lighting question. sera tank. please help

[jasman718]

Hey everyone!

I just joined the forum because I am in the process of setting up my first saltwater tank. I picked up a sera precision 16 gallon tank (I live in a small studio) that I found at ***** for a steal. Its just like the biocube but I believe it is a little outdated. Anyway, I plan on putting corals in so I wanted to upgrade my lights. They are pl-18w 10,000k. I tried to do some research about upgraded bulbs but didn't have too much luck. I was wondering if anyone could help me out and recommend a bulb that I could upgrade too which would allow me to get brighter corals and such. I appreciate anything at all. Thanks guys!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jasman718 http:///t/397169/lighting-question-sera-tank-please-help#post_3539138
Hey everyone!

I just joined the forum because I am in the process of setting up my first saltwater tank. I picked up a sera precision 16 gallon tank (I live in a small studio) that I found at ***** for a steal. Its just like the biocube but I believe it is a little outdated. Anyway, I plan on putting corals in so I wanted to upgrade my lights. They are pl-18w 10,000k. I tried to do some research about upgraded bulbs but didn't have too much luck. I was wondering if anyone could help me out and recommend a bulb that I could upgrade too which would allow me to get brighter corals and such. I appreciate anything at all. Thanks guys!


Hi,

Welcome to the site. The corals you select will determine the type of lighting you need. So the light you already have is okay, you don't have to up-grade, you just need to find out which corals you can keep in there. To upgrade you have to replace the light unit itself, not just the bulb. LEDs or metal halides are what you need for all the light hungry corals. MHs get really hot fast and in a tiny tank like the one you have, it isn't the route I suggest you take. The LEDs run cold, but they can be expensive and are neither of them can be sealed in the tank like in a bio cube.

Actually the most colorful beautiful corals (IMO) are the non-photosynthetic ones. They don't need any light requirements at all, but they have other needs, such as high water flow, and lots of coral food, which means lots of water changes to keep things up to snuff. So if you are willing to do the work, you could have an awesome non-photosynthetic reef.

Get this book: I'm including an example page, so you can see the info it offers (click to enlarge) Also a picture of a non-photosynthetic tank so you can see how beautiful it can be.