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Lighting question

I

imperial422

I 29 gallon currently running - Aquarium dimensions 30"L x 12"W x 18"H

t5 24W 2 10,000k ultra daylight and 2 460 nm actinic
also
2 50/50 65 watt power compacts
In custom canopy

or should I just chance arrangement in bulbs maybe 4 10k and 2 PC actinic any sugestions

I like to blue coloring in the tank that why I wanted to switch over to MH

I wanted to know if this is enough lighting for LPS, SPS or even clams

If not I'm thinking of switching over to Metal Halides

what would you guys suggest ??

do you thing a hang on fixture how many watts 150-175-250 ??

what kind of setup ??

does anyone have a setup for sale ??

Right now I only have shrooms and zoas in the tank
 
mynd

mynd

When figuring out lighting here is the calculation I suggest.

Total volume of water / lighting wattage ( without actinics )

If you have 2 24watt bulbs at 10k you still only have 24 watts and same applies to the PC at 65 watts, so in total you have like 99 watts divided by 30gallons of water. So basically you are getting 3 watts per gallon. Now keep in mind that the lights you have are not going to make it down to the bottom of the tank.. So.. without going into dead air and all that other stuff.

Get some halides.. 14k phoenix bulb and if you can spend the money I suggest the 24" coralife pro. It has dual 65watt 03 actinics and 2 1 watt moonlights that will light up your tank some fierce. If you want a higher par level and more blue then go with a coralife 20k bulb instead. As far as wattage I would go with 250 if you really want to keep everything. However, and my tank is smaller, only a 12G with the coralife pro 24" and a 150w 20k coralife HQI DE bulb sitting 7.5 inches from the bulb to the water and 20" from the bulb to the bottom of the tank. This allows the mushrooms and rics to sit on the bottom of the tank and be comfortable. Believe it or not at 150w the mushrooms stay small and the larger one I started with moved UNDER the rock. I am assume this because it does not like that much light.

What wattage you go with is up to you. I like the 150 as the top off is about a cup a day. I do have a chiller so it keeps the temps down in the summer. Consider heat, and top off when considering this move. Currently in my 12 gallon with 24lbs of LR I have about 10 gallons of water. 150w/10g=15w per gallon without actinics. Everything seems pretty happy. If you get the 250w/30g=8.3xw per gallon ain't bad.

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I

imperial422

what if I just wanted to keep shooms and zoas

do you think a 250 is to much

what about having 4 10k 24 watt t5 bulbs and 2 65 watt actinics pcs
 
mynd

mynd

well if you don't mind having all bland looking corals that will be fine. It's the depth I am concerned with more then anything.. If you keep them middle top then you might have some ok looking stuff. There are plenty of people here with t5 lighting that swear by them. At 10k you are going to get some decent growth, but most of us here can deal with a little less growth but prefer some decent colors. Will you get them with the t5's? you might.. Would you get them with the halides.. 14k definitely 20k even more so.

All depends on what you want and what you can spend. There will be a flame war if I say something like clams don't do well under T5's and definitely not PC's. If you just go with zoo's and mushroom then chances are they will probably be nice under the t5's.

Do I think 250's are too much? No... For your depth and the original question of " If I wanna keep everything " the answer is definitely no. You wanted a bluer look.. If you just want to do something cheaper go with a 250w or 150 at the least 20k with no actinic supplementation. I just happen to like actinics and moonlights alot. It is where your colors really scream.

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I

IrradiatedReef

I had a double 65watt PC over a 15 gal. tank and kept a clam and some SPS in the tank. Clam was in the sand, SPS up high, like 3" under the surface. The bulbs were both combos. One was a 6700k/10k and the other was the duel antinic <blue/purple>. Had decent coloration on the SPS, clam was, well, happy as a clam.

Hope that helps.
 
K

kharn101

Well its not always about watts per gallon...that is a bull crap..its about the intensity and water movement for any tank...especially SPS...they need strong flow and intense lighting....honestly..i would go MH, unless you want to go t5 with a tek fixture....are you putting MH in the fixture aka modding the hood or having your tank topless??
You also need a fuge of some sort and keep your calcium at 400 PPM...SPS absorb that stuff up quickly...so there are many factors, intensity, zero phosphates, calcium...
 
K

kharn101

I would go 150 and save some PC's so you can have a dawn effect...150 watt MH fixture with PC's in them....color temp is what i will leave up to you...HTH
 
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