35 gallon lighting

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Semo

New Member
Hey,
Thought I would ask some of you experts on lighting :maitre

I was given a ~35 gallon, measures 30" wide, 23" tall and 12" deep. I thought I would try to get this going. Its hard to find 30" compacts (which seem like not enough light for that depth in tank) in general and I am thinking one halide would probably do the trick. Not sure what I want to put in the tank, but lets say get it set up to keep all types up to clams..

Gimme some ideas..cheap ideas...I am not aginst building something to save a little cash..thx..
 
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reefman23

New Member
Definitely want one 250 watt MH and some suplementation if you want clams/SPS. 23" is pretty deep. You could hang a 24" fixture light the coralife pro over the tank and it would work great. The much cheaper way would be to DIY one yourself.

Here is the coralife... http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... ct=ES53522

If you have any DIY skills at all, I suggest a DIY canopy...

You can almost always find stuff like this, then all you MAY need is a new bulb... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... did=835519

I would supplement that with a pair of VHOs perhaps... http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=ICK242

HTH,

Jesse
 
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reefman23

New Member
Well... it is a magnetic ballast and a mogul... or screw-in... MH.

The magnetic ballasts arent as good as the electronics, and I believe that the mogul MH's aren't as good as the HQI... or double-ended.

One last thing is name-brands... they tend to make a difference in this hobby. My advice is to save and stick with the tried-and-true brands. It'll pay off.
Jesse
 
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Semo

New Member
I asked...so I'll listen. I will do more research while putting back a little $..

Thanks..
 
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amf82380

New Member
I do agree with jesse this is one of those hobbies that dont skimp when it comes to the important things short cuts only end up in disater take the time and patience and either find the right stuff for the MH or save up the extra money and buy the best you can afford youll only benifit for it in the end I have tried the short cuts and found out it would of been easier to do it the right way in the end.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
The lights are indeed one of the most important items for corals. I mean if they live off the food they make from the light we give them we should probably try to get something that is quality. I'm not saying go get icecap ballasts and spend 5,000.00 on lights but maybe something that is brand new in all new items. The ebay thing sounded a little off to me.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
i'm with the rest except even though DE are nice and their are still some who swear by them, SE doesn't require the extra shield so in some ways they are nicer. If this were my tank and you wanted to go MH, I would do a 175W or 250W SE 10K MH suplimented with 2 - 4 actinic VHO bulbs. So far i have not found a lighting combo that i enjoy more then this set up. The calming blue effect of the VHO contrasting the bright white of MH is sweet and very asthetically pleasing! PC will not do this for you so - with PC actinics you have to run like a 12 -15K MH bulb, and if you go MH stand alone then you have to go to 14K - 20K 250W (like that aquamedic fixure we were talking about in a dif thread). And even though i don't own stock in icecap, i have said many times on this forum how much i swear by them, a good company with a quality product.........i have both their VHO electronic ballasts and MH electronics and they are nice, but yea they are expensive. and of course there are other brands out there like PFO that are quality too. the combinations, brands, and fixture can be overwhelming to choose from - do take your time and get other opinions - this is the most hottly debated topic in reefing for a reason.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
here is a pic - no flash or other imaging w/cheap camera - 10K 175W hamilton MH SE bulb with icecap electronic ballast and URI actinic VHO bulbs on an icecap 660 ballast on a 22' deep tank..........

 
ripcurrent

ripcurrent

New Member
Is that a red brain? That is awesome John!

I've always been a little biased toward the double ended because that's where most of my experience lies but I just got a SE 400 watt for my little brothas tank and I gotta admit... it's nice. I did do a little homework about whether to buy electronic or magnetic before the purchase and found there are benefits to both. The major bonus to electronic ballasts is their consistancy. Magnetic ballasts can fluctuate a bit which is actually part of their goodness but is not favorable for power consumption. Electronic ballasts run a bit cooler as well and are physically much smaller... a nice benefit. Like I said Magnetic ballasts arent as consitant. Because of it they add an interesting dinamic to the lighting spectrum thoughout the lighting cycle creating a variance of different light. Some studies have shown this to be beneficial. They're also a bit easier on the wallet. Keep in mind though... magnetic ballasts are tanks... heavy and big.. so you should definitely take that into consideration before making a decision.

I would recommend two bulbs though on a 30" tank. They say with a basic reflector a halide will cover a 2 foot x 2 foot space. Obviously 30" is just outside of that and overkill in this hobby more often that not is a good thing... or at least in regards to lighting.

My Mom runs two 150 watt HQi 20K's over her 29 which has very similar dimensions and has been pleased with the result.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
you nailed it rip - i've done about the same research - it seems as though all the SPS'ers with really nice looking tanks and corals are going SE these days in 250 and 400W. And yes mag generally shows a little better PAR but electronic is less power consuming and the bulbs last longer. I am not happy with my 10K ushio/actinic PC mix - growth and color seem fine but asthetically its just not there like it is on my big tank with the VHO, so i went to sanjays page and think i'm going to go 14K hamilton 250 SE - i think it has what i want....... i looked at the 250DEs and they just don't compare IMO........ the hammi 250 has about the same PAR as the 10K ushio 175 but better asthetically (the 250DE's fall short on PAR, but many like th AB and the phoenix for color)
as far as two bulbs go - yes if your running straight MH no sup - 2 bulbs is the only way to go - 1 would have far too many "shadow zones". but i think with VHO, 1 bulb would give you a nice mix of light allowing for meeting a wider variety in a mixed garden reef

and yea thats a red lobo - not trachy, my trachy is green.........but don't the colors just pop...i love VHO actinic lighting!!!! 1 have been running the icecap VHO for more then 13 years now and would not change it out for any type of lighting.

SEMO sorry to be jumping this thread but its a good topic and i think of interest to many these days - even the nanos are looking at MH and with all the choices a lot of experience talk may save us all money.........
 
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Semo

New Member
No problem John. Some good info coming out here.

I am thinking of getting a shallower tank since this deep one was a freebie. Its prettysharp looking with the stand and all, but I believe I will just make it a FOWLR tank so I can have some fish that dont blend well with reefs.
 
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Semo

New Member
Hey guys....
I have finally gathered enough spare equipment to get this 35 gallon tank goin'. It has the same top dimensions at a 20 long. I am just going to use a hob filter and prism skimmer. 175 watt halide retro kit.

Any pointers from you seasoned DIY'ers on a hood. I am trying to build something to keep an opening between the hood and the top of the tank. Any suggestions and pointers are appreciated.

Thx..
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Maybe build a frame with 1x2s with spacers (marked in red) to a nomral canopy hood to allow the open sapce inbetween the tank and hood setup. The purlple lines would be 1x1s so that that the frame would be stable on the tank. I hope I explained it well enough. I only have paint to make the picture here at work.
 

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Semo

New Member
Makes sense...Thanks for taking time to sketch that out. I can't figure if I want to hang somthing off the wall or sit it on the tank. I need to keep surfin pics. for ideas.
 
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