Light for fish only tank .

[Yusuf]

What kind of lighting i need if i dont want add corals (maybe just animus in future) only fish and live rocks ? do fish need that blue light ? . Thanks

 

[Mufasa31]

Need a little more information on type of corals you want to keep (soft, LPS, SPS).

Fish are ok with most types of aquarium lighting.

 

[glb]

Need a little more information on type of corals you want to keep (soft, LPS, SPS).

Fish are ok with most types of aquarium lighting.

I agree. Fish don't need the light. But if you're planning on doing coral in the future I wouldn't spend a lot of money on lights now that won't work with the corals later.

 

[Yusuf]

Basically for now i dont want corals , i just have this 60 gallon freshwater and want to convert in to saltwater so i am wondering if i could keep the lighting (white) to use it in saltwater .

 

[Yusuf]

For sure if the fishes need more than that, i will buy lights that will work for corals for ones .

 

[Mufasa31]

You should be ok with your lighting for fish only. Adding actinic (blue) lighting may make the colors of the fish pop more.

When you upgrade your lighting, I would look into at least a 4 bulb T-5 set up or leds.

 

[Dalmatia]

If you run a saltwater tank your gonna need proper lighting mainly so you don't get a bad algae or cyano out brake, it can make your tank look horrible. Proper lighting is the way to go, corals or no corals. You will need to replace them (bulbs) every so often to maintain tank and keep it looking good
Good luck

 

[Dalmatia]

If you have t5s I'd suggest
420nm bulb (purple)
465nm bulb x2 (blue)
7500K-pink light
You won't get better growth than this combo, just amazing

 

[glb]

The actinic does give the tank a pretty blue glow. I had fish only for 3 years and used 50/50 white/actinic blue compact flourescent bulbs. The tank grew beautiful coralline. Good luck!

 

[Dalmatia]

This is what you would get

 

[Yusuf]

Thanks guys all notes taken sorry for late replay . Thanks for the shot Dalmatia

 

[KoleTang]

You can use anything that will illuminate your fish the way you like. As long as you can see the fish, you have enough lighting for a fish only. Like mentioned before, be careful of lower kelvin spectrum bulbs like 10000k, because algae is going to prefer that over bluer lighting like say 14000k.

If it is a freshwater fixture, make sure to protect it from any evaporating saltwater. It can carode the fixture and ballast on a fixture that is not designed for freshwater. I have gotten a good shock from a caroded fixture several times.

 

[Palting]

Basically for now i dont want corals , i just have this 60 gallon freshwater and want to convert in to saltwater so i am wondering if i could keep the lighting (white) to use it in saltwater .

You'll be fine with any light for fish only marine tanks. Save your money for the expensive lights when you are ready for coral.

 

[Yusuf]

You can use anything that will illuminate your fish the way you like. As long as you can see the fish, you have enough lighting for a fish only. Like mentioned before, be careful of lower kelvin spectrum bulbs like 10000k, because algae is going to prefer that over bluer lighting like say 14000k. .

But if i bring bluer lighting like 14000k its already can be used for corals right ? cant clean crew deal with algae ?

 

[Yusuf]

If it is a freshwater fixture, make sure to protect it from any evaporating saltwater. It can carode the fixture and ballast on a fixture that is not designed for freshwater. I have gotten a good shock from a caroded fixture several times.

Thanks for warning i had experience with that myself .

 

[Yusuf]

And guys when we say fish only dose snails , crabs , sea stars , clams and shrimps are putted in the same category ?

 

[Bad Company]

Clams may need specific lighting, anything else on that list doesn't really care. Many snails will need some algae to eat though.

I use 6 ecoxotic stunners on my 70gal rimless and they are awesome. With the power supplies and dimmer they ran about $300. No need to change bulbs (failure on leds is about 50,000 hours+). I have two royal blues and 4 whites. They also use less than 40 watts. They grow enough algae to keep my dwarf angels, blenny and snails happy, while doing an awesome job of lighting the tank.

 

[ohio reefer]

Clams are very needy of light, that is if you're talking about a tridacina clam like a duress,maxima, gigantia, squamous, crocea, and hippous, basically very clam available to the hobbyist needs plenty of light to live. If you mean something like a oyster or a muscle they're much better in a fish only tank.

 

[Dalmatia]

Ohio reefer thumbs up!!

 

[Dalmatia]

But if i bring bluer lighting like 14000k its already can be used for corals right ? cant clean crew deal with algae ?

Corals prefer more 400-500nm, and for photosynthesis 500-750nm, 14000k is good, mainly for our eyes I think. It can also make your water look more green or yellow instead of "crystal" clear