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Coral issues


Nakie31

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Hello everyone I have a 45gl. tank  I also have a 200gl. which I will be starting back up this summer. When I first became interested in this hobby it was because of the coral the fish we cook but it was the coral that hooked me. Now that I’m in the one thing I can’t get right is coral growth I do my water changes all my levels are right on target, I use the best salt I can afford (hw-Marinemix reefer) so I now think it my lighting so I just got a fluorescent single tube strip light and I thought I had a T5 but it’s a T8 will that hurt the coral of should I go get the T5? Please help. Remember money is tight. Thank you in advance.

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You should go with a minimum of T5. Or even an LED. there are some good deals on the board for LED’s. 

 

What kind of corals do u have in the tank

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I know you're asking mostly about lighting for your current tank, but I'll also toss in a little tidbit of wisdom I've gained over the years - if money is tight don't upgrade to a bigger tank. If you are not able to currently afford lights for your 45ga. tank adequate to keep corals, then there's little hope of keeping corals alive on a tank 4x bigger. I'd suggest staying small, putting your money toward wise purchases of equipment before purchasing/killing more corals. This will keep your frustrations down, and keep you in the hobby longer. I can honestly say the biggest mistakes I've made in this hobby, and the lowest lows I've had are because I've tried to be cheap with something - ending up costing me far more money than I tried to "save".

 

Now, about your lights. It might help us more to help you to know more about what kinds of corals you're looking to keep. Very generally speaking, your lights are inadequate - even for most of the lowest light corals. There are a variety of lights which could be recommended, each with pros and cons. As Eric said, there are many good deals on the board that come up.

 

What water levels are "on target"? What salinity are you at? Temperature? What is your water source? You're lights are culprit #1, but knowing what you mean about your water being good will help out also.

 

 

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As previously stated, if you’re looking for a more diffused light source to grow corals, go with T5s.  T8s can work but you’ll get better results with T5s.

 

I’d however also proceed with the 200g build.  If equipment is the limiting factor for corals, set it up as a “reef safe” fish only system and as your financial situation improves work on acquiring the needed equipment for corals.  I’m saying this because by the sound of things, you already had it set up so you should at minimum have what is needed to get it up and running (minus possibly salt).  Fish are much less demanding than corals, so you can still have a stunning tank that’ll take others’ breaths away, at the cost of an occasional water change to keep nutrient at a safe level, and regular feeding.

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Thank you for your advice and I will definitely use it, but maybe I miss spoke I already have the 200gl. that’s what I started with then I broke it down an now running the 45gl. I will restart the 200gl. in a few months. I think what I need to do is make a meeting so I can ask my questions I person.

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If you have questions it’ll probably be better to post them cause I’m sure the responses will be able to help others that are also in your situation.  Plus you can get more feedback here too.  There are a number of helpful individuals in the club, but only a percentage go out to the quarterly meetings (making this observation from only attending one meeting lol).  

There is a pretty active ‘for sale’ section on the site.  If there’s something you need, I’m sure you can find it there.  Good luck with the build, hope everything goes smoothly.

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Light is incredibly important. I'd consider dropping $80-$120 on a simple offshore 165W LED light.

 

Flow, filtration to maintain water quality and stability, nutrients, etc. are all important as well. These are pretty basic needs. 

 

You could also be trying to raise stuff that's out of range for your setup and your experience right now, too. If you can find an old copy of The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner, it could help get you off to a good start.

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