[Hubris]

I'm pretty new to this and i'm building a tank for mainly growing corals of all kinds. My tank is only 12 inches in height so I was wanting your opinions on what would be a good lighting setup for my tank. I would like something cheaper but reliable so nothing really sketch. I like the USA freshwater LED plus but has anybody ever used it for salt water. LFS said it has plenty of light to grow anything since my tank is so shallow. 48X18x12 40 gallon

 

[andy27012]

You really want to decide what type of corals you want to keep, softies, lps or sps. In a deeper tank you can do a mixed reef but in a tank as shallow as that you won't have enough light dissipation to accommodate growing the really high light critters like clams and sps up top without frying anything soft or lower light on the bottom and visa versa. Once you have made that decision it will be a lot easier to determine appropriate lighting choices. While not down talking your Lfs I will tell you to take everything they say with a grain of salt, they're a business and they are there to make money. I would recommend picking up a copy of Larry a Moes beginner to breeder. Delbeeks reef aquarium series are a must have but may be intimidating if you don't have a firm grasp of the basics.

 

[Hubris]

So i won't be able to grow more than one type of coral? That saddens me and almost makes me want to return it for something else.... but if i had to choose it would be LPS corals so for this shallow tank what would be a good light to grow LPS corals and could a clam live with the same light

 

[Joy]

You will be able to grow a variety of corals depending on their needs. Usually if you can grow softies you can grow many LPS. If you LFS is saying yeah sure you can use the same light on a freshwater as a reef tank you might better do some research on your own.

I have a freshwater light over my sump and can grow algae like nobodies business hair algae is really doing great in there as long as it stays there I don't care how much it grows.

 

[Hubris]

So if I grow mostly LPS I should be able to grow some softies as well right? Do you have any other recommendations as far as a light goes for this shallow setup thats budget friendly? Clam?

 

[andy27012]

Clams are the most light intensive animals IMO, you could probably do a deresa up high. What kind of budget are you looking at?

 

[Hubris]

First things first... should I take this back and get a taller tank?

 

[Joy]

A taller tank is less square inches to cram coral since some corals have chemical warfare so a tank with the larger foot print makes more sense. Make sure the light you get is full spectrum I don't know your budget but you can get reefbreeders pretty reasonable whichever light you choose make sure it is dimable. Clams need high light and well established tanks that are stable.

This is the light I am using on my 40 breeder Photon 24" | Reef Breeders LEDs I like that is programmable so the lights come on at 8 and slowly ramp up and then back down to go off again about 7 pm. At the highest I think it is 50/40 with the blue being the 40. I am sure if you look around you can find one that is cheaper and not programmable.

 

[Hubris]

Thanks joy this tank is just too shallow for my taste so I called and they said they could order me a 40 gallon of my choice for no extra cost. I just need something a little deeper than 12 inches maybe 16-18? As far as lights im sure this is going to be tons of research picking and choosing but thanks for the tips on where to start

 

[Hubris]

Got a 35 gallon 20x20x20 cube