Pc lighting

whiti9

whiti9

Member
Is 4 65watt power compact bulbs on a 20 gallon nano overkill?
Are fans always necessary?
Should i have 1 or 2 powerheads?
 
mmslue79

mmslue79

Member
I would say that is not overkill. A fan would help reduce the heat of the 4 PCs though. On my 15g, I have one maxijet 600 powerhead. You could probably get away with one maxijet 900 or 1200 in a 20. Or just do two of the smaller ones. It is up to you really. HTH
 
I

ivanfj

Guest
I have the 600 and the 900 in my 20 and my waterflow is really good.
 
black99l

black99l

Member
that is a lot of watts on a 20, maybe not over kill. if you break it down per gallon; it's 13.00 wpg. I have 9.6 wpg.
 
jugger

jugger

Member
i have 202 over my 20 and i dont think its enough....when i get the money i plan on having 250 MH and 130 PC
 
jugger

jugger

Member
oh and i say 2 power heads....one shooting across the surface and one shooting behind the rock work at the back of the tank
 
whiti9

whiti9

Member
why do you say to put one pointing at the back of the tank?
How can you say that 202 watts isn't enough light?
 
maverick005

maverick005

Member
not pointing at the back, in the back pointing towards the front. to keep deitritus build up to a minimum.
-brandon
 
jugger

jugger

Member
well 202 just seems dark...and the par rating is down for SPS and clams....as far as the PH in the back of the tank...i have one there to help circulate water through the rock work...that helps with stopping dead spots, like MAV said "keep deitritus build up to a minimum" and even filtering better....not pointed at the back of the tank but pointed across the back of the tank
 
whiti9

whiti9

Member
Do you have a pic of your tank jugger? I need to see what you mean. about the tank being "dark". Do you have all atinics on or something?
 
brooklyn johnny

brooklyn johnny

Active Member
Four 65 watters on a 20 is not overkill. I have a 20 gallon hooked up to my 65 gallon and over the 20 is a 250 watt Double Ended halide, with 30 watts additional of normal output actinic.
On my 10 gallon kitchen nano I have 2 36 watt PCs and they do well. Do a search for "kitchen nano" in this thread and you'll see. I also have two powerheads which offers much more benefit than one on my 10 gallon.
Depending on your system fans may not be necessary, but many times are as the system heats up to high during the day.
Most corals love lots of light and as long as they are properly acclimated will enjoy it more. The limiting factor is usually the heat output, or the electric bill on larger tanks:D .
You may want to look into a small metal halide pendant for your system.
Hope that helps...
 
whiti9

whiti9

Member
Johnny i seen your kitchen nano thread a couple days ago. Its a very nice setup. Do you have pictures of all your tanks on here?
Whats gives off more heat? Vho or Pc.
On Pc is there a distance the the bulbs should be kept from the water?
 
brooklyn johnny

brooklyn johnny

Active Member
Thanks. I will be posting pictures of my other systems soon. Regarding heat output, I've used both PC and VHO and to be honest cannot tell a difference. On smaller tanks I've always preferred PC kept very close to the water. Splash to the bulb was never a worry as it was with metal halides, with the only factor limiting how close the PCs are to the water being temperature rise in the system. As the bulb moves away from the water the intensity sharply drops, as was shown in many of Sanjay Joshi's lighting tests. PC and VHO intensity drops even more so that should be taken into account. Hope that helps...
 
whiti9

whiti9

Member
All i have left to do is decide between Vho or PC.
I guess that all i have to do is ask what's best for the coral?
I looked all through this website for the answer, but i didn't find it.
So what is best for the coral? vho or pc (forget about MH)
i heard that pc has a sweet spot????/?
 
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