Quick question about lighting...

kingtriton

kingtriton

Member
I was at my LFS just moments ago, and saw a Coralife quad 96 watt compact fluorescent light and hood for sale....My question is do you think 96 watts is overkill for a 10 gallon (20 inch long) nano? Will I fry coral or if not fry them have them growing so much they will be spewing out the sides? (not really but ya know what I mean lol)....thanks for any responses!!
 
dcasey46

dcasey46

Member
Lets just say that its a 100 watt lighting system. Thats about 10 watts per gallon which is good. My 12 g gets about 12.5 watts per gallon (have a 150 watt viper MH on it). I would say you should be ok, just might have a little bit of a heating issue.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
the lights are different from pc and MH. the MH are really bright. its not the same as in having a 10g tank with 150w mh and a 10g with 150w Power compacts.
example if you were to have sps in both tank. the one with the MH will be doing great and amazing! and one with pc might be losing te color.
so its a kill as in heat and water evap. but if your able to keep it low and know were to place the corals then your good
 
kingtriton

kingtriton

Member
Originally Posted by DCasey46
http:///forum/post/3130458
Lets just say that its a 100 watt lighting system. Thats about 10 watts per gallon which is good. My 12 g gets about 12.5 watts per gallon (have a 150 watt viper MH on it). I would say you should be ok, just might have a little bit of a heating issue.

OK I appreciate the fast response, yeah the guy at a different LFS kept telling me not to go rush out and buy bulbs because he "knows I would damage coral if I bought too much lighting" I was really looking for just 40 watts (and that LFS owner tried talking me out of even putting 40 watts in the tank)...then I went to a different LFS and that's when I ran into the 96 watt PC setup.....so I will go with that setup then...thanks again
 
kingtriton

kingtriton

Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/3130460
the lights are different from pc and MH. the MH are really bright. its not the same as in having a 10g tank with 150w mh and a 10g with 150w Power compacts.
example if you were to have sps in both tank. the one with the MH will be doing great and amazing! and one with pc might be losing te color.
so its a kill as in heat and water evap. but if your able to keep it low and know were to place the corals then your good

so what if I don't use a heater and use the lights to heat the water? Is that possible? I know I will be checking anyways for evap and whatnot...but maybe skip putting a heater in all together at least until I can see what the water temps are with just light alone? This is my first nano btw...my big tank I know all about but the nano Im not to sure
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
you will still need a heater at night time. your lights will be off. but if your able to keep a heater and have fans everywere to keep your tank at 76-78 all the time. even 80 degrees then you are ok.
 
J

jetskiking

Guest
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/3130460
the lights are different from pc and MH. the MH are really bright. its not the same as in having a 10g tank with 150w mh and a 10g with 150w Power compacts.
example if you were to have sps in both tank. the one with the MH will be doing great and amazing! and one with pc might be losing te color.
so its a kill as in heat and water evap. but if your able to keep it low and know were to place the corals then your good

Very good example and once again proves the point that WATTS means nothing. Watts is a measure of usage not output. With a reef tank its about quality of light not just quantity.
 
kingtriton

kingtriton

Member
Originally Posted by jetskiking
http:///forum/post/3130470
Very good example and once again proves the point that WATTS means nothing. Watts is a measure of usage not output. With a reef tank its about quality of light not just quantity.
yeah thanks for the info on this....ok so honestly what sort of corals would be best for the nano using that light setup....Im not trying to go MHs...this is just a small tank for my daughter and to put in the living room...so I'm trying to go as inexpensive as possible...the PC lighting I saw was 100 bucks at the lfs. Maybe SPS and Zoas? think any sort of LPS would survive and THRIVE under this lighting?
 
J

jetskiking

Guest
Originally Posted by KingTriton
http:///forum/post/3130477
yeah thanks for the info on this....ok so honestly what sort of corals would be best for the nano using that light setup....Im not trying to go MHs...this is just a small tank for my daughter and to put in the living room...so I'm trying to go as inexpensive as possible...the PC lighting I saw was 100 bucks at the lfs. Maybe SPS and Zoas? think any sort of LPS would survive and THRIVE under this lighting?
The softies and LPS will do good most likely, but you will not have a lot of success in the SPS department.
 
kingtriton

kingtriton

Member
Originally Posted by jetskiking
http:///forum/post/3130486
The softies and LPS will do good most likely, but you will not have a lot of success in the SPS department.
ok thanks again...one more quick question...I went to Lowes hardware before the LFS just checking out bulbs there and I found these MH bulbs...do you think those are any good? Would they sustain coral life? Again I'm just not trying to get into the 2-300 dollar range for lighting this 10 gallon...these are about 17 dollars each
Lithonia Lighting 100 Watt Metal Halide Bulb
 
fraggle rock

fraggle rock

Member
cant tell much from a picture, MH represenst a wide range of gas lamps, MSR/MSD, Mercury Vapor( which is really just a synonym for metal Halide. MH bulbs differ in the gas and inert element conents to give different color temp ratings. Generally speaking between 10 and 20 K without more infor on the bulb we could tell you if it would work.
 
kingtriton

kingtriton

Member
Originally Posted by fraggle rock
http:///forum/post/3130491
cant tell much from a picture, MH represenst a wide range of gas lamps, MSR/MSD, Mercury Vapor( which is really just a synonym for metal Halide. MH bulbs differ in the gas and inert element conents to give different color temp ratings. Generally speaking between 10 and 20 K without more infor on the bulb we could tell you if it would work.
hrmm ok, I will try and find more info out on the bulb...thanks!
 
fraggle rock

fraggle rock

Member
That bulb may work but it could be very blue, which is good for viewing but not as good for growth. It may also not have the beat PAR, since it is really a comercial grade bulb to light say a driveway or parking lot, not a tank.
 
J

jetskiking

Guest
Originally Posted by calbert0
http:///forum/post/3132480
my sps does emaculate under 3 x 65watt sunpaq power compact bulbs in a 29 gallon!
What SPS do you keep and how long have you had them?
 
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