Does this light work well for corals?

Wolf89 · Feb 3, 2019

As the title says
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product...scent-bulbs?pcatid=4594&c=3753+3754+3961+4594
Thanks, Tyler

naterealbig · Feb 3, 2019

Wolf89 said:
As the title says
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product...scent-bulbs?pcatid=4594&c=3753+3754+3961+4594
Thanks, Tyler

The AT I blue plus bulb is regarded by many as the gold standard of t5 bulbs. The number of bulbs and combination of other lights however, along with your tank dimensions, and intended inhabitants would need to be known to give a better response to your question.

Can you tell us a little more?

Wolf89 · Feb 3, 2019

naterealbig said:
The AT I blue plus bulb is regarded by many as the gold standard of t5 bulbs. The number of bulbs and combination of other lights however, along with your tank dimensions, and intended inhabitants would need to be known to give a better response to your question.

Can you tell us a little more?

I have a 20 gallon long. I have no corals (except a purple sea whip). The corals I get would be dictated by the light I get. I have two clownfish and a green mandarin with lots of hermit crabs. Also, I have one massive hermit crab thats the size of my hand, but with the purple sea whip, when I put it in there, he picked it up and moved it all around the tank. Is there anything I can do to counter that? Also does the light have to go in the same brand hood? because the light I have now is the right size. I'm planning on just switching lights. Do I need more than one light?

Wolf89 · Feb 3, 2019

Also, does this light to be hanging, or can I set it on top of my glass lid inside my hood?

naterealbig · Feb 3, 2019

Wolf89 said:
I have a 20 gallon long. I have no corals (except a purple sea whip).

OK cool - sounds like you have dipped into the world of coral-keeping. How long have you had this? I have never had a Sea Whip, but I assume these do not require lighting?

Wolf89 said:
The corals I get would be dictated by the light I get.

Great mind-set, and it is awesome you are thinking about the life-support for the animals you want to keep!

Wolf89 said:
I have two clownfish and a green mandarin with lots of hermit crabs. Also, I have one massive hermit crab thats the size of my hand, but with the purple sea whip, when I put it in there, he picked it up and moved it all around the tank. Is there anything I can do to counter that?

Hermit crabs are typically part of an aquarium "cleanup crew" as they munch on some of the stuff that the fish miss, and can help keep waste building up on the rocks. One thing to keep in mind here, is that most hermit crabs are opportunistic feeders, and will eat anything that is edible (including other animals such as corals) when they are hungry. They larger they are, the more damage they can do. If the hermit crab is as big as your hand, it might wise to find him a different home - the large ones don't play very nice in reefs. If you are attached to it, perhaps you could give him a home in the sump?

Wolf89 said:
Also does the light have to go in the same brand hood? because the light I have now is the right size. I'm planning on just switching lights. Do I need more than one light?

You can put a different light bulb in the hood, you just have to make sure that the hood you have will accept the bulb in the link from your first post. If it will, then the ATI bulb would almost certainly be better than the stock bulb that came with your hood. With all of this in mind, if you are thinking about corals that need light to live, I would not use anything less than a 2-bulb fixture. With this, you could keep some Mushrooms, Galaxea, and Xenia. For any other Zoanthids, LPS, or SPS I would not go with anything less than a 4 bulb fixture.

Wolf89 said:
Also, does this light to be hanging, or can I set it on top of my glass lid inside my hood?

If you use just the single bulb, and you are using the stock hood fixture, you can set it on the glass. If you are looking to get into coral-keeping, I would go with a 4 bulb fixture at a minimum - as this will get you started pretty well. The four bulb fixture I would not set on the glass. Most of the fixtures you can buy come with some mounting legs that you can set on the rim of your aquarium. You would not want to set these directly on the glass of your aquarium hood.

Here are some more questions that might help:
1. Any idea what corals you think you might want to start keeping?
2. What is your budget for a lighting upgrade?

I hope this helps - let me know if you have any other questions.

naterealbig · Feb 3, 2019

Here is an excellent entry-level t5 fixure. You would need to buy bulbs for it - they will not come with the bulbs you want for a reef, and you will have to find a way to hang/mount it:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/sun-blaze-t5-ho-lighting-fixture-sunlight-supply.html

Here is another option. It is not the best quality light, but it comes with a bulb combination that would give you some good color, and it comes with mounting legs, and a timer:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Odyssea-T5...k:1:pf:1&LH_ItemCondition=1000&frcectupt=true

Wolf89 · Feb 3, 2019

naterealbig said:
How long have you had this? I have never had a Sea Whip, but I assume these do not require lighting?

I've had the tank since mid-summer 2018. The sea whips require no secial lighting.

I was thinking I would get these three
https://aquariumdepot.com/fire-and-ice-zoanthids-coral-10-polyps/
https://aquariumdepot.com/green-ricordea-florida-coral-ricordea-florida/
https://aquariumdepot.com/green-star-polyps-coral-pachyclavularia-sp/

So you are saying I would need at least 4 to keep those corals? that is is much more than expected.

Thanks a lot for all of your help

naterealbig · Feb 3, 2019

Wolf89 said:
I've had the tank since mid-summer 2018. The sea whips require no secial lighting.

I was thinking I would get these three
https://aquariumdepot.com/fire-and-ice-zoanthids-coral-10-polyps/
https://aquariumdepot.com/green-ricordea-florida-coral-ricordea-florida/
https://aquariumdepot.com/green-star-polyps-coral-pachyclavularia-sp/

So you are saying I would need at least 4 to keep those corals? that is is much more than expected.

Thanks a lot for all of your help

I think you could get away with a 2-bulb fixture, but I think this would be close to bare-minimum for the mushrooms and zoanthids. One bulb certainly would not be enough, and there wouldn't be much you couldn't keep with a 4-bulb over this aquarium.

Wolf89 · Feb 4, 2019

naterealbig said:
Here are some more questions that might help:
1. Any idea what corals you think you might want to start keeping?
2. What is your budget for a lighting upgrade?

1. I really like zoas, but I haven't kept anything except the sea whip, and I would love literally anything
2. Money is a big problem for me, as I am only 14, so I can't get a job or anything. Total lighting under $100 would be amazing.

Thanks again for your help, Tyler

Wolf89 · Feb 4, 2019

What do you guys think of this one?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Odyssea-T5...9iA2uGsXAtMjYvOGSw:rk:1:pf:0&var=600854861281

mfinn · Feb 4, 2019

Wolf89 said:
As the title says
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product...scent-bulbs?pcatid=4594&c=3753+3754+3961+4594
Thanks, Tyler

I use 6 of them in my 6 x 24 watt ATI Sunpower fixture over my 50 gallon tank, and 6 of them in my 8 x 80 watt ATI Sunpower fixture, over my 233 gallon tank.