Lighting Help......Please....

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Shelly
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Lighting Help......Please....

Post by Shelly »

First the disclaimer....I am very new to this.

I have a 36 gallon aquarium that is 20 inches deep. I have a coralife bulb on it but I don't like the look.

This aquarium is in the living and to be honest I seem to spend more time watching it then I do the TV.
I also don't like the fixtures that sit on top of the glass. It limits access and I don't like the look.

I have no coral in there at this time but I am cycled and ready to add.

Money is an issue.

http://www.expresslightbulbs.com/aquari ... -p-24.html

Any thoughts of using these bulbs in a 3 bulb fixture? Was kinda thinking 2 6500 k and 1 daylight on seperate switches?

What wattage would you recommend? Mounted how high off the top of the glass?

Thank you for any help offered.
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Amphiprion
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Re: Lighting Help......Please....

Post by Amphiprion »

What you really need is this: http://www.hydroponics.net/i/133318

Seriously, though, what, if any, corals do you plan on keeping? How deep do you want them in the tank? If you don't plan on having corals, I'd spring between 42w--23w lamps. If you do plan on having corals, I'd shoot more for this: http://www.fishneedit.com/150w-metal-ha ... t-lig.html Not a bad price on that at all, either. This is also a reasonable option: http://www.fishneedit.com/new-light.html
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
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29nanomob
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Re: Lighting Help......Please....

Post by 29nanomob »

the bulbs you are refering to are for a freshwater plant aquarium. they refer to 6,500k daylight as strong. you need 20,000k for the best look 14,000k for the best growth.
glass blocks uv rays be ware of this you can burn things if you dont block uv rays but you also need them for photo. best suggestion dont use glass. i would not recomend puting all 3 in one fixture without a fan if they are self ballasted they will def overheat if they are just cf they will burn out faster than their normal lifespan depending on the heat output no more than 8in from the water no more than 3in close 5in would be a good med. and to find the correct wattage the formula is not only for the depth but for the surface area and or the actual gallonage. my 75gal less the sump only holds about 60gal of water just a nominal rule for wattage is 4 watts per gal. so my tank only needs 240watts. but on a spread out with depth you have a grey area. now when in grey split the dif, what you think is best. 1 240w bulb is only going to cover about 2sqft (2'x1') of the bottom of my tank. i have 48 to cover so i need a min of 120w per 2sqft (2'x1'). also in my own opinion, 4w per gallon is only true for 1ft depth. i have 19in depth so i bump up to 175W per 2sqft (2'x1') now dont go figuring up your tanks sqft you will come up with something way dif this is an aproximation not a defined area. long story short 4W per gallon spread out the light bump it up 5% or 6% per bulb. guys correct me if i made any mistakes please.

suggestions. 2 60w bulbs one 14k one 6,500k you say you have a coralife what is the temp on it? 3000k 6500k 5500k 10,000k 14,000k 20,000k? the higher the kelvin the more blue you get. the less the more you risk burns and yellowing
reefing just isnt the same living outside the glass....
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Amphiprion
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Re: Lighting Help......Please....

Post by Amphiprion »

6500K/Daylight lamps are perfectly suitable for marine tanks. The color of the light may not be as appealing to some people, but it does just fine. In fact, watt for watt, whiter/yellower lamps usually have more PAR than bluer lamps. If you are on a budget, need reasonable intensity, etc., then daylight lamps are your best choice. So, in most cases, 6500K will yield the best growth, with anything higher being more for aesthetics. Also, the WPG "rule" only works for certain tank sizes and styles and won't necessarily reflect intensity.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
Shelly
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Re: Lighting Help......Please....

Post by Shelly »

Thanks for all the lighting help.

I think I am changing fixtures. http://www.fishneedit.com/new-light.html

I like the lighting in this pic. http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-5590758519 ... 14_3901472
I can't afford the mh however.

What is your thoughts on the new fixture with 2 blue and 2 white 10000k? Would that still give me enough growth to try a couple of the hard corals? My tank is only 20 inches deep.

Again, thank you for the help. Zack directed me to this site and I greatly appreciate all the information I have been able to find.
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Amphiprion
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Re: Lighting Help......Please....

Post by Amphiprion »

That would likely work ok. When the time comes to change them out, I'd suggest ATI lamps as opposed to the fishneedit ones, since they have been independently shown to be extremely intense. I also recommend the GE 6500K lamps, which are fairly cheap as far as T5s go. If you want more blue, but lots of intensity, I'd look into 2 ATI Blue + and 2 GE 6500K.

Edit: I should add that that last combo is "lots of blue in my opinion" as I'm not as big a fan of the bluer lamps/tanks.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
Shelly
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Re: Lighting Help......Please....

Post by Shelly »

So with this set up I should be okay with hard corals?
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Amphiprion
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Re: Lighting Help......Please....

Post by Amphiprion »

Yes. With the proper bulb combo later, you can probably manage many, if not most.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
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