Coral Frag Tank Lighting

larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
as the title says, i have have 20 long tank to be used for a frag tank.
being so shallow what should i use for lighting. i'm gonna grow zoos, mushrooms, leathers to start maybe sps down the road. What is the best option, pc - mh - or t5? and watts?
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
I'd use a 150 or even 175w halide pendant.
The reason why I suggest halides is because of the SPS. With a grow tank, you aren't just trying to keep them alive, you're trying to force fast growth. The intensity of a halide is hard to beat for that.
 
isistius

isistius

Active Member
you can also go with a nice t5 system like a tek or aquactinics(my favorite). just make sure they have individual relectors
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
I'd use a 150 or even 175w halide pendant.
The reason why I suggest halides is because of the SPS. With a grow tank, you aren't just trying to keep them alive, you're trying to force fast growth. The intensity of a halide is hard to beat for that.
Thanks.
I am going to start with some zoos and mushrooms, corals like that. The halides won't be to strong with they? I don't want to have to upgrade lighting later on. I was thinking about just a jbj viper 70 or 150, anythoughts on that?
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Originally Posted by Isistius
you can also go with a nice t5 system like a tek or aquactinics(my favorite). just make sure they have individual relectors
yeah, i was thinking either halides or t5s.
 
mojo46825

mojo46825

Member
I havent heard anything good about the viper. All the people from the nano saction that had them wish they had gotten a sunpod. Now I havent hada nano in a while but thought I would let ya know what i found. And you can probably geta mh pendant used pretty cheap.
 
coraljunky

coraljunky

Active Member
When it comes to growth, light intensity is essential. I use 3-175w mh over 3-20g tanks. Each tank is devoted to lps, sps, and softies. All seem to thrive!
Hope this helps.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by mojo46825
I havent heard anything good about the viper. All the people from the nano saction that had them wish they had gotten a sunpod. Now I havent hada nano in a while but thought I would let ya know what i found. And you can probably geta mh pendant used pretty cheap.
Hear it now.
I have the Viper 150 on my nano and it's worked very well for me.
I'm with CoralJunky. Light intensity is the #1 goal with grow tanks. Some folks even run them 24x7 to force growth.
For mushrooms, the light may be a bit much. What you can do here is cover part of the tank with eggcrate and some window screen to partially obscure the light. That will be wasteful, but this way you have the most flexibility.
 
cpbirds407

cpbirds407

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
Hear it now.
I have the Viper 150 on my nano and it's worked very well for me.
I'm with CoralJunky. Light intensity is the #1 goal with grow tanks. Some folks even run them 24x7 to force growth.
For mushrooms, the light may be a bit much. What you can do here is cover part of the tank with eggcrate and some window screen to partially obscure the light. That will be wasteful, but this way you have the most flexibility.
Ha. So If you run the MH 24x7 wouldn't this bleach the corals with too much light? Or are they gonna be ok? I'm asking because i wanted to do a frag tank as well.
Let me know. Thanks!
 
coraljunky

coraljunky

Active Member
Originally Posted by cpbirds407
Ha. So If you run the MH 24x7 wouldn't this bleach the corals with too much light? Or are they gonna be ok? I'm asking because i wanted to do a frag tank as well.
Let me know. Thanks!
Mine run 14hrs/day
 
cpbirds407

cpbirds407

Member
Originally Posted by coraljunky
Mine run 14hrs/day
How fast do your corals grow in the frag tank? Do you have a pic? I would love to see one. Thanks!
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by cpbirds407
Ha. So If you run the MH 24x7 wouldn't this bleach the corals with too much light? Or are they gonna be ok? I'm asking because i wanted to do a frag tank as well.
Let me know. Thanks!
Well I don't know, I haven't actually done it, like I said, I've only heard of people doing it.
Honestly in my estimation, it wouldn't have any negative effects other than continuous heating of the water, and the technical problems of running halides 24x7. There is anecdotal reports of halide lamps exploding when run continously for extended periods of time. Supposedly a simple 1 hour power down per day is enough to thwart this.
 
cpbirds407

cpbirds407

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
Well I don't know, I haven't actually done it, like I said, I've only heard of people doing it.
Honestly in my estimation, it wouldn't have any negative effects other than continuous heating of the water, and the technical problems of running halides 24x7. There is anecdotal reports of halide lamps exploding when run continously for extended periods of time. Supposedly a simple 1 hour power down per day is enough to thwart this.
Ok. Makes sense but...the health of the coral? I know my mushrooms and my leathers shrink if I leave the lights on for a long time. thats when I didn't have timers. ( when i first started)
 
cpbirds407

cpbirds407

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
Well I don't know, I haven't actually done it, like I said, I've only heard of people doing it.
Honestly in my estimation, it wouldn't have any negative effects other than continuous heating of the water, and the technical problems of running halides 24x7. There is anecdotal reports of halide lamps exploding when run continously for extended periods of time. Supposedly a simple 1 hour power down per day is enough to thwart this.
Ok. Makes sense but...the health of the coral? I know my mushrooms and my leathers shrink if I leave the lights on for a long time. thats when I didn't have timers. ( when i first started)
 
cpbirds407

cpbirds407

Member
Originally Posted by coraljunky
I'll go take some new update now and post in a few minutes.
Minutes in orlando consist of 60 seconds each! LOL
 
grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
i just finished completeting my canopy for my 20L frag tank.
i have 2-75w VHO's (10K,12K), a 70w halide (10K) for my lights. also added lunar lights and two fans. one to blow air in, and one to blow out. heres a pic of the inside of the canopy with the lite off.
 
coraljunky

coraljunky

Active Member
Originally Posted by cpbirds407
Minutes in orlando consist of 60 seconds each! LOL

My wife took the camera and is away until Saturday night
. I had to charge to old dinosaur camera. I promise. I'll post when I get home from work today.
 
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