Is this enough lighting?

[asonitez]

I want my little critters to have lots of little nooks and crannies to swim into. I have a 54g BowFront. What do you guys thing would be the best layout for the Live Rock? I got 55 Pounds of the stuff in a rubber maid with a powerhead and sea-water waiting to be be put into the tank.

I was able to pickup a current-sea powercompact with a brand new 50/50 bulb and single moonlight in it for 30 bucks enough to power a small reef i think damn that thing is bright! but what i wanted to know is does the stock light housing of my generic 54g corner tank support better bulbs suitable for reefkeeping? i got it used the tank and hood and inside the stock hood had a housing that used "Starters" and one bulb was a 20K coralife bulb with a shiny metal part on the back of it. The other one just seemed like a normal flourescent one.

What are the differences between MH and acitinic bulbs and what housing would i need for either. I know the stock one won't work at ALL.

THX you guys have been great.

 

[trido]

First of all. We will need to know how many watts the fixtures are to determine whether or not you can grow anything at all other than fish.
Your aquascaping mostly just depends on the look you like. You will need adequate flow to reduce the dead spots.
The difference between MH and actinic is.....MH is for getting actual growth, actinic is for color supplement.

 

[cindre2000]

The main thing with the rock is to put it in and play with it. Then walk away and come back later and play some more until you get a nice open structure that is pleasing you your eyes.

The color of the bulb will only get you so far, wattage/penetration is more important when you are first starting out and beginning to understand lighting. As long as the power compact you got has more wattage than the stock lighting, you are upgrading.

Actinic (the blue light) is a color temperature and can be about any type of bulb; so, it really depends on what you want to look at. An all in one fixture has certain options while a DIY retrofit is much more flexible. The Actinic supplementation is mostly for better coral florescence and aesthetics (such as a dawn dusk effect).

Metal halide is a type of bulb, that can be various colors. They are a High Intensity Discharge (HID) bulb that provides a point source of light. This means that they provide great penetration and glitter lines, however they have poor coverage and require some hight above the tank. They also can be a bit pricey (aka an investment).