Lighting for my 30g long

Lord Sevein · 04/22/2007, 12:32 AM

Ok, here's the deal. I just bought a 30g long off a guy a few weeks ago. Right now it is only a FOWLR but over the summer I want to upgrade it to a full reef tank. (I can't resist!) I have all of the other details figured out (sump, livestock, filtration, ect.) except for the lighting.

Ultimately I want to keep a mixed tank w/ a couple of clowns, softies, lps, and CLAMS! Clams is the biggie . . . gotta have those.

I am well aware of the lighting requirements for the corals I want to keep, but I am particularly worried for my ultimate goal - the maxima clams. I've been told that MH is the best lighting situation for them, but there have been a number of people keeping maximas under VHO T5s with great success.

So, for the last week I have been bouncing back and forth between VHO T5s and MH. I am a college student, and as such, I am on a budget. However I like the idea of having a 24 hour lighting system for my tank (i.e. moonlights as well). First I was going to get Current USA's 36'' Nova Extreme but, it doesn't have individual reflectors . . . which could be a problem (although I have read about people squeezing tek reflectors between the bulbs.) And the more I look at MH lights the more I am drawn to them. The disadvantage of those are the sheer cost of the 24 hour lighting systems! I am also worried about whether or not one bulb's light will reach the entire tank. (36X18X12) Plus, I don't want to burn out the corals that do better under lower light . . .

So, basically I am in need of a more experienced reefer's help! What has been your experience? Should I go T5 or MH? Then which lighting systems would you suggest? I've learned the hard way in the past - It's always better to do it right the first time!

Thanks for the help!

-Sevein

melev · 04/22/2007, 01:54 AM

To Reef Central

If you use a bunch of T5s (4 to 6 bulbs), it should be enough for the needs of the livestock you've mentioned. You won't get the shimmering effect that MH lighting generates though.

If you use the Luminarc III (actually, the "mini" reflector/pendant), you can probably create enough light to fit over that tank. That way a single 250w bulb would spread nicely. And if you wanted to show off your mad skills to the other college buddies in your area, get a light mover to roll that light back and forth over the tank all day long. This gives the corals adequate lighting with a single bulb and they grow more evenly as the light covers them evenly or on all sides.

You don't need 24 hours of light. Corals need time to rest. Lighting periods per day can be around 8 to 11 hours, and perhaps 3 hours of moonlights. Using timers is ideal as that way the livestock learns the schedule and gets a nice period of rest (darkness).

Lord Sevein · 04/22/2007, 12:56 PM

Thanks for the welcome! When you said that the livestock would be fine under 4 to 6 T5 bulbs, were you refering to the Current USA bulbs or a fixture with individual reflectors?

And I'll look into that pendant too.

melev · 04/22/2007, 02:36 PM

It comes down to dollars, space, and desired look. Once you've got a few preferred choices, post the links here and I'm sure we can help you pick the right setup.

Lord Sevein · 04/24/2007, 02:04 PM

After doing some research this is what I have come up with . . .

For completefixtures:
Current USA T5 Fixture and 4 individual reflectors. These would need some squeezing as I hear, but it can be done.

For retrofits:
MH Ice Cap Retro with Hamilton 14k Bulb

However I am still a little fuzzy on exactly how to put one of these together . . . What kind of fixture could I put these retrofits into? Sry for my noobness

Again, my main concerns with the metal halide lighting are situating it above my tank (because hanging from the ceiling is a no go) and having the light spread across my entire tank. Otherwise I am all for it!

And if any of you have any other suggestions then, by all means, let me know.

Lord Sevein · 04/24/2007, 02:45 PM

I just found this to add to the T5 fixtures:

Tek Light w/ Bulbs

Fixture, individual reflectors, bulbs . . . the works. Just a little out of my price range . . .

melev · 04/27/2007, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lord Sevein
After doing some research this is what I have come up with . . .

For completefixtures:
Current USA T5 Fixture and 4 individual reflectors. These would need some squeezing as I hear, but it can be done.

For retrofits:
MH Ice Cap Retro with Hamilton 14k Bulb

However I am still a little fuzzy on exactly how to put one of these together . . . What kind of fixture could I put these retrofits into? Sry for my noobness

Again, my main concerns with the metal halide lighting are situating it above my tank (because hanging from the ceiling is a no go) and having the light spread across my entire tank. Otherwise I am all for it!

And if any of you have any other suggestions then, by all means, let me know.

If your tank has a canopy, how tall is it? 6" or 12"? The Current USA would fit on the tank, and should be good enough. The price is affordable.

If it is 6" tall, the IceCap retro kit won't fit as MH need to be 9 to 12" off the water. You simply screw the reflector to the lid of the canopy, screw in the bulb (slip a sock over the bulb to avoid touching it), wire the cord to the mogul socket with wire nuts, wire the other end of the cord to the ballast with wire nuts, plug in the cord and watch the light gradually fire up to full intensity over about 10 minutes time.

A MH bulb covers a 24" x 24" area typically.

Lord Sevein · 05/01/2007, 11:34 AM

Thanks for your help melev!

The more I look at the metal halide lights at one of my LFS the more I am drawn to it. I was looking at CurrentUSA's Outer Orbit fixture . . . but I think it could too much light for my tank. (Mostly softies with a couple lps, and clams.)

And, thanks to your help (from both here on RC and your site) I am leaning more towards DIY projects.

I am thinking of building a canopy out of wood for a 175w MH retrofit kit. Specifically I want to use an electronic Ice cap Ballast and Hamilton 14k bulb. My next question is how to distribute the light evenly throughout the tank. (I'm sure that completely equal light distribution is impossible, especially at the edges.) Would I need to purchase a 36'' reflector in order to spread the light or would a typical 12'' reflector work just as well? I figure that the distance between the bulb and the water would effect this as well.

Thanks for the help again!

melev · 05/01/2007, 01:21 PM

Hmm. The 30g L is 36" long, correct? How tall is it - 18"? I'm sure the 175w would be fine, but odds are you'll get to thinking about upgrading in about 9 months to a year from now, and whatever you do, the 175w won't be enough. I'd suggest you consider using a 250w bulb, raising it up a little higher off the water to get enough spread. That way you can still use that light on your next tank. I have two 250w bulbs on my 280g reef (as well as a 400w bulb). The 250w is only about $5 to $10 higher in cost to the 175w.

The Luminarc III or Luminarc Mini cost a lot ($112 to $130), but that reflector will really provide the most light to the tank. I'm probably going to be changing my reflectors to those in the coming months (as soon as I have an extra $360 to spend on my tank

A cheaper reflector will work of course, but I think you'd get a better spread over your tank's footprint.

PrangeWay · 05/01/2007, 01:32 PM

If you're going t5's, grab the 4-bulb Tek fixture, you should be set. If you're not going to have any softies, you can bump that up to the Aquactinics fixture.

Tek: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...roducts_id=476
Aquactinics: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...roducts_id=573

Both those would work great. I run a 6-bulb Tek on a 36x15x20 tank, but I only have sps and clams in it.

PW

Lord Sevein · 05/01/2007, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
The Luminarc III or Luminarc Mini cost a lot ($112 to $130), but that reflector will really provide the most light to the tank. A cheaper reflector will work of course, but I think you'd get a better spread over your tank's footprint.

So the actual length of the reflector does not have any effect on the "footprint" of the light? To put the question differently, would a 12'' reflector cover the same (or nearly the same) area as a 36'' reflector?

As I think about it, I believe that the longer reflecter would better match the footprint of the tank. However, could raising the smaller reflector higher off the water counter this?

The reason I'm aksing this is to get a better feel for the "length of reflector/hight from water" relationship.

melev · 05/02/2007, 12:35 AM

It depends what direction you run the bulb(s). A spider reflector shines down at several angles, and the Luminarc and even more as it is a faceted dome of reflective material.

Having a full length piece of metal with a bulb in the center won't make the light bounce down like a reflector that has been shaped to reflect downwards.

Lord Sevein · 05/02/2007, 04:34 PM

The reason I was asking about the longer reflector is that PA is selling a 36'' parallel reflector. As of now I plan on getting something similar to the spider or luminarc but, if the footprint of the light would be affected by a longer reflector, than I would go with the parallel.

Whew! Who knew that planning lighting would be so complicated!

04/22/2007, 12:32 AM	#1
Lord Sevein Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 110	Lighting for my 30g long Ok, here's the deal. I just bought a 30g long off a guy a few weeks ago. Right now it is only a FOWLR but over the summer I want to upgrade it to a full reef tank. (I can't resist!) I have all of the other details figured out (sump, livestock, filtration, ect.) except for the lighting. Ultimately I want to keep a mixed tank w/ a couple of clowns, softies, lps, and CLAMS! Clams is the biggie . . . gotta have those. I am well aware of the lighting requirements for the corals I want to keep, but I am particularly worried for my ultimate goal - the maxima clams. I've been told that MH is the best lighting situation for them, but there have been a number of people keeping maximas under VHO T5s with great success. So, for the last week I have been bouncing back and forth between VHO T5s and MH. I am a college student, and as such, I am on a budget. However I like the idea of having a 24 hour lighting system for my tank (i.e. moonlights as well). First I was going to get Current USA's 36'' Nova Extreme but, it doesn't have individual reflectors . . . which could be a problem (although I have read about people squeezing tek reflectors between the bulbs.) And the more I look at MH lights the more I am drawn to them. The disadvantage of those are the sheer cost of the 24 hour lighting systems! I am also worried about whether or not one bulb's light will reach the entire tank. (36X18X12) Plus, I don't want to burn out the corals that do better under lower light . . . So, basically I am in need of a more experienced reefer's help! What has been your experience? Should I go T5 or MH? Then which lighting systems would you suggest? I've learned the hard way in the past - It's always better to do it right the first time! Thanks for the help! -Sevein

05/01/2007, 11:34 AM	#8
Lord Sevein Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 110	Thanks for your help melev! The more I look at the metal halide lights at one of my LFS the more I am drawn to it. I was looking at CurrentUSA's Outer Orbit fixture . . . but I think it could too much light for my tank. (Mostly softies with a couple lps, and clams.) And, thanks to your help (from both here on RC and your site) I am leaning more towards DIY projects. I am thinking of building a canopy out of wood for a 175w MH retrofit kit. Specifically I want to use an electronic Ice cap Ballast and Hamilton 14k bulb. My next question is how to distribute the light evenly throughout the tank. (I'm sure that completely equal light distribution is impossible, especially at the edges.) Would I need to purchase a 36'' reflector in order to spread the light or would a typical 12'' reflector work just as well? I figure that the distance between the bulb and the water would effect this as well. Thanks for the help again! Last edited by Lord Sevein; 05/01/2007 at 12:06 PM.

05/01/2007, 01:32 PM	#10
PrangeWay Duke of Monte Fisto Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 722	If you're going t5's, grab the 4-bulb Tek fixture, you should be set. If you're not going to have any softies, you can bump that up to the Aquactinics fixture. Tek: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...roducts_id=476 Aquactinics: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...roducts_id=573 Both those would work great. I run a 6-bulb Tek on a 36x15x20 tank, but I only have sps and clams in it. PW __________________ Dumbest Quotes Ever..... "Great color, great growth" closely followed by "all water parameters fine"

04/22/2007, 01:54 AM	#2
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	*To Reef Central* If you use a bunch of T5s (4 to 6 bulbs), it should be enough for the needs of the livestock you've mentioned. You won't get the shimmering effect that MH lighting generates though. If you use the Luminarc III (actually, the "mini" reflector/pendant), you can probably create enough light to fit over that tank. That way a single 250w bulb would spread nicely. And if you wanted to show off your mad skills to the other college buddies in your area, get a light mover to roll that light back and forth over the tank all day long. This gives the corals adequate lighting with a single bulb and they grow more evenly as the light covers them evenly or on all sides. You don't need 24 hours of light. Corals need time to rest. Lighting periods per day can be around 8 to 11 hours, and perhaps 3 hours of moonlights. Using timers is ideal as that way the livestock learns the schedule and gets a nice period of rest (darkness).

04/22/2007, 12:56 PM	#3
Lord Sevein Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 110	Thanks for the welcome! When you said that the livestock would be fine under 4 to 6 T5 bulbs, were you refering to the Current USA bulbs or a fixture with individual reflectors? And I'll look into that pendant too.

04/22/2007, 02:36 PM	#4
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	It comes down to dollars, space, and desired look. Once you've got a few preferred choices, post the links here and I'm sure we can help you pick the right setup.

04/24/2007, 02:04 PM	#5
Lord Sevein Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 110	After doing some research this is what I have come up with . . . For completefixtures: Current USA T5 Fixture and 4 individual reflectors. These would need some squeezing as I hear, but it can be done. For retrofits: MH Ice Cap Retro with Hamilton 14k Bulb However I am still a little fuzzy on exactly how to put one of these together . . . What kind of fixture could I put these retrofits into? Sry for my noobness Again, my main concerns with the metal halide lighting are situating it above my tank (because hanging from the ceiling is a no go) and having the light spread across my entire tank. Otherwise I am all for it! And if any of you have any other suggestions then, by all means, let me know.

04/24/2007, 02:45 PM	#6
Lord Sevein Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 110	I just found this to add to the T5 fixtures: Tek Light w/ Bulbs Fixture, individual reflectors, bulbs . . . the works. Just a little out of my price range . . .

05/01/2007, 01:21 PM	#9
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	Hmm. The 30g L is 36" long, correct? How tall is it - 18"? I'm sure the 175w would be fine, but odds are you'll get to thinking about upgrading in about 9 months to a year from now, and whatever you do, the 175w won't be enough. I'd suggest you consider using a 250w bulb, raising it up a little higher off the water to get enough spread. That way you can still use that light on your next tank. I have two 250w bulbs on my 280g reef (as well as a 400w bulb). The 250w is only about $5 to $10 higher in cost to the 175w. The Luminarc III or Luminarc Mini cost a lot ($112 to $130), but that reflector will really provide the most light to the tank. I'm probably going to be changing my reflectors to those in the coming months (as soon as I have an extra $360 to spend on my tank A cheaper reflector will work of course, but I think you'd get a better spread over your tank's footprint.

05/02/2007, 12:35 AM	#12
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	It depends what direction you run the bulb(s). A spider reflector shines down at several angles, and the Luminarc and even more as it is a faceted dome of reflective material. Having a full length piece of metal with a bulb in the center won't make the light bounce down like a reflector that has been shaped to reflect downwards.

05/02/2007, 04:34 PM	#13
Lord Sevein Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 110	The reason I was asking about the longer reflector is that PA is selling a 36'' parallel reflector. As of now I plan on getting something similar to the spider or luminarc but, if the footprint of the light would be affected by a longer reflector, than I would go with the parallel. Whew! Who knew that planning lighting would be so complicated!