Lighting vs flow - what to spend money on

Nicmar · 05/18/2012, 11:28 PM

Currently I have a 4 foot tank with chinese lights and cheap powerheads.

I am replacing it with a 2 foot cube.
I am not sure what I am best to do about my lighting and power heads.

Option 1: I have spare x3 ecoxotic par38 bulbs in royal blue. Use these and buy a 50 w ecoxotic 12000k cannon and a votech mp10 or mp40.

Option 2: buy a radion and use cheap powerheads or even a cheap wavemaker. Is the radion noisy?

What I like about ecoxotic products is that there is no fan so it will not be noisy in the living room and I can add more units cost effectively compared to the radion. What I dont like is no dimming and when the lights come on will they shock the corals rather than ramping up like the radion can do.
I could go to the 100 w with dimming but the spread is more than what i really need for now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ecFrn2GRFA
Not sure how these 50 w are dimming, but I love the setup.

I have been thinking about this for weeks now and need to make a decision asap. The vortech I am mainly keen on for the wave mode and not taking up room in my tank. I don't like them for the noise, but wont have them on wave mode when home.

I will be upgrading the tank later when I buy a house so need to be able to use the gear on the larger tank. It also has sps and lps.

Any ideas?

hollister · 05/18/2012, 11:38 PM

Its a no brainer. Flow. Good water flow is vital for your tanks health.

jinks · 05/18/2012, 11:42 PM

Quality seems to drop of much faster with lights then with flow. Not to say that a vortech isn't very nice, but i would rather put my money into the lights and go with tunze or even a korelia.

cloak · 05/19/2012, 10:55 AM

I would go with the lighting as well. I've seen too many beautiful tanks where the flow rate wasn't up to par so to say but the corals looked great. Keeping your parameters stable will also play a crucial role.

Sk8r · 05/19/2012, 11:14 AM

What kind of corals do you want to keep? The answer is somewhat dependent.
I got massive flow by opposing 2 Sea Swirls: they're completely chaotic, as their swing rates almost never match. And they do a very good job. No dead spots.

Misled · 05/19/2012, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

What kind of corals do you want to keep? The answer is somewhat dependent.

I agree with this. Sometimes, because of what's in the tank, not as much flow is needed. I just cut mine in half to get a nem to stay put.

Nicmar · 05/19/2012, 11:43 AM

Mainly SPS and a few LPS.
Is radion a noisy light?
I read the fan stays in the whole time.

05/18/2012, 11:28 PM	#1
Nicmar Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 61	Lighting vs flow - what to spend money on Currently I have a 4 foot tank with chinese lights and cheap powerheads. I am replacing it with a 2 foot cube. I am not sure what I am best to do about my lighting and power heads. Option 1: I have spare x3 ecoxotic par38 bulbs in royal blue. Use these and buy a 50 w ecoxotic 12000k cannon and a votech mp10 or mp40. Option 2: buy a radion and use cheap powerheads or even a cheap wavemaker. Is the radion noisy? What I like about ecoxotic products is that there is no fan so it will not be noisy in the living room and I can add more units cost effectively compared to the radion. What I dont like is no dimming and when the lights come on will they shock the corals rather than ramping up like the radion can do. I could go to the 100 w with dimming but the spread is more than what i really need for now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ecFrn2GRFA Not sure how these 50 w are dimming, but I love the setup. I have been thinking about this for weeks now and need to make a decision asap. The vortech I am mainly keen on for the wave mode and not taking up room in my tank. I don't like them for the noise, but wont have them on wave mode when home. I will be upgrading the tank later when I buy a house so need to be able to use the gear on the larger tank. It also has sps and lps. Any ideas?

05/19/2012, 11:14 AM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	What kind of corals do you want to keep? The answer is somewhat dependent. I got massive flow by opposing 2 Sea Swirls: they're completely chaotic, as their swing rates almost never match. And they do a very good job. No dead spots. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/18/2012, 11:38 PM	#2
hollister Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,037	Its a no brainer. Flow. Good water flow is vital for your tanks health.

05/18/2012, 11:42 PM	#3
jinks Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 581	Quality seems to drop of much faster with lights then with flow. Not to say that a vortech isn't very nice, but i would rather put my money into the lights and go with tunze or even a korelia.

05/19/2012, 10:55 AM	#4
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	I would go with the lighting as well. I've seen too many beautiful tanks where the flow rate wasn't up to par so to say but the corals looked great. Keeping your parameters stable will also play a crucial role.

05/19/2012, 11:43 AM	#7
Nicmar Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 61	Mainly SPS and a few LPS. Is radion a noisy light? I read the fan stays in the whole time.