Lighting for 35 Gallon Hex Tank

[Ramirez1523]

Hi, I am brand new to saltwater and currently using the setup of a 35 gallon HEX tank, I went to my LPS and bought live sand they recommend, then I waited a week and purchased live rock, now i have ran into the issue with lighting, I have read several posts on going with halogen light, but the heat would be an issue (small apartment) so I have decided I need to go with LEDs, and I was looking at a recommendation on a LED lighting setup, it is 23' deep and sits close to a window with eastern exposure. I was hoping of going with a small reef tank, so any recommendation under 200 would really be appreciated, also what would be next step after live rock and how long should it cycle in the tank?

Thanks in advance,
Nick

[Ron Reefman]

Nick, your question of "how long should I cycle the tank?" tells me you don't understand how the cycle works. Maybe you are getting in a bit ahead of yourself? Have you read the stickys at the top of this forum? You may want to do some research before you go off and do something you'll regret.

The cycle isn't something you do for a specific period of time. It's a natural cycle that you continually test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. When the ammonia and nitrite have gone up and then back down to zero, your tank is cycled and ready for the addition of a SMALL amount of livestock.

There are a number of led fixtures for under $200 that will do just fine over your tank. MarsAqua is probably the least expensive, but you'll want to buy a couple of timers. OceanRevive has a nice fixture with timers built in and a thinner, more modern look.

BTW, if the morning sun shines into your tank, you may end up with algae issues. You may not, but natural sun through a window shining into an aquarium generally will cause algae to grow far faster than you will want to deal with.

[worldbook]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

Nick, your question of "how long should I cycle the tank?" tells me you don't understand how the cycle works. Maybe you are getting in a bit ahead of yourself? Have you read the stickys at the top of this forum? You may want to do some research before you go off and do something you'll regret.

The cycle isn't something you do for a specific period of time. It's a natural cycle that you continually test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. When the ammonia and nitrite have gone up and then back down to zero, your tank is cycled and ready for the addition of a SMALL amount of livestock.

There are a number of led fixtures for under $200 that will do just fine over your tank. MarsAqua is probably the least expensive, but you'll want to buy a couple of timers. OceanRevive has a nice fixture with timers built in and a thinner, more modern look.

BTW, if the morning sun shines into your tank, you may end up with algae issues. You may not, but natural sun through a window shining into an aquarium generally will cause algae to grow far faster than you will want to deal with.

I've seen some great tanks on youtube with the OceanRevive lights. Given the 200 constraint, I would consider that one.

+1 on the natural sun light exposure. You may want to be able to better control the light that enters the tank.