Question about lighting as I first start out

Hi Everyone. I have a 125 that I will be setting up FOWLR soon. I am hoping to eventually upgrade my system to include a few corals down the road. As I first start out, I was told I could use my old fourescent light strips until I upgrade later. Someone at a lfs told me today though that the coraline algae on my live rock will die under these lights. Is this true? I realize corals won't grow, but I hate to spend the cash on quality live rock only to have the nice coraline algae go away. Any help would be appreciated.

 

First off, most all of that coralline algae will bleach out and die during your cycle anyways. Personally I start with only one small live rock, the rest base, and cycle with all lights off anyways. This will help with the algae blooms that will happen during the cycle. Your coraline process really kicks off once the tank is mature and you start adding frags that have it on them.
As to whether the light will kill it? That depends on the bulbs spectrum. Honestly the coraline grows best under weaker to moderate lighting, and likes a bluer spectrum. I know a lot of those stock hoods come with lights anywhere fro 5-10K, so that wont be so good, but you can always just get a 12-14K bulb and it will be fine.

 

Thanks pack leader. So basically buying the really nice rock from the lfs covered in purple coraline algae is a bad idea then I guess as it will probably die off when my tank cycles?

 

Right, of course your going to have to buy a piece or two to seed the base rock, but by buying dry rock you will save money and reduce the risk of pests greatly. Here is a link to the site of where i bought my 50 lb box. ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Rock

and here is a link to my thread of this rock
http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-cleaners/great-rock-129130.html

you should probably get 2 - 50 lb. boxes

 

I have another question. I found a listing for this light on ebay:

72 " T5 HO Aquarium Light Hood 312 W for Satlwater tank
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This unit is great for Marine set up and reef aquariums
Features:
* Dimensions - 71.50” x 7.25” x 2.75”
* Brackets add 2.75" in height
* Supports 4 x 39W T5 HO
* Supports 4 x 39 W T5 HO
* Supports 5x Bluemoon LED
* Supports straight pin lamps
* 312 W total power
* 3 power cord
* 3 power switches
* Black, non corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
* Non-corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
* Highly polished reflector
* Cooling vents
* Mounting brackets flips up for convenience
Listing includes:
* 1x 72" T5 HO
* 1x Mounting Bracket (Free Item*)
* 4x 39W T5 HO 12000K (Free Item*)
* 4x 39 W T5 HO Actinic Blue (Free Item*)
* 6x LED (Free Item*)

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It doesn't list a name brand. Would this be a good light for LR with fish and eventually some corals?

 

I hate to say it, but I don't trust ebay at all for aquarium equipment. IMO you are better off looking for a good used light rather than taking your chances on ebay. A lot of times the lights they sell are very poor quality.

I have purchased a bunch of equipment off of Craigslist. There are always people who are upgrading/ quitting and you can get some slightly used stuff for great prices. In the long run, it will save you money and the frustration of dealing with a light that someone just "pieced together"

 

That is definitley what I'm afraid of but this is from a distributer that has 20,000+ comments so I was thinking they may be more reputable.

 

That will be fine for LPS and softies but may not produce enough energy for SPS. You want individual reflectors with T5HO or at least formed reflectors that wrap around each bulb. That sounds like it has a flat reflector.

 

Thanks for the reply. I think those would be the corals I would start with initially anyway, so that's good news. If I got the bug for SPS I would have to upgrade from there.

 

I would be very careful about "aqua trader" or "odyssea" lighting especailly if dealing with M.H as they may pose a fire hazzard. Craigslist or your LFS is your best bet, my LFS always has used light fictures for sale.