h2o Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 How many K is a daylight tube supposed - 6500K?? What would be the best lighting combination for a nano reef if I was to use 4 fluro tubes. I was thinking of 2 daylights and 2 10,000K or 2 10000K and 2 Actinic or 2 Actinic and 2 daylights. I would use power compacts but they aren't available in the right K in Australia. Comments about the best combination would be great. Link to comment
skeletor Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 Originally posted by h2o How many K is a daylight tube supposed - 6500K?? Yep, the sun is supposed to be 6500K (or there abouts), anyway, that looks kind of yellow over a tank. nice if you want maximum growth of shallow water corals (SPS etc), but it doesn't look that good IMO What would be the best lighting combination for a nano reef if I was to use 4 fluro tubes. the best combination is something you are happy looking at every day. who wants super huge coral growth if everything looks brown and the water looks yellow. I run 2 x 55W 10K and 2 x 55W Actinic over a 20gal tank, it is nice and white and I like the look, my corals have a nice colour and growth is good... All bulbs are not created equal, so you may have to try some differnent brand combinations until you find something you're happy with. I would use power compacts but they aren't available in the right K in Australia. Can you get VHO or T5 in aus ? Comments about the best combination would be great. ok, Don't rule out MH as an option.. -skeletor- Link to comment
h2o Posted June 18, 2003 Author Share Posted June 18, 2003 Not sure if I can get VHO but the t5 once again does not come in the right K. I have considered MH but at this stage seems a little expensive, especially the replacement lamps. thanks for your input Link to comment
skeletor Posted June 18, 2003 Share Posted June 18, 2003 ok, for me with 4 x 55w PC's the cost per bulb is about $25 per year = $100/year for bulbs. a single MH bulb costs less than that (here anyway).. I'm glad I moved to California before getting into this hobby ;-) so what does everyone else down in .au use then ? -skeletor- Link to comment
h2o Posted June 18, 2003 Author Share Posted June 18, 2003 nano reef in au aren't very popular, I don't know of anyone having one. Most reef tanks are at least 200L (50gallons). Due to the depth they use MH. The other problem with MH is heat issue, Ill be building a full cabinet around my tank therefore heat will build up too much if I use a MH. With a MH would actinic tubes still be required? Fluro tubes here are $15.00 so 4 x 12 = $48 I was planning on replacing them 2 times a year so $96.00 a year. MH bulbs are around $135. After doing the sums MH seems well priced, just higher start up costs and power bills Link to comment
skeletor Posted June 18, 2003 Share Posted June 18, 2003 what sort of wattage are those fluro tubes ? I'll bet they are 20 or 40 watt... and what size tank ? check out the life span of those bulbs, replacing them every 6 months may be overkill and you might just be throwing out good bulbs. anyway, it depends on what you want to keep... and how many watts per gallon those fluro's are, but mostly what you want to keep..... -skeletor- Link to comment
h2o Posted June 18, 2003 Author Share Posted June 18, 2003 the fluro tubes are 18 watts so total wattage would be 72watts. tank size is 60cm (l) x 35cm (h) x 35 (w) = 73L or 19 gallons. therefore 3.8 watts per gallon. another alternative was to chage the back 2 tubes every 6 months and bring the back ones to the front. ie back tubes will be no oler than 6 months and front tubes will be no older than 12 months. hopefully this will minise the shock of new tubes. i'm assuming this is enough for most soft corals such as zoos, mushrooms etc. i don't think i'll be able to keep sps. what other corals require higher amounts of light? are the torch corals ok with my kind of lighting? Link to comment
dickwayne Posted June 18, 2003 Share Posted June 18, 2003 Does it cost more for you to order lights from an online vendor? Hellolights has an awsome deal for an electronic MH ballast for around $130, and a 20k XM bulb for under $70. Def. Worth checking out IMO. I am trying to save up for one right now, but school is expensive!! Link to comment
h2o Posted June 19, 2003 Author Share Posted June 19, 2003 the prices on the fluros are the best i can find both on line and in the shops. unfortunately the voltage in au is different to yours and hellolights don't ship to au. as i understand it light from pc are more intense than no fluros, therefore more would be required. Link to comment
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