Coralife 96W fixture and 10 gallon mixed reef

[arichardson]

Hi all...This is my first post here

I'm currently getting things together for a new 10 gallon nano. It's a standard 10 gallon from Petsmart. I have lots of equipment that I've 'retired' from my 65 gallon reef and plan on using them.

One item I'm not real sure about is a 24" Coralife fixture I have and would like to use but a few things come to mind.

It the 65W x 2 fixture ( the one with seperate cords and switches for each bulb ) http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... ct=ES53102

I'm concerned if 130W will be enough intensity. I have never had a tank this small.

Another concern is the age of the fixture...I will be replacing the bulbs of course but should I replace the ballast too? The fixture is about 3 years old or less.

Any advice is well appreciated

 

[drty811]

welcome to nanotank :mrgreen:

i think you should be fine by changing just the bulbs. the intensity will be fine too, i ran 120watts over my ten and was able to keep clams and such. HTH

 

[arichardson]

Clams? No kidding? I figured i'd never be able to keep those with this light That's really good to know

It certainly helps a ton!!

 

[tabblet15]

I've got a 2X40 watt Orbit over my ten, less light than the 96w. I chose the orbit because of the independent controls for the 2 lamps. Im keeping LPS and softies. just my .02. If you do go with the 24" coralife, 130 watts is more than enough for LPS & softies...if your brave(and your tank has matured) you could try some easy SPS with 130watts.

 

[arichardson]

Thanks for the input. I REALLY want this nano to have SPS in it. I am working on a deal with a local reefer to obtain an Aquamedic 1X150W pendant fixture and he's gonna toss in a brand new XM bulb.

I may go with that alone and try to keep some easy SPS as you've suggested.

Would anyone recommend AGAINST using this 150W MH fixture in addtion to the 130Watts of PC lighting? I know the heat will be be higher and more of a concern but would the SPS corals REALLY benefit with 280W of light sitting about 6 - 12 inches from the surface of ten gallons?

 

[reefman23]

If the XM is a 20,000k lamp, you may want to choose a different lamp. The XM 20,000k is one of the lowest output lamps out there. That being said, the Aquamedic pendant is sweet and would be the way to go if you wanted to try SPS. Remember though that lighting is the easiest part of keeping SPS. Water quality and proper flow are just as important as the lighting.

I would suggest running just the MH by itself with a Phoenix 14,000 lamp. It has a great blue tint without actinic supplementation and is more blue than other 14,000k lamps but with higher output than most. Plus you can get it for $50 shipped at illuming.com usually.

Jesse