Light reccomendations

[Drumachine09]

Ok, since I decided to back out on the nano cube deal (it had a whopping 24 watts of 50/50), I have decided to take my 10g a bit more seriously. Right now I only have enough lighting to support mushrooms, which is 40 watts of 6700k over 10g. I am looking for a cheap CF or MH fixture to bring me to ~100w-150x or so.

Problem: There are so many fixtures out there, I don't know which one to choose.

If someone with experience with a certain fixture could link me to a site with good lights, and steer me clear of the bad ones, That'd be awesome.

[cocoa_pleco]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Drumachine09]

I'd prefer nothing from ebay, unless it was a recognizable name. I just checked the feedback, and too many people said that it was a home made piece of junk.

[cocoa_pleco]

hmm, then i cant recommend anything cheap, most are around the $300 price range, like big als

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]


EDIT- if you were to go with a larger tank i could recommend thousands of things, like a 24" tank would be best, but you could hang these over a 10g

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Drumachine09]

What are some standard volumes for 24" tanks?

[cocoa_pleco]

24" is a 20g high (which most 20g's are). really the only standard 20g's are longs and highs

[Drumachine09]

If I recall correctly, high tanks are the ones that make the best reef tanks, right?

[cocoa_pleco]

some people say that, and they actually sorta do for various reasons, one main one being that you can put high light corals near the top and low light ones near the bottom.

the bad parts about it-

-to qualify for high light corals at the top, you need a tall LR stack
-there is less room on high tanks, so almost always for a high light tank MH's are needed

the "high" rule usually only applies to tanks 20g and under

[Drumachine09]

I also saw that 15g tanks are 24". I assume its the same depth and height, but just an extra 4" tacked onto the side.

Would that long of a tank look goofy?

[cocoa_pleco]

i have a 15g long, and my 24" lights fit it. however, it would look like a awkward reef. i imagined LR in it and just thought it wouldnt really work

[~Erik3.8.07~]

here's the light that i will probably end up buying for my 10g, it's fairly cheap compared to other lights ive seen
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Drumachine09]

here's the light that i will probably end up buying for my 10g, it's fairly cheap compared to other lights ive seen
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]



I saw that on bigals too. I am thinking about it, but I don't know whether or not 80 watts would be enough.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

cant it have more tho? i believe it says individual light bulbs from 40-130 watts in the description, i thought that meant you could have up to 260watts of light, please correct me if im wrong on this tho

[cocoa_pleco]

heres my 20g high and 15g long

theres a 50w VHO fixture on the 20g high (i had it on my 55g but i ran out of room), and on my 15g long i have a super TIII 24w fluorescent

if you are going with a 10g, 80w is good

[Drumachine09]

I don't want to do anything SUPER high light, like clams, but I would love to get some zoos, and assorted shrooms.

Would the zoos thrive in only 80w?

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, when my 20g high was a reef i had 54w lighting and my zooas grew like wildfire.

[Drumachine09]

I see.....

Maybe I will get the 80 watt after all.

I assume you have to go topless with that particular fixture?

[~Erik3.8.07~]

for that one ya, but i think this one doesnt raise above the tank and covers the tank more
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[cocoa_pleco]

why not get this one of you want more lighting?

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[~Erik3.8.07~]

oooh, i didnt see that before

[cocoa_pleco]

it has fans in it, so it must be good, plus you get 10w/g, which is high light.

For a good variety coral tank, you need bare minimum 5g and a high light tank has 10-12w/g

[Drumachine09]

The only thing I am concerned with on the other filter is that its not 50/50 lighting. Would that pose a problem?

[cocoa_pleco]

The only thing I am concerned with on the other filter is that its not 50/50 lighting. Would that pose a problem?

you mean other light, right?

you want 50/50, so if you got it you would have to switch the bulbs. with the VHO and T-5's on the 55g i have the hagen HO's with blue actinics, and the T-5 with daylights.

[Drumachine09]

That wasn't my question, I wanted to know if I would suffer any decrease in performance of the light without the 50/50 lighting.


Is the extra actinic lighting even worth it? Or is it purely aesthetic?