Show your low light tank (less 3 watts/gallon)

[guntercb]

Does anyone have a low light reef tank that they are proud of and want to post a picture? For puposes of this thread I am defining low light as less than 3 watts per gallon. I don't care if it is MH, T-5 or VHO I just want to see the reef tank if it is less than 3 watts per gallon.

Any takers???

[Misled]

I do have one I'll post a pic tomorrow. It's kind of a different tank with wide fluctuations in temp. It's in my shop at work and doesn't contain that much. I did keep a mantis in there for about 4 years, but he went to a friends tank. It only has a couple mushrooms that don't come out much and move around alot, and an encrusting gorgonia. There are stomatala(SP) snails, and one fairly large cucumber whose name is worm. There is no skimmer or any other type of filtration. Just rock, sand(coarse), and a otto powerhead. Oh and a few aiptaisa.
It's a 10 gal with (2) 13w 50/50 compact floresents, which comes out to be 2.6 wpg. The tank is at about 80 degrees this time of year and goes down to about 65 degrees in the winter. The change is very slow and the cucumber doesn't seem to mind, neither did the mantis.

I use the tank for culturing frag plugs.

[reefnewbie54321]

I got a 120g

Just running a pair of 20k 150w MH's

2.5 watts per gallon (not including sump/refugium)

Its a soft coral dominated tank

-Corals-
3 types of Mushrooms (orange, blue, and red)
4 types of Ricordia (red, pink, yellow, and blue)
22 head Dendro Colony
2 head Rhizo Colony
Huge Blue African Xenia Colony
Medium White Pom Pom Xenia Colony
Large Nen Green Nepthea Colony
19 Head PPE Colony
9" Fiji Yellow Leather

-Fish-
Pair of Nemo Clowns
Blue Tang
Yellow Tang
7 Green Chromis

-Inverts-
Neon Pink LTA
RBTA
Neon Green Tube Anemone
Neon Orange Tube Anemone
3 Harlquim Shrimp
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Coral Banded hrimp
3 Anemone Shrimp
Couple Sponges
Sea Apple
Yellow Cucumber
3 Maxima Clams
2 Pom Pom Crab
White Anemone Crab
3 Baby Blue Leg Hermits
2 Sand Cukes
2 Fighting Conches
Tons Of Snails

WOW I just types all this and went to go upload some pictures but I realized I dont have any on my new lap top. I'm to lazy to email this post to myself and switch computers so I'm just gunna post pics tommorow .... my bad

[ZLTFUL]

Mine is lit with 4 15 watt regular flourescents.
2 Actinics and 2 18,000ks now but these pics were taken when it was 1 18,000k and 1 6500k
The new lights make a HUGE difference in quality
But even now I still only have 1.25 watts/gallon
FTS

Blurry Fish Pic

Light colored Xenia

Pimpy McShrimp

Not the most photogenic fish...

[Snowboarda42]

Nice Tank!

[seapug]

very cool. I like seeing this kind of stuff. Show us some photos with the new lights. Probably looks even better.

[guntercb]

Misled - You will have to post your tank. I assume you are in Pittsburg? Does you shop have AC or does it not get that hot up there?

reefnewbie54321 - Your teasing me.... I am ready to see pictures of your tank. Sounds nice.

ZTFUL - Very nice tank. How long did you have it light with four 15-watt regular flouresecents? What corals were growing under these lights? Now with your 1.25 watts/gallon what corals are growing?

Anyone with less than 3 watts/gallon lighting want to post pictures?

Thanks,
Chris

[ZLTFUL]

I have coralimorphs(red shrooms, torquoise shrooms, yumas), Palys, a few zoa colonies, 2 different types of Xenia, and babies of all of it popping up all over.
I also have an unidentified coral that was pink and looked very bleached with the old light. Now it is starting to turn green with the new lights. It has encrusted a good chunk of rock clear in the bottom back side of my tank.

Tank has been running for about 3 months now. I finished the hood with the 4 15 watters just last weekend so not alot of time to tell how things are growing other than color differences.

Up until last weekend I was running just the 2 15 watters. Before that for about 3 or 4 weeks I had a single.

I have a 400 watt MH but really, I have nothing that needs that much light so it has been gathering dust in my garage.
I am picking up a ~40 gallon sump this weekend with a skimmer and fuge and will be running a power compact on it for the macroalgae. At this point I have no intentions of changing the lights as when the hood is open, it is intense and bright enough for my fiancee to comment on the light hurting her eyes.

The only thing I do really notice is my coralline growth has been painfully slow. I am FINALLY getting some growth on the glass on the back of the tank. And the rock I started swith was heavily encrusted with Coralline.

I will upload some pics this weekend with the new lighting. I like taking the good pics after the sun has gone down so that the blinds behind me don't reflect off the tank.

[guntercb]

ZLTFUL,

Thanks for the update. You shrooms and xenia appear to be doing very well. I think you will find Coralline will take off soon.

Wow, I guess most people are using more than 3 watts/gallon? I would expect to see more tank pictures posted.

Cheers,
Chris

[danlu_gt]

I have a 180gal with 8 54watt T5. That's 2.4watt per gallon.

pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...9579049&size=o

[guntercb]

Here is Danlu_gt's Tank:



Nice tank!!

Cheers,
Chris

[Misled]

Ok here's mine, just remember it's not really a show tank but it is used to culture frag plugs and house items I take from my main tank that I don't want in it anymore, then I can show them to anyone who wants them. And yes Pittsburgh, and my shop does have some a/c.

This is a good pic of worm.







This is my tank. It only has a bit over 5 wpg.

[barjam]

With T5 you can be at or below the 3wpg and keep just about anything depending on placement.

[ZLTFUL]

OK...here are a series of before and after pics. Before pics are with 1 18,000k 15 watter and 1 6500k 15 watter and the After pics are 2 18,000k 15 watters and 2 Actinic 15 watters...

Before FTS:

After FTS:

Before Light Xenia:

After Light Xenia:

Before Torqouise Shrooms:

After Torquoise Shrooms:

And a misc after new lights pic...

[dendro982]

90g, 110W PC:


6g NC, 18W 50-50 PC (does actinic counts?):

before this:


Same 6g NC now, no light at all, some light from other tanks, mostly 90g:

[Razzagas]

The last tank with the gorgonians is amazing! How do you feed them?

[guntercb]

Misled - I like the worm.

dendro982 - Very nice 90 with only 110 watts of lighting. Nice. It is going to look great when the corals in the back fill in. I also like the Gorgonians tank. Have you had them long?

Cheers,
Chris

[currentking]

65 gallon with 150w 20 M/H

[dendro982]

Gorgonians: the one with rubber band - have it for an year, at the right from it - 4 months less, others are few months only.
Feeding - mostly dried Cyclop-eeze, the only available and affordable, pollutes water less, than frozen food. Feeding - a few times a day with filtration off. Always problem with water quality. Soon will be with skimmer, less water changes.

currentking: What is depth of the tank, 24"?
With my 110W so good looking brains and mushrooms (other than hairy) are impossible...

[usmcsgt]

Wow these are some pretty nice low light tanks.

[guntercb]

currentking - Thanks for posting. That is a great set up. Very nice. I like what you can do with a lower light set up. I cannot believe that is only 150 watt over a 65. Way to go!!

Dendro982 - Thanks for updating us on the gorgonians. That are very nice looking.

Any other photos of tanks with less than 3 watts/gallon?

Cheers,
Chris

[Shade00]

Here is a picture of my 37g from about 3 months ago. The tank was taken down 3 days ago, and I had made some changes since this picture was taken.

Tank dimensions are 30" L x 24" H x 12" D.

Lighting was 3 x 24w T5HOs: one Super Actinic, one UVL Aquasun, and one ATI Blue Plus, all with Icecap reflectors. 72w/37g = 1.95 wpg.

The tank was mostly softies, as you can see, but I had a couple of LPS: frogspawn, a slipper, some blastos. Lots of shrooms, zoas, a few ricordea not seen here, a couple of leathers.

[guntercb]

Shade00,

You took down that 37. )-: That is ashame it is a geat looking tank. Did you put the contents in your 58?

Anyone else have some reef tanks with less than 3 watts per gallon lighting to post?

Cheers,
Chris

[Shade00]

Thanks for the compliment gunter. I did take that tank down, but I kept everything inside it. I just felt like it was time to upgrade... I needed more depth, and it was just too difficult to light and work inside the 37g.

Trust me, it was difficult to take it down - I had it up for 2 years, but it wasn't that bad since I was just moving everything. And I feel like the new tank looks a lot better anyway. =) The new tank has under 4 wpg... but it sure seems a heck of a lot brighter.

[andbigdaddy2]

Hey lets see some more.