Reef Tank Green Water

aquarium lighting…jesus?

I keep getting conflicting information about tank lighting for my 30 gallon marine aquarium (i relize my aquarium is small however its hard to justify a larger one in the size of house i have) i also have a 20 gallon sump for extra water in the system. My intentions are to have a full on Reef Tank capable of being the comfortable home of any coral, invertabrate, fish, rock, or %^$^& maple tree if i so desire. I currently only have a regualr florecent hood that my 2 tiny green chromis love but im aware that is not enough to allow SPS corals and some inverts to thrive. i was looking at metal halide lighting florecent and lunar lighting in a single hood but my local shop owner told me it was a waste and that with my tank a compact florecent would be adaquit. can somone with experience please help me out?

First… you asked for experience. I maintain a 29 gallon reef and have done so for over 5 years. I also have a 35 gallon marine macroalgae tank. (Not to mention four freshwater tanks). I have been keeping fish for over 40 years and have tried just about every lighting option available.

That said, for your system. I would look at three options. First would be a corallife aqualight set. These are compact flourescent lights and provide a reasonable light output for a 30 gallon setup. This is what I USED to have on my two marine tanks.

What I would LIKE to have if I was Bill Gates is an LED system. But these are super expensive.

Best option in my opinion are the relatively new T 10 flourescent systems. They are cheaper then the compact flourescents and the bulbs don’t need to be changed every six months. As I understand it the bulbs can last for years without any significant spectrum shift. Both of my marine tanks are currently lit with these systems. Two hoods easily fit over each tank leaving room for piping etc at the back. And the two hoods were almost the same price as a single CF hood. The light output is great and the organisms have absolutely exploded in growth since I went to this system. So that would be my recommendation without a doubt although the other two are also OK.

I would NOT go with halides for a tank that size. Unless you want to have that shimmering effect on the rockwork that comes from a point light source, it simply is too expensive and produces too much heat. (And the same shimmering effect can be produced with the LED’s but that would eb REALLY expensive at the outset. Maybe in a few years these will come down in price)

So that is my hard earned advice. Let us know what you decide!

55 gallon Salt water Reef Tank