Current USA Orbit PC Fixtures with Lunar Lights

hughes07

hughes07

Member
Im looking into the world of lighting for corals and such and i came across this lighting setup. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this? Also i was wondering if just with this information if ANYONE could help me answer the question if this would be good to put some zoos, clam, and some other small corals for a 20 gallon saltwater reef.
DESCRIPTIONS
Lights: 2x65W 1-Dual Daylight / 1-Dual Actinic, Lunar Lights: 2, Fans: Yes, Switches: 2, Dimensions: 8.25"x4.5" :help:
 
kaotik

kaotik

Member
i was looking into getting that setup too, but if you have a hood on your tank then there are actually retro kits by the same manuf. in PC that you can get for about $100 cheaper but they only work if you have a hood. If no hood, then I hear that the Orbit is a pretty good setup.
 
hughes07

hughes07

Member
im a bit of a newbie to the world of reef tanks. but i have a hood already on my tank. would this apply to what you are talking about with the hood. could i just take out my freshwater light and just put in the retro kit and what not.
 
doboy

doboy

Member
If you buy an orbit, you won't be able to use your existing hood.
They have fans with vents on either side. I built a hood to accomodate the light.
For a 20 g, the 2X65 fixture puts you at 6.5 watts per gallon. Thats a good amount of light for a lot of critters, but probably not a clam.
If I were to do it over, I'd buy an MH setup. Of course, I bought my setup before I found this board!
Here's a pic of what you would have to do if you wanted to have an Orbit and a hood. I talked to the Manufacturer, and they said my design was fine. They just need ventilation for the fan.
 
sweetreef

sweetreef

Active Member
I had that light at one time it does just fine on zoos and shrooms and some lps and a few lower light clams....
 
hughes07

hughes07

Member
well what kind of specific light would you recommend for clams, zoos, and some other corals. i really want a clam. my top is 24 inches long. so could any please recommend with a light for clams.
 
doboy

doboy

Member
Thanks, that's good to know. My 55 is an older tank, and it's a bit shorter. I think new 55s are 20 inches high, mine is 17.5 high and makes up on depth (front to back).
Hughes07, if you want a pretty clam (crocea, maxima) everyone here will tell you that you are going to need Metal Halide. I want a pretty clam, but I bought my lights before I found this site. So I didn't know any better. If you haven't bought anything yet, do some searches on clams and lighting, and you should get a really good idea of what you will need. From what I understand, the big plus will be that if you have lighting good enough for a clam, you can keep just about anything.
For me, I'm stuck with my lighting for now. So, I bought a homely clam (H. Hippopus). They don't need as much lighting. He's still pretty cool, though.
 
verde_ad

verde_ad

Member
It isn't just light with clams. Lights are a big part, but clams need a very stable and mature system. Unless you are planning on adding some water resevours (sump, refuge) then I don't think a 20 gal tank with halides over the top of it would work. For one thing the temp would be hard to manage, the evaperation woudl be a lot and therefore the salinity would swing drasticaly through out the day. I am not saying it is impossible, but it woudl take some effort, time and $$. JMHO
 
hughes07

hughes07

Member
i would not only have the halide lighting, verde. but also the protein skimmer, canister filter, powerheads, and whatnot. would that still not be efficient. i have asked in another forum if i would need a fuge and a sump. some said no, some said yes. from what i know about a fuge it helps alot of the production of pods and microalgaes, and it helps to lower your nitrites. also it can be used as a shrimp hatchery. i'm not really interesting in that... yet... but if you guys think i should get the fuge just tell me because i'd rather be patient and get ALL the stuff i need before i just throw in a bunch of stuff and hope for the best.
 
sweetreef

sweetreef

Active Member
I dont use a sump,refuge with my system its all in the person if they want one i dont have problems in keeping my water stable..Sumps are used to make more body of water and movement refuge is nice for unwanted critters and helps with the nitrates wich clams filter that out and since i dont have one i try and use carbon once a week..
 
verde_ad

verde_ad

Member
There are many different ways to keep things healthy in your tank. I have seen sweetreef's tank and it is beautiful, so obviously you don't have to have sumps or fuges. The reason I would suggest it, is because with a small tank and halides you will have a high evaporation. I have a 30 gal display that I put a 250 watt hqi over the top of and it had a major evaporation. With a fan temp wasn't a big issue, but I had to add water twice a day to keep the salinity were I wanted it. I added 25 gal of water through fuge and sump, so now I only top off the water every other day. It really just makes life easier and helps with your chances of success.
 
fishamajig

fishamajig

Member
this is a very interesting post for me because i am picking up an orbit pc lighting setup tuesday. Alittle diffrent though I am getting the 60 long fixture 4x 65 w 2 day 2 atinic with lunar lights. I have 2 29 gal next to one another and both are going to be reef. I run on one of them a fluval 304 with allot of bio media and the other a fluval 204 both have rio 90's and about 30 lbs lr each with a 5 inch sand bed. although i do not have corals yet i have 1 tank stocked well and have NO probs with trates. about 15 ppm and i do a water change once a week. I think you can keep a reef without all the so called necessary sumps,fuge, halides. although I have not much experience with corals I feel that with a little attention to detail i can have a nice system. I will be purchasing my first corals at the end of the week. any suggestions? I tried to figure out my lighting and it seems to be 8 1/2 watts per gallon. is this ok?
 
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