Are these lights sufficient for coral growth

[ileas12:]

I understand you are antsy to get corals, but I really think you'd be throwing money away at this point. Your tank is very new. Your lighting is inadequate. And it' hard to tell from the pics, but your live rock looks suspect. Is it actually live rock? It looks very dense, ideally you want very porous rock.

I know you're on a budget but this hobby isn't cheap. With that said, look at the for sale section here, lots of adequate lights pop up for fairly cheap. A 2 or 4 bulb t5 fixture would be good, or a cheap metal halide setup. Led's can be nice, but you generally have to pay more for them.

Most Zoanthids are not super delicate, But they will need a stable tank with decent lights. Maybe try some mushrooms first, or xenia.

Best of luck

Well only the middle one is really not porous the other two are. I dont think i'm throwing money away considering I have someone who will sell me any frag well basically any frag for 10 a pop. My dad has grow lights for his greenhouse racks could I throw some t5 bulbs on that?

 

[ileas12:]

Green Star Polyps are pretty fun but can get out of control - could also try discosoma mushrooms

Those do look interesting they're very similar looking to a grass bed I like that

 

[JCM]

I'm not familiar with greenhouse lights so I can't comment.

It sounds like your mind is made up, so spend $10 And give it a shot! Like mentioned, leathers, mushrooms, green star polyps, xenia can all live with minimal light so start with one of those.

 

[ileas12:]

Are zoas also low light? sorry im stuck on those it's ok if they aren't

 

[trickyrich]

I would reccomand putting everything on pause do some serious research. I spent a few months reading forums and research papers and finding out everything I could. You should start watching videos from brs Tv on you tub it will teach you so much and faster than sifting through forums to find answers. Forums are good when you are having a specific issue your unsure of but not the best way to figure out some key points.

How to keep a healthy reef system
What type of corals and fish you want to have
What size of tank you want
How are going to handle maintenance

This hobby can be done on a budget but if you don’t have a plan in minds you end up buying equipment to large or to small and wasting time and money. If you don’t have a plan your chances of succeeding go way way way way way down.

Best of luck and happy reefing!

 

[Devan Petersen]

Just make sure you get one that has 2 plugs. that way you can use a timer to have the blues and whites run on their own schedule. i use a smart powerstrip off amazon that allows me to program the lights to come on and off at set times.