Acropora question

[motorslave]

Im getting close to setting up my 55gal reef. Auqamedic Turbofloater Multi skimmer, 20 gal sump w/LR, the return pump is a GenX 635 gph feeding a spray bar along the bottom back. The CLS will be driven by an 850gph external pump with a squid. The lighting is going to be 44o watts of VHO -two 10000k daylights, one actinic and one 50/50 with the daylight coming on an hour later and going off an hour earlier. There will be as much LR in the display as will aquascape well (yes I know a 55 is difficult!) and the tank will be BB.
My question is this; If I learn to manage my water paramiters well, and keep things maitaned well will this lighting support a few acropora placed high in the tank? These realy have caught my eye. MH is not possible now but I have heard of stony coral under VHO. How feasable is this? should I look at a different bulb configuration? I would like the colors to "pop". Please advise, Thanks

Robert

P.S. Im also considering heat issusein the hood (16 in tall)

[motorslave]

I also plan to let my tank run with only a clean up crew after cycling for a 2 to 3 months to get the feel for the water

[OodleyBoodely]

You should be able to grow the low to moderate light requiring sps. You may not get as much color-mostly the tips, but you can definately grow them in that setup. Check out our coral farming sponsers-not all of them grow their frags under halides. Also, just for fun, check out garf.org. They grow a lot of their stuff under NO and VHO.

[tdwyatt]

You will be surprised at the differences between rates of growth with the lighting you've listed and a pair of 250 watt MH iwasaki bulbs. Coloration will be different (not necessarily better) and rates of growth will change when going from fluorescent bulbs to MH. If your primary goal is SPS-type corals, then get MH, if you want a mixed tank, use the VHO's or pc's.

Placement will definitely be important with the VHO's, use the top 1/2 of the tank in the middle of the bulbs. I have had specimens color up when taken from MH and placed under VHO, but the usual is that I place VHO specimens under MH and they color up.

The following Pocillipora spp. specimen was photographed 3 weeks after moving from 6x160 watt VHO's on Icecaps ballasts at 15cm depth (bulbs were 4cm from surface) to Iwasaki 250watt supplemented with 12kK sunbursts (bulbs were 10cm off the surface) at 15cm specimen depth. The specime was dark brown under VHO lighting, all coloration is from 3 weeks of growth:

[motorslave]

Okay, my tank is 18 inches deep so if I buy a retro kit set with two MH bulbs and two 110 watt VHO actinics, Could I use 175 watt MH bulbs or less? What would be the ideal wattage without getting too carried away (possible!?) I will have a large amount of room in my hood its 16 in tall and 64 inches long. So I could put plenty of circulation in there. It will be a mixed tank but I realy want the color and succesful stony!
Thanks

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by motorslave
... tank is 18 inches deep so if I buy a retro kit set with two MH bulbs and two 110 watt VHO actinics, Could I use 175 watt MH bulbs or less? What would be the ideal wattage without getting too carried ... It will be a mixed tank but I really want the color and successful stony!

Many folks using carbon and lots of skimming and UV can run a mixed tank successfully so long as the population of Nephthiids, Sinularia, Lobophytum, Lemnelia, and/or Sarcophytons is not too large. These Alcyonians all produce terpenes and related compounds that are toxic to and inhibit calcification in stony corals, and may be counterproductive in a successful stony tank. It can be done, but for a truly successful stony coral tank, it would be best to eliminate the competition between the Octocorals and the stony corals and leave the softies out of the tank. This specie/biotope dedication will extend to your selection of lighting as well, as most Octocorals will do fine under the VHO lighting you originally listed, but the stony corals would thrive under the MH setup you described. 175 watt bulbs in a 18 inch depth tank would be OK, but if the tank is BB and you want clams or corals on the bottom, then 250 watts may be more suited to the depth. If you are using a DSB substrate, then the depth taken up by the substrate will make the depth suitable for a 175 watt dual bulb setup with actinic supplementation.

Many ways to skin a cat, and making a decision on what biotope you wish to emulate from the start will help prevent compromises you would have to make otherwise. This extends from the lighting and filtration/circulation issues to specimen selection and methods of calcium and alkalinity supplementation. Make every specimen have a working role in a tank of that size. This will reduce excessive introduction of nutrients and aid in the development of food chains within the system.

Much to think about, make a decision based on what organism(s) are the most important to you, then build your decision making process around accomodating that organism's biotope.

hope this helps.

[motorslave]

Holy college words Batman! Nephthiids, Sinularia, Lobophytum, Lemnelia, Sarcophytons? Time for me to do some more research. Now I see that figuring out the mechanics is easy, its stocking correctly thats the detailed part. Okay off to the books! Thanks. Always alot to learn!

[OodleyBoodely]

Holy college words Batman! Nephthiids, Sinularia, Lobophytum, Lemnelia, Sarcophytons?

If you don't already have it, Eric Borneman's book, "Aquarium Corals..." would be an excellant choice! It'll help demystify those 'college words'.

[motorslave]

Thanks evryone, Im off to enrich my brain (hah!)