Beginner here a bit confused about lighting

[Meganemp]

Hello all,

Sorry if this is the wrong section to post this in.
I am an avid freshwater fish keeper staring to plan my first reef tank.
I’m a bit confused about the lighting requirements for a reef. I would like to keep some beginner soft corals like mushrooms and toadstools.
Would any of my typical run of the mil freshwater aquarium lights work for these corals?
Or do I need to buy reef specific lighting?

Any help is much appreciated

 

[Brandon Smith]

I don't think a typical Freshwater light would put out the PAR you may be looking for. Mushrooms don't really require a lot of PAR however. What I would suggest is look at the care requirements for the coral you plan in keeping, and go from there. I use ReefBreeders myself.

 

[Meganemp]

I don't think a typical Freshwater light would put out the PAR you may be looking for. Mushrooms don't really require a lot of PAR however. What I would suggest is look at the care requirements for the coral you plan in keeping, and go from there. I use ReefBreeders myself.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! I have so much to learn about reef keeping

 

[andrewey]

@Brandon Smith nailed it!

You should also think long term. If you plan on getting into higher light corals, it might make a bit more sense to invest in a light that will cover all the possible corals you might want in the future. However, if you want to stick with lower light corals, there is no need to spend the money/electricity on a fixture you don't need. If you're able to figure out your goals as a reefer (softy tank forever, softy tank now and maybe LPS later, etc.) it can really help narrow down the light that is best for you and your goals

Keep in mind that there are different technologies, different looks, and different price tags. There are some poor options out there, but in general, there are a ton of lighting options/styles that will work for your particular goals!

 

[ApoIsland]

Hello all,

Sorry if this is the wrong section to post this in.
I am an avid freshwater fish keeper staring to plan my first reef tank.
I’m a bit confused about the lighting requirements for a reef. I would like to keep some beginner soft corals like mushrooms and toadstools.
Would any of my typical run of the mil freshwater aquarium lights work for these corals?
Or do I need to buy reef specific lighting?

Any help is much appreciated

For your first light setup I would look into the cheap Chinese black boxes. You can grow anything you want under those lights, the colors on some of the nicer sps/lps just don't look as good as they do under the expensive lights. Some look better under those cheap lights though. If you are still in the hobby after a couple years and want to upgrade then you can sell those Chinese lights for almost as much as what you paid for them and get something nicer.

For what its worth, I ran black boxes for 7-8 years and I just upgraded from $400 worth of black boxes to $1000 worth of reefbreaders. I already miss the color of all the fish and half my coral under the black boxes. A few of the LPS does look much better under the reefbreaders though.

 

[James M]

What size of a tank are you keeping ?