Lighting?

[Mermaid]

Hey all, http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif
I&#39;m planning to purchase your normal aluminium twin reflector unit with separate on/off switches to cater for both globes. What wattage do salt water fish require? Is a moonlight globe the same as an actinic blue globe?
Thanx

[leongross]

Hey all, http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif
I&#39;m planning to purchase your normal aluminium twin reflector unit with separate on/off switches to cater for both globes. What wattage do salt water fish require? Is a moonlight globe the same as an actinic blue globe?
Thanx[/b]

With two fluorescents you wont be able to keep corals very well, but that is no problem for fish alone. For daylight hours the brightest you can find should be fine, look for special saltwater ones as they will simulated the sun&#39;s spectrum the best. Nothing will match how bright sunlight is, so you can&#39;t really go wrong, but as humans need sunlight, so do many fish. Make sure of course there are plenty of hiding places so they can get out of the light if they want to. Also consider any normal sunlight that reaches the tank and keep an eye out for algae growth, too much light and the wrong water conditions can increase the growth.

The night ones make the fish look fantastic&#33; I am not sure of the difference between the two, but some are more specific for corals. For fish it likely doesn&#39;t matter.

[Mermaid]

Thanx for ur input http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif I have decided to go for a fish only with live rock tank with artificial corals covering the live rock as I dont want to be limited in the fish department as they&#39;re are many that feed on the coral that I like as well as the fact that I&#39;m a beginner and not to mention lighting would probably cost me 300bux to cater for the coral. Do u think i&#39;m able to mix a dwarf lion head bearing in mind they grow up to 15cm with;

Clown Fish
Blue Tang
Yellow Tang
Moorish Idol tang
Snails
Star fish

All this in a 5ft tank with about 20kg of substrate and 20Kg live rock (dont really know how much space it will take. Oh another question:P what size skimmer, UV sterilizer and powerhead would I need? is bigger really better? http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[matt_Frontosa]

Is a moonlight globe the same as an actinic blue globe?

Hi mate Moonlight Globes are bit more dull and make the tank look darker where as actinic globes are awesome as they are a bright blue light glob, but is you have marine and want a really good light I will get myself the new T5 lights which are great because how bright they are and also good for promoting coral growth in the tank also plant growth.
If you have not seen these lights Go down to your lfs and ask them to show you what they look like.

You will love it.

[mr_gimlet]

Is a moonlight globe the same as an actinic blue globe?

Hi mate Moonlight Globes are bit more dull and make the tank look darker where as actinic globes are awesome as they are a bright blue light glob, but is you have marine and want a really good light I will get myself the new T5 lights which are great because how bright they are and also good for promoting coral growth in the tank also plant growth.
If you have not seen these lights Go down to your lfs and ask them to show you what they look like.

You will love it.[/b]

I have a marine-designed halide/fluoro combo on my plant tanl and I use the T5 for nightime viewing, it looks really cool to see all the catfish shuffling around.

[leongross]

All this in a 5ft tank with about 20kg of substrate and 20Kg live rock (dont really know how much space it will take. Oh another question:P what size skimmer, UV sterilizer and powerhead would I need? is bigger really better? http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/b]

20kg of live rock isn&#39;t much, once you put it in you can see if you want any more. The more the better to a point as it also acts a filter. Make sure you leave it several weeks, even up to 6 weeks to settle in properly before adding too many fish. Skimmers often have the recommended size on the box, you can always add another one if required, it depends on your load. Many powerheads are good, remember fish live in the ocean, no calm waters there&#33; UV steriliser, well might not need it, see how you go first, again it can be added later as well. Don&#39;t skimp on the quality of live rock, get the good stuff, it will have a lot of little creatures living in it&#33;

[Mermaid]

Thanx yall for ur replies, much appreciated http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif it would be nice to see pics of ur tanks http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[leongross]

Thanx yall for ur replies, much appreciated http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif it would be nice to see pics of ur tanks http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/b]

Hehe, we don&#39;t have any tanks anymore&#33; We used to have at one point 2 marine, 4 freshwater and a fish pond. No time anymore I&#39;m afraid plus we move house... Great fun as a hobby thoguh&#33;

[kme023]

just my 2 cents, the actintic blue are required for the full spectrum light for a marine, but only if you have soft corals. The light spectrum is wide and goes from blue to white to red. The night lights do nothing for growth or quality of water, they&#39;re only for night viewing, pretty nice though.