SCARED OF LIGHT!

[jay]

Hola Everyone,
Because I'm a newbie I feel lost when shopping around for lighting. I want to know at least a little something b4 going back to my LFS to purchase the lighting. I want to make sure that my choice is a wise one, but most importantly, I want to know if the staff at my LFS is just trying to make a quick buck off of me.

While I was trying to read up on stuff, I found that most of my confusion came from everything being abbreviated (being a newbie I don't know many of the abbreviations).

My tank is taller than most, and is about 20g.
I plan on have a clam or two, a few reef fish (plus a shrimp) and zoos... I do plan on putting other corals into my tank after I'm a bit more seasoned.

Just thinking of lighting is starting to freak me out!
What would be the best kind of lighting for my tank?

Jay

 

[reefman23]

What are the dimensions of the tank (LengthxWidthXHieght)?

If you are for sure interested in clams, your best bet is do go straight to metal halides. You can probably keep clams with a 4-lamp VHO system if you have a 20g long (30"Lx12"Wx12"H).

Here is a great link to read to learn a little more about lighting. After you read it, PLEASE ask ANY questions that you may have...

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/dw/index.php

My personal favorite for lighting is a combination of metal halide with VHO actinic supplementation.

Hope that helps :???:

Jesse

 

[skipm]

Here is a list of the more common abbreviations used in the hobby: http://www.nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23 . If you have more questions feel free to ask them. You have already overcome one of the first hurdles in deciding your lighting, you have a plan on what you want to keep in the tank. THis will help you make the correct decisions on your lighting. If you post the dimensions of your tank we can probably give you some more options for your consideration.

 

[AlexfromSATX]

My personal favorite for lighting is a combination of metal halide with VHO actinic supplementation.

If you are going to keep clams I think this is a good choice. Metal Halide lighting is probably the best choice in deeper/taller tanks, that way light can reach the bottom of the tank.

 

[jay]

Okay, I have my tank details:

Length = 12"
Width = 24"
Hight = 22"

The tank is made of glass and has rounded corners.

Would it be easy or even advised to install a retrofit kit?

Thanks
Jay

 

[jay]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/dw/index.php

Jesse

Jesse, after reading that AMAZING link, I kinda have an idea of what I might need. Because I have a canopy with a Normal Output (NO) fluorescent tube, which came with the tank, I'm thinking of making a small mod to use Combination lighting.

Here are my thoughts :

1 Metal Halide (MH) 150watt with 10,000-20,000k lamp
1 Actinic fluorescent (NO) tube 15-20watt

I'm stuck between picking one of the following :

Coralife AquaLight Pro Metal Halide HQI Clamp-On Pendant
- Hang-on tank HQI metal halide fixture
- 150 watt 20,000K double-ended HQI metal halide lamp
- External HQI metal halide ballast with on/off switch, 12-foot lamp cord and 6-foot power cord
- Three points of articulation for multiple lighting positions
- Sleek, anodized black-aluminum housing with ventilation grill
- Highly-polished reflector
- Built-in cooling fan
- Glass HQI lens cover
- Heavy-duty mounting bracket

OR

Coralife AquaLight Pro Metal Halide HQI Pendant
- 150W 10,000K HQI Double-Ended Metal Halide Lamp.
- Easy-to-use Retractable Lamp Cord Extends from 9" to 56".
- External Remote Ballast.
- Mounting Kit Included.

By no means am I a Pro, so I'll need some advice.

Thx
Jay :cool1:

 

[skipm]

If you use the pendant it will be easier to control your light by adjusting the height of the fixture. IMO it will also be easier to use with the striplight you already have. You may be better off ditching the striplight and going with a 14,000k or higher bulb, you won't need actinics with a higher kelvin bulb.
The biggest advantage to using the hang on fixture is that you don't have to hang anything from the ceiling. Either fixture should serve you well and would do the job you need them to do. Basically it is going to be a matter of personal preference on which one serves your situation the best.

 

[reefman23]

Like skip said, just go with a higher kelvin lamp... like the Phoenix 14,000k lamp. It is blue enough that you dont need actinici supplementation. You can also go with a 20,000k lamp to get an even bluer/violet look, but only the Radium has a decent amount of PAR... photosynthetically available radiation. You will generally sacrifice some growth with the 20,000k, so my suggestion would be the Phoenix... IMO, it is a GREAT balance between blue and white light.

HTH.

I too vote for the pendant unless you cant hang it from something like the ceiling.

You could also do a custom canopy is you are a DIY type of person, and go with a retrofit kit like those at illuming.com .... great products, great service.

Jesse

 

[jay]

Of the two Coralife that I'm interested in, I haven't seen the Pendant in action. I'll have to get my LFS to pull one out of the box and demo how it's mounting kit works. My strategy on picking the lighting has been narrowed down to the mounting kit.

:smartg I was thinking of getting a clear sheet of Acrylic cut for a simple/basic clean looking canopy. Maybe adding a few holes in it for eventing purposes (since the light may generate and trap heat under the acrylic - hot air rises)?
That's about as DIY I get. :builder

Any thoughts?

Thx
Jay

 

[jay]

If I wanted to do a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tank,
then later upgrade when I'm ready for corals and clams,
what would be suggested?

Thx Again,
Jay Aka "The Newbie"

 

[skipm]

If the tank already has any lighting, like a NO fluorescent then you can use it as long as you are only going to have fish and cleaning inverts and upgrade the lighting later. If you have to buy the lighting anyway then I would suggest going ahead and buying the lighting you need for the tank you are planning and not wasting money on an "in the meantime" lighting system.

I don't think your acrylic top will work well because it will trap heat and it won't allow for evaporative cooling which may end up causing your tank temps to be too high.

 

[jay]

The tank came with a canopy (Which has a fluorescent (NODE) tube 15-20watt, and a built in filter).
Should I be concerned with the low wattage if I'm going to have a FOWLR?
If the current wattage isn't an issue, I plan on buying the MH in 3mths time.
The manufacturer made the canopy so that it would be next to impossible to mod - which means I would be better off to start from scratch.

Jay

 

[skipm]

The low wattage should be no problem for a FOWLR. If you are gpoing to have to build a canopy and all for the MH and plan to upgrade soon you may just want to wait and set the tank up about a month before the upgrade, then it is cycling and needs no light while your building the canopy and adding the lighting.

 

[idog]

Just be sure when you are running FO, you don't get fish that won't be reef safe if you buy corals.

 

[skipm]

Great point idog.

 

[jay]

Thanks for all the GREAT advice everyone!

Jay