Corals

[systemfan15]

I'm pretty sure I know the answer but is a 6000k cora life 50/50 bulb sufficient for any types of corals that only need moderate lighting? I'm not exactly sure what the wattage would be on this bulb.

[butterfly_babe4200]

What size tank do you have? How deep is it?

[davejnz]

What type of flourescent is it?PC,VHO,NO.
6000k is the term used to describe its color(yellowish).

[systemfan15]

I have a 55 gal, its like 15 or so inches deep I guess. Umm..all i know is thats its a coralife 50/50 6000k, I bought my tank, light, stand off of some1 that I know for like $200, I doubt it is good enough for corals, its only 1 bulb.

[jerryc]

If you can post a pic of the lamp we can probable determine whit it is.

Are at least describe the lamp -strait lamp- u shape-diameter- length

Sounds like a NO florescent to me if so one lamp wont be good for photosynthetic corals

[systemfan15]

here is my light, i'll send other pics if neccessary

[systemfan15]

heres another picture

[jerryc]

That is a N.O. normal output. For corals you need to upgrade your lighting...
As a genera rule 4 watts per gallon ether HO- T5-PC [fluorescents] are
MH [metal halide] depending on the type of corals you wont to keep.

Some keep a lot more light especially if you wont SPS {hard corals]

[rickm]

Yep jerryc is right. You'll have to upgrade to keep corals. I run a little over 8 watts per gallon on my 55 and I can keep anything in the tank. You will be limited to fixtures that will fit on the narrow 55, or build it yourself in a canopy.

[systemfan15]

Ok, thanks guys. I will upgrade after I get back from boot camp, and my advanced training. thanks for your help

[davejnz]

Ok, thanks guys. I will upgrade after I get back from boot camp, and my advanced training. thanks for your help

If your in a pinch on $$ right now.There's a very inexpensive lighting setup you can use that can be bought at HomeDepot,Wal-Mart,or most hardware stores.
Your tank is 4' long,You can buy a "shop light" that costs $10,it holds 2-40w NO flourescents.For bulbs,buy either a G.E. 6500k(40w NO flourecent) or a Phillips 6500k(i think there called Ultra Daylight,look on the label for the K rating).These bulbs only cost $5 a piece and are a true tri-phosphor bulb unlike many VHO daylights.They are excellent for growing corals IME.If you buy 2 of these "shop lights",you'll now have 4 bulbs.The cost of the 2 shop lights and 4 bulbs will be no more than $40 and is more than capable of growing med light corals IME.
I recommended these for Tanked(Michael) a couple weeks ago for his Frag tank and he noticed an immediate positive response with his frags/corals.

[davejnz]

A picture for you,this shoplight fixture was bought at Wal-Mart.Its a Lights of America fixture with twin GE 6500k bulbs.BTW,this fixture will sit right on top of your tank but it also comes with chains/hardware for suspending it from the ceiling if you choose to.I am currently useing then on my 75gal right now while my tank matures for the next couple months.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e162/davejnz/ge6500kNOshoplight.jpg

[dakar]

Those are good tubes, they can be overdriven with some ballasts to give them a fair amount more output, though not with the ones included in most of those shoplight fixtures. Overdriving them will shorten their effective life span, but the tubes are cheap enough to warrant the extra lighting since space becomes a premium over a 55g.

[systemfan15]

wow, thats cheap thank you sooo much!

[systemfan15]

OK, just thinking about something. At the moment, I only have glass lids on my tank, should I remove the lids and just not have a cover on the tank? Or should I think about getting a canopy?

[davejnz]

No glass lids,they are a bad idea for many reasons.

[systemfan15]

So, As long as I take the glass lids off everything will be ok? The lights are able to take water then?

[davejnz]

Sure,just after you install the tubes,put a little silicon around the ends of the tube where they meet the socket.The endcaps/bulbholders for these cheap fixtures aren't the waterproof kind.That said,I've run non-waterproof endcaps over my tanks for over a yr without sealing them.