Corals under PC lighting?

[dc2772]

Hi folks;

So I'm considering turning my FOWLR tank into a reef tank by getting my first corals. I have a 55gal tank of normal dimensions (21" high), over which I have 260 watts of power compact lighting - half 10000K daylight, half blue actinic 03. What types of corals could I keep with this lighting?

I know that PC lighting doesn't reach as deep into a tank as metal halides. My two stacks of live rock are pretty much dominated by bubbletip anemones right now, so the corals would probably be placed at least 12" down from the surface.

Thanks in advance.

[hotnickz07]

Hey DC i have same tank size than you and i also have my corals under pc 384W of 4*96 pc retro.my corals seem to be doing fine. i sps ,lps,soft, and shrooms and zooz. and a seabea. i used to have them under 220w pc but i just reacently upgrated and got those sps's but you can have any of the other just fine as long as you position them in the tank according to their lighting and flow needs. if you want any pics of mine ill be more than happy to place them in the page or give you my online album address.any other questions please ask. i might not know a lot, but i know enough to have a thank god, very healthy tank

[Travis]

I think softies would definitely be fine, LPS would probably be OK but maybe a little slow-growing.

[hotnickz07]

i agree

[cheeks69]

LPS would probably be OK but maybe a little slow-growing.

If you feed them they will grow...lol
My Frogspawn and Rics have grown at a very impressive rate by feeding them small pieces of fish and scallops.

[dc2772]

Thanks for the replies.

Originally Posted by hotnickz07

Hey DC i have same tank size than you and i also have my corals under pc 384W of 4*96 pc retro.

4*96W, cool. This is in a 48" fixture? Did you build your own, or ... ?

[hotnickz07]

no its just a retro fit in a canopy the set up is like this
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[hotnickz07]

sorry about that the bulbs are about 36in long so i just put then with 2 in each side of the reflector ill take a pic and send to you later when i get home from work

[Woodstock]

260 watts of PC for a 21" tank... you can keep softies and LPS easily!

[fidojoe]

I have 4x65w over my 50g (same as a 55, just an inch or 2 shorter) and I've had great success in the past with this. I just recently switched back to this setup from my 29g w/ 250w MH. Before I took the 50g down I also had a 4x96w retro setup in there, and I liked that but there was a lot more heat than what I had with the 4x65w. Thats why I went back to the lower wattage even though I still have the coralife retro's. I keep zoos, shrooms, and LPS with great coloration and pretty decent growth, and have kept SPS with OK coloration and growth under these lights, I don't have them anymore cause I used to have a clown goby that decided to bug them to death... litterally.