Help with my Lighting!
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
Forum Description: This is the place to ask question about reef equipment.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=28745
Printed Date: May 16 2025 at 10:52pm
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Topic: Help with my Lighting!
Posted By: Izzy
Subject: Help with my Lighting!
Date Posted: October 19 2008 at 3:52pm
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I'm a bit of a noob, but have had my tank for about 2 years, I've been reading and researching quite a bit, but am getting overwhelmed and confused on what lighting would be best for my situation. I have a 20G Nano, that is roughly 16x16x16, so it's not the largest tank by any means. I'm currently using PC lighting that are setup under my hood (my tank runs hot in the Summer months, due to the hood I'm assuming (no fan currently). My ultimate goal is to have an inexpensive setup that will grow coral and allow for more options than PC lighting, but to remain cost-efficient. I initially and have been looking at the 20" SunPod 150W MH setups as they're complete and are about the maximum I'd want to spend on lighting...$150ish (used). I'm now realizing that in my small tank, I can run a decent T5 Fixture (same style that will rest on the top of my aquarium and should have less heat compared to my current setup), but am unsure of the amount of actual wattage I'd want to have softies, LPS, and maybe a clam or occasional SPS. I'm leaning towards T5 as it seems less inexpensive and for my purposes should be sufficient (I don't plan on upgrading my tank anytime soon). The downside is the majority of the T5 kits are 24", which means I'd have 4" of overhang on each side of my tank...would this look ridiculous/not good? Very quickly, here are some links to items I've looked at but haven't done a great amount of research on, so maybe you can point me in the right direction... http://www.marineandreef.com/Nova_Extreme_T5_Aquarium_Lighting_Current_USA_p/rcu01136.htm http://fishneedit.com/new-light.html http://fishneedit.com/t5ho-24quot-2-lamp-aquarium-l.html http://www.petmountain.com/product/light-fixtures/512404/current-usa-nova-extreme-t5ho-x2-10k-460nm-actinic-saltwater.html Thanks in advance everyone! ------------- Murray, UT |
Replies:
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: October 19 2008 at 4:29pm
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First off there is a big difference in lighting requirements for softies and LPS vs SPS and Clams. SPS and clams are very demanding for light where softies and LPS do fine under PCs. T5HO would be a great way to go including clams and SPS but I do think it would look funny with 4" overhang on each side and a waste of light too. Maybe it's time to upgrade to a 24" long tank. I do know there will be a couple 24" T5HO pendants available here soon!
Mike -------------  |
Posted By: Izzy
Date Posted: October 19 2008 at 4:53pm
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Mike- Thanks for the reply. As I'm researching more and more, there is actually an 18" model, which is perfect. The issue from reading on other forums, is that DrsFoster hasn't been shipping the right model and is shipping the previous non-SLR (individual reflectors) models. If I can get the SLR model in 18", which is obviously a perfect fit, I think this might be the route that I'm going to go. Here's the actual link for reference: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+16770&pcatid=16770 - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+16770&pcatid=16770 My question is this...what kind of coral can I expect to maintain/grow using 40W of T5 lighting? I think I've come to the conclusion (unless someone can give me a good reason not to go this route) that this is the best for me because it's not expensive...$63. It will produce less heat than my current PC setup and eliminates the need for my canopy. Also, the lighting should allow more growth and more options in terms of corals. Please correct me if I'm off... Thanks! ------------- Murray, UT |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: October 19 2008 at 5:31pm
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Looks good! Let us know how it works for you. I would say it will be fine for softies and some LPS.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: snoyce
Date Posted: October 20 2008 at 12:01pm
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from what I have read, mostly on reef central, the advatage to T5's is mostly in having individual reflectors with good bulbs. the problem with your size constraints is from what I can tell the good fixtures, ATI, Tek, aquactrinics, etc are 24" for the smallest, I think this is mostly because the good bulb's, ie. UVL, ATI, Geisemann do not come in less that 24". I do not think if would be enough of a upgrade of light to be worth the cost with only 2 bulbs and they are current bulbs which do not have very good PAR numbers. unless you were going to fit two on your tank? with the 4 bulbs or 80 watts you probably would have enough light to try SPS or a clam up high and it would be an improvement over the PC's. I would probably either look at MH or get the best PC bulbs you can and mod the hood with some fans to help with the heat.
but thats just my opinion, from another noob, who runs 24" T5HO retro with icecap SLR on a 29 gallon
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Posted By: Izzy
Date Posted: October 20 2008 at 4:29pm
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Great post...what you said it's what I've concluded. Right now the 18" is the only size that will fit my tank and that's affordable. The whole reason I started looking into this is that it's time to replace my current SunPaq PC lights (great retro kit BTW) and figured if I could upgrade and get better coral growth for a small amount of money more, I might as well do it. My biggest constraint is definitely the width of my tank, which is only 16". 20" is the biggest I'd want to go, but am going back and forth between T5 and MH. What I need to figure out, is how to hang a pendant from my setup and then I'd be sold. My ceiling about my tank is vaulted and is over 12' so ceiling hanging is out of the question. Ah...dilemma for sure. ------------- Murray, UT |