Nissan new 29 bio cube Diary
- Thread starter nissan577
- Start date
nissan577
Active Member
no. im doing proper water changes. to me the skimmers dont work. they collect to much nutrients. so i just do my 5gallon water changes weekly and im good with that. and none of my good nutrients get collected. everything else go to my mangrove and chaeto in the back of my chamber.
fcatch76
Member
I agree w/ Subie regarding the MH, but everyone has circumstances that hinder some purchases. My problem with doing halides was leaving space between the tank and the light. As it is now the cats are always hanging around the tank, laying on top.... one even blocks the fan vents..
..when she lays up there. A PC is $19.99 at most places to replace and is fairly cheaper to run in electrical cost. Thats a cost you wouldn't have to worry about right now...
.
In a world where my wife and I weren't animal nuts, there probably would be MH's on my tank, but I would also have a 850 gallon by now...
In a world where my wife and I weren't animal nuts, there probably would be MH's on my tank, but I would also have a 850 gallon by now...
rebelprettyboy
Active Member
How much is the PCs?
fcatch76
Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/2827597
yea but what about the 130w? ima be doing 4.48 watts per gallon. and with a MH 150w i will be doing 5.17. so whats the difference?
I just ran the number for my PC upgrade and for 28 gallons (guessing my BC29 holds one gallon in the back) 144 watts divided by 28= 5.14. Unless someone has a better guess at actual water volume, minus rock and such, and my back area is filled almost to the top.
http:///forum/post/2827597
yea but what about the 130w? ima be doing 4.48 watts per gallon. and with a MH 150w i will be doing 5.17. so whats the difference?
I just ran the number for my PC upgrade and for 28 gallons (guessing my BC29 holds one gallon in the back) 144 watts divided by 28= 5.14. Unless someone has a better guess at actual water volume, minus rock and such, and my back area is filled almost to the top.
perfectdark
Active Member
INTENSITY is the difference.. light type is also factor when looking at amounts for certain corals not only wattage. If you had 80 watts of PC lighting over 12" high 10 gal tank you could prob keep any sps you wanted. The reason is, the PC Lights in that amount may very well be intense enough to penetrate the entire tank in enough wattage to support the coral. Your heat index maybe through the roof but it just might work, emphasis on might. Your tank is larger and deeper in height, so you would require a more intense light one that will keep its PAR rating throught the entire height of your tank. HO-T5's and Halides do just that. PC lighting falls off in intensity after only penetrating your water for a few inches. Wattage is only one of 3 factors to look at when determining the correct amount of lighting. HTH.
Your tank is looking great keep it up. There is not much for me to teach you...very clean, I like it..
Your tank is looking great keep it up. There is not much for me to teach you...very clean, I like it..
fcatch76
Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/2827660
thats like having a mh! i think you could keep an sps? can you? i just wanna keep atleast one sps.
Agreed PerfectDark, I have read about the PAR level and as discussed, would prefer MH, but with animals and such it doesn't make sense for me.
To the tank...I have three clams, the stylophora, toadstool and mushrooms, ricordea and a birds nest. So far everything is growing and no bleaching on the clams. Same as the mandarin and his food source, I am trying to be the "exception to the rule" for what you can or cannot do with PC's.
http:///forum/post/2827660
thats like having a mh! i think you could keep an sps? can you? i just wanna keep atleast one sps.
Agreed PerfectDark, I have read about the PAR level and as discussed, would prefer MH, but with animals and such it doesn't make sense for me.
To the tank...I have three clams, the stylophora, toadstool and mushrooms, ricordea and a birds nest. So far everything is growing and no bleaching on the clams. Same as the mandarin and his food source, I am trying to be the "exception to the rule" for what you can or cannot do with PC's.
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by fcatch76
http:///forum/post/2828080
Agreed PerfectDark, I have read about the PAR level and as discussed, would prefer MH, but with animals and such it doesn't make sense for me.
To the tank...I have three clams, the stylophora, toadstool and mushrooms, ricordea and a birds nest. So far everything is growing and no bleaching on the clams. Same as the mandarin and his food source, I am trying to be the "exception to the rule" for what you can or cannot do with PC's.
You need not concern yourself with water volume. Tank height is whats important, no matter how much water is there. PC lights major fault is the inability to utilize its available light efficiently. There is a lot of wasted light that never makes it to your inhabitants. While the wattage of the lights maybe strong enough there is wasted energy because it is an inefficient bulb... ie heat... and poor reflectivity makes them a very very poor choice for higher light demanding animals. The line drawn on weather they will or will not work for certain inverts is thick. Your clams very well maybe ok under them, no doubt. But, the issue will be are they as vibrant as they should be, and that doesnt mean bleaching. Any coral under marginal lighting stand a chance of surviving however, they may not look as they should... lack of color, to more severe cases... bleaching. Just food for thought. I am not saying what you are trying wont work for you, I am just letting you know of what the potential hazards could be. Good luck.
http:///forum/post/2828080
Agreed PerfectDark, I have read about the PAR level and as discussed, would prefer MH, but with animals and such it doesn't make sense for me.
To the tank...I have three clams, the stylophora, toadstool and mushrooms, ricordea and a birds nest. So far everything is growing and no bleaching on the clams. Same as the mandarin and his food source, I am trying to be the "exception to the rule" for what you can or cannot do with PC's.
You need not concern yourself with water volume. Tank height is whats important, no matter how much water is there. PC lights major fault is the inability to utilize its available light efficiently. There is a lot of wasted light that never makes it to your inhabitants. While the wattage of the lights maybe strong enough there is wasted energy because it is an inefficient bulb... ie heat... and poor reflectivity makes them a very very poor choice for higher light demanding animals. The line drawn on weather they will or will not work for certain inverts is thick. Your clams very well maybe ok under them, no doubt. But, the issue will be are they as vibrant as they should be, and that doesnt mean bleaching. Any coral under marginal lighting stand a chance of surviving however, they may not look as they should... lack of color, to more severe cases... bleaching. Just food for thought. I am not saying what you are trying wont work for you, I am just letting you know of what the potential hazards could be. Good luck.
nissan577
Active Member
Originally Posted by fcatch76
http:///forum/post/2828313
I say again, I agree with you. I knew this going into it, so whatever needed to get the intense light stays close to the water surface.
I too need more intense light, say St. Thomas or the Bahamas..
.
Oh and sorry Nissan, I apologize for taken over your light discussion.
dont worry fcatch its ok
if you have a question you can ask i dont mind at all. thanks Perfectdark and Fcatch i got what you guys mean!
you people are great help!
so your saying if i wanna keep a sps i should have it more towards the surface? the light is gonna be i believe 3-4inches above the water surface.
http:///forum/post/2828313
I say again, I agree with you. I knew this going into it, so whatever needed to get the intense light stays close to the water surface.
I too need more intense light, say St. Thomas or the Bahamas..
Oh and sorry Nissan, I apologize for taken over your light discussion.
dont worry fcatch its ok
so your saying if i wanna keep a sps i should have it more towards the surface? the light is gonna be i believe 3-4inches above the water surface.
fcatch76
Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/2828441
dont worry fcatch its ok
if you have a question you can ask i dont mind at all. thanks Perfectdark and Fcatch i got what you guys mean!
you people are great help!
so your saying if i wanna keep a sps i should have it more towards the surface? the light is gonna be i believe 3-4inches above the water surface.
if you can only go with pcs lighting, my opinion is get it close to the top. Look at my latest tank shots and you will see the clams, birds nest and stylo as high as I can go (keeping function and aesthetics in mind). If you do MH's you will have a more liberal approach to placement.
http:///forum/post/2828441
dont worry fcatch its ok
so your saying if i wanna keep a sps i should have it more towards the surface? the light is gonna be i believe 3-4inches above the water surface.
if you can only go with pcs lighting, my opinion is get it close to the top. Look at my latest tank shots and you will see the clams, birds nest and stylo as high as I can go (keeping function and aesthetics in mind). If you do MH's you will have a more liberal approach to placement.
perfectdark
Active Member
There is really no way to prove it to you, other than telling you about the experiences we have all had or read about. Thats the beauty of learning through other peoples experiments and mistakes, other than going about it on your own and finding out. Your next step would be to buy a par meter and measure the intensity of the light at the depth all depths of your tank, and then compare it to a set up with t-5's and metal halides.