Little bit of Light..

ryanpaul

Member
I have a 14 gallon Nano tank, And must admit, lighting has me just a little bit lost. The tank was started originally as a FOWLR, but now I have played with the idea of in time making it a nano reef.
Currently the light on it is a standard 20" T8 Hood, from what i've read T5 bulbs seem like the best choice without completely replacing the setup and buying a new hood, I just have a few questions about them...
Do T5 need a special ballast? or is it just a regular T8 ballast with a smaller Socket for the bulbs?
Can a T8 hood be converted to a T5 hood?
For the T5 how many and what kind of bulbs would be best for a 14 gallon tank? (same footprint as a 10)
Would there be any way to modify my current hood with new "sockets", aluminum sheeting for reflectors and a bit of work to fit two T5s instead of just the T8?
 

ryanpaul

Member
Not sure If Its cool to do here or not, if not sorry, but just bumping my post.
Any answers would be great.
 

salt210

Active Member
what are the dimensions of the tank? I dont know them right off hand. a T5 fixture with 2 bulbs would probably work for you. i believe nova has one thats either 15-18"
 

ryanpaul

Member
Dimensions are 20" wide x 10" deep x 18" tall, I plugged it into a dimension calculator and actually got about 15 gallons.
Thanks for the suggestion, I did find a 18" T5 Hood on the market...
The USA Nova Extreme 2x18 watt T5 HO.
Looks like a good light, priced between $60 to $70, I may look around to see if I can find it or one similar closer to the budget I'd like to stick with..
Though would still be interested in converting the regular T8 hood, depending on what has to be replaced.
 

salt210

Active Member
sorry, I used to know a lot of different sites for lighting but I took a break from looking at stuff online and forgot them all
 

ryanpaul

Member
Haha.. Yeah.. Not so sure about a $270 light..
Out of curiosity, The type of corals I was leaning toward are some of the more hardy, less expensive, more beginner species, Mainly looking at Ricordea florida, Zooanthids, Discosoma neglecta, and possibly Sarcophytons, Though not necessarily all of them, Are there any T8 bulbs I could put in my fixture that would provide adequate lighting For these corals?
Any two T8's I could use? I do have a few extra T8 fixtures lying around, I could replace the plastic lid with glass window with an all glass lid and fit another light on top of the tank.
 

salt210

Active Member
you could try. start with the zoos and work your way up. you could also look at PC setups. the tank depth might allow you to do that
 

ryanpaul

Member
I did briefly look into Power Compacts, But what from I saw and read Price Didn't seem to be much better then The T5's And The T5's seemed much more recommended.
Cheapest reliable PC fixture I found online was about $50, the Coralife 20" Aqualight Power Compact Strip Light- 1X28Watt
Any opinions on Which is the better bang for your buck?
The T5 Has 36 watts to the PCs 28, But like you said, since the tank's not very deep a PC may be adequate.
The current light on the tank is just the T8, And I definitely need a new bulb in there, (currently a zoo med Tropic Sun I had laying around since my 8000K burned out) The ***** I work at (Yeah I know.. *****.. Hate me.. Sometimes I do..)
We sell Zoo Med bulbs, the 10000K, the Actinic and the 50/50, each go for somewhere around $16-18..
So I figure, Adding another T-8 would run me maybe $35 for an all glass lid and two new bulbs.
Don't suppose anyone's has any experience using just a single T8? Think it would be enough light to support different colors of zoos?..
 

chilwil84

Active Member
regular t8s dont put out enough of the right light to support coral in the longterm. some lfs might get away with it if they sell there stuff fast enough. t5s have more power than pc last longer and are cheaper no reason to even look at a pc fixture.
 

salt210

Active Member
the price of the T5 will be a lot better in the end. the bulbs will last a lot longer than anything else you might want and when you go to buy new ones they shouldnt cost that much. it really comes down to you. I personally would just buy the T5
 
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