Newbie lighting

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Anonymous

Guest
Hi. I have a 10 gal AGA with a Tomato Clown, 12 lbs of LR and a 2" DSB, an AquaClear Mini set up as a Refugium and a Penguin 125 with a regular filter pad as the media, Zoo Med Powersweep 212 Max 125 GPH which rotates and finally a cruddy 30 watt 18,000K VHO. I plan on changing my lighting out for something a stronger when I get my next paycheck but I can't decide if I should invest in a PC or MH and I haven't really see anything listing the pros and cons of either. Also I dont know if I should have a Moonlight running during the time I have my other lights turned off. I know the lighting system I should invest in highly depends on what corals I plan on purchasing but besides wanting a few mushrooms I'm not entirely sure what else I want. I currently have three other salt water tanks which are all fish tanks so I think I have a grasp on water quality, salinity, phosphates, calcium, etc, but because of the fact that this is my first time dealing with corals I find myself quite lost on the subject of lighting so ANY suggestions, reccomendations or flat out orders would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
djconn

djconn

New Member
Hello mordigan-
Great questions. I'd first like to say that I only have experience with PCs and that is all I run on my 3 tanks. Reason why...simply because they are generally 40-70% less expensive than Metal Halide. I'm not trying to talk you out of getting MH at all but that is my reason.

If you are planning on keeping mostly softies and a few slightly more light demanding corals in your 10 gal, then I would have to say that PC would be sufficient. CSL and JBJ make decent PC systems and bulbs are generally around $15-30/bulb. I'd make sure you think about things such as leg stands for the lights, fans (keep those temps down) and even moonlights. I've seen a few that come with moonlights installed which is really cool. To answer your moonlight question, I run mine 24/7. No reason not to. There is a moonlight thread currently at http://www.nanotank.com/viewtopic.php?t=59.

MH lighting generally runs hotter, demands more energy but also puts out WAY more light. If you don't want to limit the corals in your 10 gal, I would choose this route. Its a much bigger investment but you will never need to upgrade if you wanted to add some light demanding corals and clams, etc.

Hope this info was helpful. Keep us updated.
 
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Hillbilly

New Member
I am a MH fan. There is no other means of lighting a tank as intense. However, I agree with DJ. If you are not going to keep sps or other light loving critters, you can certainly light a nano very well with PCs.
 
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wizord25

New Member
I also would have to recommend PC lighting on your tank. I really dont think there is a need for MH lighting on small tanks. MH produces way too much heat, so you'd really have to build a custom canopy or something to keep the lights away from the surface of the water. you would also have the extra cost of the lights, plus fans, and energy etcs. with a tank as shallow as yours you dont need the extra penetration MH gives either, so save some money and go with PC.
 
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reefgeek

New Member
hi if your not worried about costs or any thing like that go with mh but you might need a chillier if your going to be in a 10 oherwise go with pcs there a personal favorite
 
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incysor

New Member
I'd suggest going with pc's until you've spent more time researching and shopping for different corals. You'll be able to keep quite a bit under the pc's and be enjoying the tank for less expense. You can always upgrade to MH later if you decide you want to keep clams, or SPS. From everything I've read dealing with MH on a nano can be challenging with the evaporation/heat issues. Of course figuring out how to make it work is half the fun. :)

Brian
 
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tigerbarb420

New Member
What does PC stand for? I have not yet setup a nano but I am researching right now. I was thinking of going with the Metal Halide but incysor made a good point about heat/evaporation issues.
 
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incysor

New Member
PC = Power Compact Fluorescent.

Higher output than normal fluorescent lights, in a much smaller bulb.
 
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incysor

New Member
They're not the same as household fluorescents. It's fairly confusing, and there are lots of discussions on lighting all over the web. My understanding, (and I didn't delve very deeply), is that there is a different wavelenght of light emitted by marine PC lamps, versus, freshwater PC lamps, versus household flurouescents. You need the one that's appropriate for what your'e gonna use it for.
 
djconn

djconn

New Member
Agreed. In most saltwater reef applications I've come across, the norm is to run one 10,000K 'daylight' and one "actinic" or blue PC bulb. This is what I'm running on all my tanks.

I'm having serious evaporation issues on my 5.5 right now and I can't even imagine what it would be like with MH.
 
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Imaexpat2

New Member
mordigan

I think given the parameter for which you set and the size tank that you have that a Quad 4 96 watt PC would be good enough to just about cover the bases except prehaps more light demanding SPS/Crocea clams.

I use that same coralife fixture over my QT tank for SPS corals and Clams for three or 4 weeks at a time with no negative impact to my live stock. Its also what I am running on my 10 gallon Nano as well and I have several corals in there and a small H. Hippopus clam and its looking about as good as some of my long established larger tanks such as my 240 & 135 gallon Clam/SPS tanks. Just some food for thought...

There are many that use 150 DE and I75 SE Halides over a nano that small but I think this is a bit on the much side for such a small and shallow tank. It none the less is doable but is a tad more expensive.

In small Nanos, I really think that PC is more than adequate for many lighting solutions and the need to have small compact light systems on tanks that small make them a top option in my opinion and experience. In most cases they will serve you well and your live stock well in 90% of the situations.
 
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incysor

New Member
Imaexpat2 said:
mordigan

I think given the parameter for which you set and the size tank that you have that a Quad 4 96 watt PC would be good enough to just about cover the bases except prehaps more light demanding SPS/Crocea clams.

I use that same coralife fixture over my QT tank for SPS corals and Clams for three or 4 weeks at a time with no negative impact to my live stock. Its also what I am running on my 10 gallon Nano as well and I have several corals in there and a small H. Hippopus clam and its looking about as good as some of my long established larger tanks such as my 240 & 135 gallon Clam/SPS tanks. Just some food for thought...

There are many that use 150 DE and I75 SE Halides over a nano that small but I think this is a bit on the much side for such a small and shallow tank. It none the less is doable but is a tad more expensive.

In small Nanos, I really think that PC is more than adequate for many lighting solutions and the need to have small compact light systems on tanks that small make them a top option in my opinion and experience. In most cases they will serve you well and your live stock well in 90% of the situations.
Click to expand...
I agree that you can keep clams, and sps under the 96w PC lights. However like all PC lamps they tend to start losing their full effectiveness after about 6 months. Most people don't really notice it much because they're not trying to keep light-hungry livestock under PC's, but from things I've read on many of the boards, it's much safer if you're going to try to keep these types of things under PC lamps that you change the bulbs every 6 months. The price tag involved with this will generally make people start thinking about MH lighting, since you can go 9-12 months with most MH bulbs.
 
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dragon79

New Member
lose effectiveness?

incysor said:
Imaexpat2 said:
mordigan

I think given the parameter for which you set and the size tank that you have that a Quad 4 96 watt PC would be good enough to just about cover the bases except prehaps more light demanding SPS/Crocea clams.

I use that same coralife fixture over my QT tank for SPS corals and Clams for three or 4 weeks at a time with no negative impact to my live stock. Its also what I am running on my 10 gallon Nano as well and I have several corals in there and a small H. Hippopus clam and its looking about as good as some of my long established larger tanks such as my 240 & 135 gallon Clam/SPS tanks. Just some food for thought...

There are many that use 150 DE and I75 SE Halides over a nano that small but I think this is a bit on the much side for such a small and shallow tank. It none the less is doable but is a tad more expensive.

In small Nanos, I really think that PC is more than adequate for many lighting solutions and the need to have small compact light systems on tanks that small make them a top option in my opinion and experience. In most cases they will serve you well and your live stock well in 90% of the situations.
Click to expand...
I agree that you can keep clams, and sps under the 96w PC lights. However like all PC lamps they tend to start losing their full effectiveness after about 6 months. Most people don't really notice it much because they're not trying to keep light-hungry livestock under PC's, but from things I've read on many of the boards, it's much safer if you're going to try to keep these types of things under PC lamps that you change the bulbs every 6 months. The price tag involved with this will generally make people start thinking about MH lighting, since you can go 9-12 months with most MH bulbs.
Click to expand...
Lose their effectiveness by how much? What percentage would you guess? If it's real bad, I guess I'll have to log when I got my g/f's tank, so I have it set for scheduled bulb changes.
 
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incysor

New Member
Steven,

There are tons of threads, and articles on lighting on the larger boards. I don't have any specifics on how fast PC bulbs lose their effectiveness. I'm sure I could spend a couple hours looking for you, but you're a big boy so I'm not gonna. :lol:

Really, unless you are trying to keep SPS, clams, or some anemones I'd do like djConn does and change your bulbs every 9 months or so. Even with some loss of effectiveness, they should be good this long for LPS, softies, mushrooms, and most polyps. MH, and VHO bulbs can remain effective for 9-12 months. T-5's are supposed to last up to 16 months, but they're new enough and still relatively rare, so that number is based on the manufacturers info. I'd change T-5's at the year mark. If you start reading lighting discussionson on the larger boards you'll see most people shave off several months from what the manufacturer claims is effective for any type of lighting.
I'll warn you that PC lamps, MH lamps, and even VHO's are not like light bulbs in your house/car/office etc.. You will almost ALWAYS have to change them before they burn out. These bulbs are all designed so that they're still emitting visible light, but the wavelengths change as the bulb ages, and so you can have a MH bulb that is still very bright to look at, but the wavelength of light it's putting off is no longer good/effective for your livestock. If for some reason you're having lights burn out on you within a year there's something wrong, either they're being overpowered/underpowered by bad ballast, they're getting corroded due to salt creep, humidity, or something.

Hope this helps some.

B
 
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dragon79

New Member
funny guy

the first three sentences, (ha ha ha)

The rest:

Very useful information, I just needed simple answers or advise on what everybody else does...so I guess if we were all jumping off a bridge for fun, I guess I wouldn't be too far from the line, haha. Thanks again incysor!
 
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incysor

New Member
Re: funny guy

dragon79 said:
the first three sentences, (ha ha ha)

The rest:

Very useful information, I just needed simple answers or advise on what everybody else does...so I guess if we were all jumping off a bridge for fun, I guess I wouldn't be too far from the line, haha. Thanks again incysor!
Click to expand...
No problem. No one told me that my PC bulbs would start losing their punch after 6 months, so I was going by the manufacturers info and figured I had at least a year. I nearly lost my bubble coral because I was on month 10 or 11 and hadn't changed them yet. I hate to see it happen to other people...Plus I was giving some info out earlier in the thread that specifically contradicts what most people say about clams, so I like to try to be clear that there is a downside to trying it.
 
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