close, and have a good set up, you can have one, but it has to go to a good home.

Mitch