metal halide for 10g??

keith1569

keith1569

New Member
Hey guys, I am wanting to make my 10gallon tank into a reef tank. Currently I have a Purpleback Pseudochromis and a goby. I am thinkin of gettin one of 2 of the mini reef packages from ***********. The packages i was thinkin about getting were Nano Soft Coral Pack or mushroom pack, or Polyp pack. Do you guys think a 14k 75w metal halide will be sufficent or would i need a 150 WATT 14K HQI one? Another option i was thinking is the Sunpod HQI setups.
thanks
keith
 
fishyfrenzy

fishyfrenzy

Member
150 watts on a 10 gallon tank?
lol.
It's not an microwave.
Use a different type of light, I use power compacts on my 10 gallon.
They aren't the best choice though.
But, You could use a viper.
Look around, you'll find one.
Viper metal halide clamp on fixture.
 
o2ngk

o2ngk

Member
If you are going to have only soft corals, you may not need MH. If you still insist to use 75W MH on your 10G, you will need a chiller for sure.
 
petjunkie

petjunkie

Active Member
My 70 watt sunpod over my 12 gallon aquapod ran two degrees cooler than the 96 watt pc over a 10 gallon. 70 or 150 watts would be fine, especially if you got a pendant where you could raise it up a little higher and add a fan over the tank if neccessary. For polyps and mushrooms powercompacts will do just fine, halides will make them look better. Here's a old pic of my ten gallon and one of the 12, ten is no longer running though.
Ten gallon:

Aquapod:

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what can be kept under different lighting options and how they look.
 
meleerock

meleerock

Member
i have the sunpod 70 on my 14 gallon and think it is the perfect amount of light. It gives off a great color and all my corals LOVE it! If you go with a 150 watt it might be a little too much for zoas and shrooms. If you go with a more light demanding corals make sure to keep an eye on your calcium and alk. as they tend to eat it up pretty quickly.
 
keith1569

keith1569

New Member
petjunkie--thanks man that helps a lot..i am sold now lol..im gonna order the 70w one..sweetness
thanks to all those who have helped also..
 
petjunkie

petjunkie

Active Member
Your welcome, but I'm a girl, lol. You'll love the light, at least until you upgrade which always seems to happen to me at least.
 
nietzsche

nietzsche

Active Member
i have yerboy's 70w viper on my 10g, for my biocube im going to get a 150w pfo minipendant with a ballast. i really dont think 150w is overkill, ive seen people have a 250w above a 10g. but if you just want to keep small stuff like lps and some zoas or something, 70 would be good.
id go with a sunpod if you want 70w on your tank
 
keith1569

keith1569

New Member
petjunkie--haha ok..i say man to everyone lol
nietsche--ok cool man..ya i wont be using the minpendant so that is why prob the 70 is better for me..
also any tips in terms of good products for the corals? i have not looked to much yet into the necessary items for them yet..
thanks
keith
 
yerboy

yerboy

Active Member
Originally Posted by nietzsche
i have yerboy's 70w viper on my 10g, for my biocube im going to get a 150w pfo minipendant with a ballast. i really dont think 150w is overkill, ive seen people have a 250w above a 10g. but if you just want to keep small stuff like lps and some zoas or something, 70 would be good.
id go with a sunpod if you want 70w on your tank
hows that tank doing with that light on it btw?
 
o2ngk

o2ngk

Member
Originally Posted by yerboy
i had the 70W viper over my 5.5 gallon and didnt need a chiller.
You may be right, but not knowing the set up details such as how high the MH from the tank, room temp, placement, etc is kinda hard to give the exact advice.
I do know one thing: the original post is from a guy who live in CA. I live in SoCal and during summer season temp could raise on average over 90 degree. If I don't run AC during summer season, my tank temp could raise to 80 degree even without any light turned on. So if I add any kind of light with no fan or chiller, it will be too hot.
 
yerboy

yerboy

Active Member
Originally Posted by o2ngk
If you are going to have only soft corals, you may not need MH. If you still insist to use 75W MH on your 10G, you will need a chiller for sure.

Originally Posted by o2ngk
You may be right, but not knowing the set up details such as how high the MH from the tank, room temp, placement, etc is kinda hard to give the exact advice.
I was only saying it was possible to run mh on his tank without a chiller
 
nietzsche

nietzsche

Active Member
Originally Posted by yerboy
hows that tank doing with that light on it btw?
hey sorry i didnt catch the post until right now, everythings growing great and pretty fast. the bulb makes things look yellow though. im supposed to be selling the tank with the light to a friend and setup my 14g instead
 
groupergenius

groupergenius

Active Member
I have a Sunpod 150 on my 15 tall tank. I tried to get the 70 but they no longer made them. I have a fan next to the tank on the same timer as the light to keep it cool and works very effective. IMHO the light is too much for the softies like shrooms and rics. My SPS and LPS love it though.
 
meleerock

meleerock

Member
Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
I have a Sunpod 150 on my 15 tall tank. I tried to get the 70 but they no longer made them. I have a fan next to the tank on the same timer as the light to keep it cool and works very effective. IMHO the light is too much for the softies like shrooms and rics. My SPS and LPS love it though.
Thats odd.... I just got my 70w about 2 weeks ago...
 
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