35g lighting

saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
hey all does my 35g hex fit in the nano category? i hope so , dont flame me if not hahaha
anyway i just got the coralife aqualight clip on MH (14k, 150w HQI) for it, and when i asked the guy at the LFS (i did not buy it from them, but he usually knows what he is talking about) he said that that would be all i would need.... as in, not needing actinic bulbs..
now im no physicist or anything but i set it up last night and the tank is super bright, but whitish yellow. doesnt the coral need the 420nm actinic blue even if the MH is really strong?
if so, what would be a good suggestion to get? the rim of the hex is getting very crowded with clip ons , skimmer, etc etc, and is only 20" from point to point, so i would need an 18" or 11" PC set, i assume? any suggestions?
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
well the watt / gallon 'rule of thumb' doesnt really apply any more, wattage is really a measure of how much the light will penetrate the water depthwise.
the point is, i dont have an actinic bulb to accompany the MH, and was told i wouldnt need it, but i am second guessing that now. dont i need one to sustain coral ?
 
shiby1510

shiby1510

Member
There really isn't a need with your 14k bulb unless you don't like the color because you do have some actinic in your 14k... if you added more it would just be for your preference on how blue you want the tank to be....
If you would like the tank with more of an actinic tint to it I have a few suggestions for you..
1. Buy a 20k bulb to replace the 14k.
2. Buy actinic supp lights such as... power compacts or T5's.
3. Mod your fixture and add in a few actinic led lights.
I think number 3 would be your best bet for a few reasons. For the first suggestion the 20k bulb may make you feel that it is too blue.. because these suckers are ver very deep blue... but if that is the color you are looking for go that route... The second you said you don't have much room... esp. if this all isn't in a canopy it will look very crowded.. not to mention you are adding more watts to your electrical bill.... I think the 3rd is your best bet because you can add or take away some of the led's and make it the color you would like not to mention they are very small and take up no energy and do not heat up... I would suggest modding your hood or mh fixture and just adding a few led's in there instead of buying a strip of so callled moonlights.
good luck
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
ok so the the only point of adding the actinics would be to make the tank bluer in color, and does not affect coral growth?
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
The actinics are not a necessity when you have metal halide; it is more for the viewing pleasure of the owner.
As previously said, it is a matter of preference on your options. I personally love the color corals produce from 20,000 K bulbs, even though you do not experience the rapid growth that you do with 10,000 K, I feel the color is worth it.
You will have to experiment and see what you like the best!
:joy:
 
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