Lighting for a 15gallon nano?

[moorediddy]

Ok ok, I know that every other question on this board is about lighting, and believe me, I've read most of them. But my question is more specific, and I haven't found any with the same setup. My girlfriend just bought a 15g (Long), from the LFS with a glass top and cheap fixture. She was planning on doing a freshwater setup, but after seeing some of the tanks on here, she's decided she wants to go with a nano. The problem is, the fixture they sold her only has a 15w 50/50 bulb in it. I'm not sure how many watts the fixture will support, so I don't know if adding a higher wattage bulb is an option. So my question is...

 

Will the 15w 50/50 be sufficient for FOWLR? And what about some basic soft corals? She's planning on upgrading the lighting a little later, but she doesn't feel like dropping another $100+ on a hood/fixture setup, or a Coralife 2x36" Aqualight CF Hood... she just wants to try and get by with the 15w for now, even if she has to keep it FOWLR.

 

Thanks,

 

Moore

[Glenn]

You can get a CSL retro that would fit in the existing hood perfectly, and they are less than $50. Or you could ditch the hood all together and use one of the clamp on lights that are for sale on E-Bay.

[moorediddy]

That's the thing... I'm familiar with retrofits, but the "hood" that she got with her tank, isn't much of a hood at all. It's one of those "fixtures in black plastic" kind of hoods. It's basically just a light strip, it looks kind of like the Strip-lite series from AGA.

http://www.all-glass.com/products/hoods/striplite.html

 

 

I don't know how much more I could fit in there, I suppose maybe a small retro kit, but I'm worried about heat, with it resting directly on top of the glass cover.

 

 

-moore

[Deimos]

FOWLR tanks have absolutely no light requirements...you could run them dark, but that wouldn't be much fun..lol. There are some corals that can be kept without any special lighting at all..but they should only be kept by the reefer with a bit of experience as they require daily feedings. As with all lighting questions....I'll give my stock answer....don't reef without metal halides. Plain and simple...sure you can do it passibly with less...but to have "unlimited possibilities" you really want to go with halides...matter of fact..you'll kick yourself later because you didn't just save up and spend a bit more at the beginning. I'd tell her to just stick with the current lighting for now if she can't afford to upgrade...make a nice little FOWLR tank..and in a few months..save up and swing for an open top tank and a MH pendant in the 175w-250w range.

 

thats my best advice....