Another lighting question, but please respond...

[the.anemone]

hey everyone,
i have been to numerous sites asking this question with no definate answer. well here it is....

i have a 29gallon tank that has been up and running for about 2 years. they only thing that is left in my tank, and has been for about a month now is some blue legged crabs, along with some liverock that doesn't look alive at all. i have never had problems with phosphate or calcium. i test my water frequently and it is fine, it just isn't visually pleasing at all. so i have decided to get some corals and polyps, which i have never kept before. My current lighting is a 55watt power compact. what i want to do is get some polyps and have them spread over my liverock, along with some corals that will add color. how much lighting should i get? i am think 2 65W power compacts. is that enough? someone said that it would cause too much alage and that 55watts is enough...what do you gusy think? also my liverock looks dead...can it be? my water has always been good... could it just be a lack of fish and other bacteria? thanks sooooo much.

[SaltyDawg]

Hey I'm new to this board and am looking to start a reef tank myself. I have been told that you need at least 3-4 watts of light per gallon of water. I could be wrong. I'm sure there are as many thoughts on this as there are salt water tanks. :-) I guess the way to check on your LR is to look at it in the middle of the night with a flashlight and see if there are any little critters crawling on it. Did the rock have any coraleen algae on it when you bought it? If there was not any on it, I doubt it would grow without having something to start it. I have LR and some store bought bleached coral in my tank. The coral has been in for 2 years along with the rock and it's covered in Coraleen Algae. And I am using standard floresent light with a 20k and 100% Actenic. 24 inch tubes. So the light you have now is more than enough for the live rock, but not for coral. Along with light your water quality needs to be near perfect. Good luck and welcome to the boards.
Wayne

[Zack]

Hey
If you plan to keep just plyps and soft corals, i think 2 65 watt PC would be a good idea. this gives you enough light to have some of the more light depntent SOFT corals. If you change your bulbs as reccomended your alage will be kept under control.