Lighting upgrade help please

m/0(*.*)0

Member
OK.. I just had a quick question - right now I have 30 watts of PC over my 12gal cube (14.8in high).. There is a store online that has a nano cube retrofit - Will Run 28W, 32W, 36W, 55W square pin bulbs for $24..
My first question is - would the 25 extra watts be worth the upgrade? Would I be able to confidently keep SPS, clams? I guess that would be like 5.5w/gal, but I dont really understand how depth plays into that.
I currently have:
shrooms
zoos
GSP
Bubble coral
leather
frogspawn
sun coral (doing real well by the way)
My second question is - what sort of bulb should I get with it? Here is what is available -
55/65w 10,000k crisp white
55/65w 6,700k warm tropical
55/65w Actinic 03
55/65w 50/50 10k/Act03
55/65w Blue 7100k
Any of these put out more or less heat? I already have a +1.5 roughly flux in temp if I dont leave the front lid open
Any help here is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 

say

Member
when you find out this question, please let me know. I want to have the best lighting that I can have for my 12 gal nano dx also.
 

sharkboy97

Member
i dought the clams they need metal halide
and i personally like the look of atnic, but spectrum is more personal prefrence i belive
 

smoothounds

Member
In all honesty if you wanted a light to not only keep SPS alive but allow them the chance to thrive(assuming you keep up with your water quality) I would undoubtable go with an AquaMedic 150w 20k HQI hanging pendant. I ran a 14k 70watt metal halide over my 12 DX and it wasnt that impressive. If I did it all over again I'd defintely go 150w.
Below is a pic of the light I made for my DX with the 70watt bulb.
 
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