I have noticed that there are tons of hearsay and inaccurate opinions on lighting requirments for marine aquariums. Simply put any lighting can work well for your tank depending on what you plans for the tank are.
It does not matter of you want to use PC, T5 or MH.
It's all about the PAR values at any given depth that will tell you what can or can not be kept in a tank under certain lighting.
Let's be clear here, I am not telling you that you can grow anything in any tank under PC lighting. But I am telling you it is possible to grow anything in certain tanks, even under PC lighting. Confused yet?
I strongly reccomend that you look up Sanjay Joshi and his research and articles if you want to see the specific data. Various corals have certain par requirements that must be met in order for the coral to survive and thrive. This can range from 50par upto 500par depending on the coral you want to keep. Very few corals require more than 500par but there are some.
Some of Dr. Joshi's writings can be found here: Reefkeeping Online Magazine - Sanjay Joshi, Ph.D.
The break down is fairly simple. Softies, mushroom and zoanthinds have the lower requirements of 50~150 par. LPS, clams and some SPS fall into the 150~250 par range. Which leaves most SPS and acropora in the 250~500 par requirement.
Here's where it gets tricky as must of us do not have par meters and it really is a must if you want to know if a certain coral can be kept under your lighting. Chances are your local reef club or another local reefer will have a par meter that can be checked out or borrowed. Please don't assume that because someone else was able to keep SPS under PC lights that you can to.
Par is affected by the strength of the lighting and depth of the water. Meaning that your PC lighting may measure 250 par at the water surface but could be 50 par at the sandbed. Using these numbers you could keep softies, shrooms, zoanthids, lps and even some sps in tank using PC lighting! The "trick" as you may know is placement of that coral in the tank that provides the required strength of light for that coral.
I am not suggesting that you PC light owners run out and start buying LPS or SPS, just that it is possible to keep such coral if your particular lighting meets the the requirements of the coral you wish to keep. Don't guess! Use the proper tools and measure your particular lights over your particular tank!
I run 3 250w MH and 3 160w VHOs over my 150, as you would expect I can keep any coral I choose in this tank. In my nano using 2 36w Coral life PC fixtures, and have succesfully kept anemones as well as lps to zoas and even sps(birdsnest).
In conclusion: If you really want to know what you can keep under your lighting get or borrow a par meter ane measure what your lights put out into your tank. This is the only real way to know for sure if you are providing adequate light for your coral. Guessing and relying on someone elses guess is playing Russian Roulette with the health and life of your coral.
It does not matter of you want to use PC, T5 or MH.
It's all about the PAR values at any given depth that will tell you what can or can not be kept in a tank under certain lighting.
Let's be clear here, I am not telling you that you can grow anything in any tank under PC lighting. But I am telling you it is possible to grow anything in certain tanks, even under PC lighting. Confused yet?
I strongly reccomend that you look up Sanjay Joshi and his research and articles if you want to see the specific data. Various corals have certain par requirements that must be met in order for the coral to survive and thrive. This can range from 50par upto 500par depending on the coral you want to keep. Very few corals require more than 500par but there are some.
Some of Dr. Joshi's writings can be found here: Reefkeeping Online Magazine - Sanjay Joshi, Ph.D.
The break down is fairly simple. Softies, mushroom and zoanthinds have the lower requirements of 50~150 par. LPS, clams and some SPS fall into the 150~250 par range. Which leaves most SPS and acropora in the 250~500 par requirement.
Here's where it gets tricky as must of us do not have par meters and it really is a must if you want to know if a certain coral can be kept under your lighting. Chances are your local reef club or another local reefer will have a par meter that can be checked out or borrowed. Please don't assume that because someone else was able to keep SPS under PC lights that you can to.
Par is affected by the strength of the lighting and depth of the water. Meaning that your PC lighting may measure 250 par at the water surface but could be 50 par at the sandbed. Using these numbers you could keep softies, shrooms, zoanthids, lps and even some sps in tank using PC lighting! The "trick" as you may know is placement of that coral in the tank that provides the required strength of light for that coral.
I am not suggesting that you PC light owners run out and start buying LPS or SPS, just that it is possible to keep such coral if your particular lighting meets the the requirements of the coral you wish to keep. Don't guess! Use the proper tools and measure your particular lights over your particular tank!
I run 3 250w MH and 3 160w VHOs over my 150, as you would expect I can keep any coral I choose in this tank. In my nano using 2 36w Coral life PC fixtures, and have succesfully kept anemones as well as lps to zoas and even sps(birdsnest).
In conclusion: If you really want to know what you can keep under your lighting get or borrow a par meter ane measure what your lights put out into your tank. This is the only real way to know for sure if you are providing adequate light for your coral. Guessing and relying on someone elses guess is playing Russian Roulette with the health and life of your coral.
