how much lighting

i am just starting saltwater have had my tank 12 weeks.
i have 65w 12k daylight compact flor
and 65w actinic blue
which and when should i have these on and how long

 

how big is your tank and what's in it?

 

30 gal
10 hermit crab
2yellowtail damsels
2 clown fish
adding corals

 

I'd say actinics 12 hrs a day daylights 6-8 per day much more than that will help grow algae I may be wrong and am open for correction!

 

thats not a bad lighting set-up, but stay away from any SPS as you really cant keep them under pc's, also stay clear of clams unless you upgrade.

 

ive heard from many people that the zooxanthellea actually only need 8 hours a day...but i take everything i hear with a grain of salt.

 

Look into T5s if you want to upgrade. PC's will get you by as long as you don't try to put in SPS (as previously stated).

I have a 75g and run 4x daylight and 2x actinic (true) and my corals are doing good as long as I keep them in the top twelve inches of the tank.

Peace.......John.

 

You can keep sps's with pc's.... Certain kinds anyway... But you would need a ton more wattage.... Nobody uses the watts per gallon theory anymore.. But I say if you have a crazy amount of pc lighting, you will have good luck.. I have almost 14 watts per gallon and have kept many different kinds of sps's.... JMO... don't freak out on me...

 

i totally forgot abot your sps's Baug, he is a good example,it can be done. but in a larger tank you would be spending so much more it wouldnt even be worth it IMO.

 

Thats the only way I pull it off.. Your exactly NanoReefer.. I could cram that much light in and it was cheap... My next larger tank will have t5's or MH......