Hi guys, I’m new to reefing and I was wondering if you guys think this light is big enough for my tank? I don’t know what type it is or what brand my mom just got it for me. I would love to hear some suggestions for coral…… it is 20gals
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@FloridaMan007
1y
Welcome! Adding on to what @JoseC588 recommended. I'd go rent a PAR meter from your LFS and spend the day mapping out your tank with the light set to different intensity ratings. This way, you'll have a much better chance at success when it comes to providing coral with the right light. I would also recommend that you look into test kits, buy them, and start testing your water parameters. Then, do what I'm doing and learn how to maintain your water parameters. For instance. Alkalinity. I got a bottle of Red Sea Foundation B to get the levels right and keep them there. Through testing every day, I've found that my alkalinity drops 0.3 every 24 hours. So once I get my levels up a bit more, I'll have to dose about 3ml a day. Im new, just like you. I've had to refrain myself from dropping hundreds of dollars on coral and fish. Why? Because I don't have stable parameters. That's because I don't know what I'm doing. Hahaha! So let's take it really slow. We don't want our first (my second) experience to go sour fast all because we rushed things! The pretty coral will come soon enough..
@fishyfishy
1y
Ok! Thank you so much. I will definitely slow down :)
@fishyfishy
1y
Another quick question….. what is red sea and should I be using that to keep my alkalinity up as well????
@USER
1y
Red Sea is a company...no need to dose now since you don't have corals... your alk and other parameters will fluctuate for a while especially since it's a brand new system...Just do periodic water changes after the tank has cycled...roughly 10% each week or every other week...be patient!! Time is your best friend in this hobby...
@skebo
1y
I kinda disagree. When cycling alk drops and pulls ph down. This is something you should monitor even though you don't have corals. For that stage of alk drops during cycling you can link at seachem reef builder which is carbonate and bicarbonate which helps raise alk and ph. Afterwards you still want to monitor alk and cal even without corals. Just not as frequently. Reason is your rocks and sand will absorb alk/cal leaching it from the water. You can look at all-for-reef which you can mix and dose manually or automated. Mag will fall in line but doesn't matter with no corals.
@fishyfishy
1y
I will definitely do more research way before I get coral, but can y’all quickly explain what it means for corals to bleach and how do I keep a new coral from bleaching if I already have coral in the tank. I don’t of course because I want to take it slow but I was curious what bleaching was
@USER
1y
https://www.google.com/search?q=bleaching+of+coral+reefs&client=ms-android-samsung-rvo1&sca_esv=faf73f5b27e4e0f4&source=android-home&source=hp&ei=6YT6Z8y4BtOr5NoP-9fB4As&oq=bleaching+of+&gs_lp=EhFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocCINYmxlYWNoaW5nIG9mICoCCAAyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABEjSYlDCDFibWXAEeACQAQCYAbcCoAHUDKoBCDEwLjQuMC4xuAEByAEA-AEBmAIToAKsDqgCAcICCBApGIAEGLEDwgIOEC4YgAQYsQMY0QMYxwHCAhEQLhiABBixAxjRAxiDARjHAcICDhAAGIAEGLEDGIMBGIoFwgIOEC4YgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgILEC4YgAQYsQMYgwHCAggQLhiABBixA8ICCxAuGIAEGNEDGMcBwgIFEC4YgATCAgsQLhiABBixAxjUAsICDhAuGIAEGLEDGIMBGNQCwgIIEC4YgAQY5QTCAgsQLhiABBjHARivAcICDRAuGIAEGLEDGNQCGArCAhMQLhiABBixAxjRAxiDARjHARgKwgIKEC4YgAQYsQMYCsICChAAGIAEGLEDGArCAgcQABiABBgKmAMR8QV_4t_zPK59nJIHCDExLjcuMC4xoAfGigGyBwc3LjcuMC4xuAf5DQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp
@fishyfishy
1y
Ok thank you that was very helpful
@Gregrock68
1y
Just do 10% Water change s once a week, and don't dose anything. Light sounds like it could be a stronger than you need. Figure 1 to 2 watts per gallon
@fishyfishy
1y
Ok thank you!
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Welcome! Is there any writing or logo on it? Can you get a closer picture? It would be pretty important to know what light it is to figure out how strong it is.
It is a 100w Hipargero, but I can’t figure out how to get it on the right settings so I don’t really know what to do.
100w seems like a lot for a 20g tank. You might need to tune it way down once you get corals in. If it's a new tank, it will take a while before you cycle and stabilize enough for corals, tho. Hard to tell the levels without a Par meter. Best is to start low and ramp up the intensity slowly over days/weeks so the corals don't bleach.
Thank you for the info