Lighting question.

[dreamwalk]

OK.... lighting question...

in this video the guy says for a reef tank, you need to have about 3 watts per gallon, so that means I would need around 30 watts ( I have a ten gal)....

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v09515lSqyc&feature=channel[/ame]

So, if I used two of these 23 watt compact bulbs.(With a total wattage of 46 watts)..

http://blog.nj.com/hg_impact_homestories/2007/11/medium_bulb3.jpg

In this hood, would that be enough wattage for my corals?:

 

[parrotchute]

it's not just wattage, it's the different wavelengths of light. Lighting the Reef Tank: A Primer for Beginners by Doug Wojtczak - Reefkeeping.com

 

[dreamwalk]

I'm trying to get out of spending the 50-180 dollars that I dont have right now...

Will it work for just a few months?

 

[Kazarko]

This is an expensive hobby, consider saving up before setting up a tank so you can have the proper equipment. If you're starting from scratch anyways, I don't think a light is necessary when cycling a tank the first few weeks.

 

[parrotchute]

It may or may not work. It depends on what corals you get and how "light hungry" they are. But kazarko is right; with this hobby spending less sometimes you just end up spending more later.

 

[dreamwalk]

I have been told that using the bulbs mentioned above would do good for softies and LPS.....

So, I was planning on using my mentioned setup until i got ready to upgrade lights and add SPS

I always get those two types of coral mixed up, so I hope you know what Im saying... :/

 

[dreamwalk]

But, then I saw that video and looked for some of the stuff he mentions and was blown away...

 

[dreamwalk]

I have also read that LEDs are another option...

have you any thoughts on LEDs

 

[dreamwalk]

What about this, is it acceptable or even worth looking at?

24" 65w Aquarium Power Compact Light Cichlid Discus - eBay (item 290377164935 end time Dec-13-09 06:42:06 PST)

 

[Kazarko]

LEDs lighting units are new and ones that would do the job are not cheap. I use T5s only, they are energy efficient and produce enough light to make anything grow. I can't be really sure what will work for you, each coral is different, sometimes surprising results are acheived with low lighting. You may have to experiment with what you have and then decide. Just also remember, you can have too much lighting that inhibits proper coral growth.

 

[SeaBee]

You can go with compact flourecents for now, I have them, they work, but I can't keep any sps, small polyp stony, but I have yet to see a sps I would buy....I like leathers, shrooms, I love zoathids, just love em, and I have them growing under some rocks, so not much light there. You;ll be ok, ask Santa for the light you want, you need to start the tank cycling, no need for an expensive light today....

 

[dreamwalk]

Thanks SB. Yeah, That is kinda what I'm trying to do, My mum wants a list of all the stuff i need to get it going.

So far, I have a good list, just trying to top it off.

 

[SeaBee]

This is a little more of what you want to ask Santa for, I'll bet it has the moonlights in it too, but I didnt look. Oh, with a light like this your friend might short it out with all his drool...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Current-24-4-x-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d272c3574

 

[dreamwalk]

This is a little more of what you want to ask Santa for, I'll bet it has the moonlights in it too, but I didnt look. Oh, with a light like this your friend might short it out with all his drool...

Current 24" 4 x 24W Nova Extreme T-5 Fixture - eBay (item 400089167220 end time Dec-08-09 19:29:23 PST)

HAHA yeah... +1 for the laugh.... THe price tag was the first thing to load... i closed the pages before I could really see the pic...

 

[dreamwalk]

It doesn't say anything about moon lights.... so idk if there any in it.. I'm gonna look for the same product, but look in the used bin...

 

[SeaBee]

Then you can shop it or whatever, or use the compact flourecents you showed earlier, like I said, they will work just fine also. And for 30 bucks as long as it lights up and id a cf bulb, what 65 watss? Thats plenty. YOu can put a moonlight kit in it if you like.

LED Moonlight Video n Pictures - Digikits.com

 

[dreamwalk]

Then you can shop it or whatever, or use the compact flourecents you showed earlier, like I said, they will work just fine also. And for 30 bucks as long as it lights up and id a cf bulb, what 65 watss? Thats plenty. YOu can put a moonlight kit in it if you like.

LED Moonlight Video n Pictures - Digikits.com

I will prolly get the black version of the $30 PC lights and then ad this Moonlight strip to them...

Opentip.com: R2 Solutions Moonlight 24 inch Aquarium LED Light

Will I need aditional equipment, or will both just plug-into the wall?!?

 

[Gdbyrd]

http://shop.aquatraders.com/Power-Compact-Aquarium-Lighting-s/11.htm

Check those out. PC's. They will work for what you'll probably do in your 10, like SB said, probably not good enough for SPS, but everything else it should work for.

They are not the best lights on the market. But they are better than some of the alternatives..and for the price, you could almost get 2-3 of them over something comparable.

 

[dreamwalk]

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! You have just made my day!

 

[SeaBee]

That light I showed you installs in the light you already have, less shit on top of your tank, you have time.