pseudo Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Hi Everyone! Glad to have found this site. I've enjoyed reading the articles here and searching through all of the discussions. So many questions have been answered (thank you SEARCH button ). I have even more questions, of course, but here are some details about me: I've been running two different FOWLR tanks - 46gal and 29gal - for four years now (I know, boring, boring). Emperor 400 Biowheel on the 46 and Emperor 280 Biowheel on the 29. I've made mistakes in my saltwater adventures, one of the main ones being listening to the LFS. That's half the reason I've been skittish about going nano. But I'm ready to make the leap! Well, it's more like a little jump after four years, right? We just moved and I brought my water with me so I wouldn't have to cycle again. So new house, time for a new twist on the tank. Now for the fun part. I'm turning my 29gal into a nano. I'd really like to take it slow and start with corals and inverts that are fairly easy. All of my reading has left me with some general ideas on what types to start with but I'd love to hear everyone's ideas and your own experiences. My big task right now is choosing lighting. Yes, my lighting is pathetic. I'm still using the hood that came with my tank so you can imagine how sad my lighting is. Has anyone had any experience with the Custom SeaLife PowerCompact/Moon-Lite Fixtures? I'm looking at the 2 - 65W + 2 - Moon-Lite but I'm thinking this may not be enough. My tank doesn't have a fancy hood so I guess I'll have to build a custom one to make it look decent. My tank stand is one of those particle board ditties so would building a hood be too much weight, you think? I'm probably worried over nothing. If it stands with all that water, a little wood and some lights wouldn't bring it down, right? I've also read conflicting info on the glass top. Should it have glass on top to keep the jumpers in or would I need to take the glass off for better air? Oh boy. I didn't realize I still had so many questions. Sorry. I know my big hurdle right now is lighting. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and becoming a nano reefer! Link to comment
pseudo Posted June 19, 2003 Author Share Posted June 19, 2003 My apologies! This post is better suited for the Beginners Forum instead of General and I thought Beginners is where I was at when I posted. I tried to delete my original post and it wouldn't let me. I hope someone can answer my questions here because I don't want to hog the forum with a duplicate post in the Beginners section. I'll be good now, I promise. Please forgive. Link to comment
Rush Battle Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Well sir, It seems that you are on the right track. I suggest the most light you can afford, I know you hear that all the time, but it really does save money and time and effort if you just get enough light the first time. For a 29, I would choose a 250 watt halide, but I like to overdo things. I have a 2x65 on my 20h and it seems to be okay, but I would rather have a 250w halide. Hellolights.com seems to have some competitive prices, but you may want to shop around. Hope I helped, if you have any questions, feel free to pm, or just post again. Rush Link to comment
pseudo Posted June 20, 2003 Author Share Posted June 20, 2003 Thank you for your reply Rush! I appreciate your help. I've read so much conflicting info but it's basically based on how to determine the right amount of light. I've heard 6 watts per gallon. Then 8. I know it depends on the types or corals you'd like to have but it seems like there's a lot of info out there. And my head is swimming (no pun intended) with all of the various suggestions. I've pretty much come up with 230 watts to be able to house anything I want. If I'm off track, please correct me! I'm also looking into the metal halides. Seems like they are pricey but from what I've read, they're worth it. Decisions, decisions! From your setup, seems like you're getting about 6.5 watts per gallon. Are you housing corals in the tank as well? If so, I'd love to hear what kind are working out for you. And do you have a custom hood for your lights? Since I've been FOWLR, I've got that crappy plastic hood that came with the tank. I guess I'll have to build one of my own and have been looking for ideas. Like I said, I'm a bit skittish about reefing because of my history and that's just with FOWLR. One of my worst experiences was in my first year. I lost my job and came home to a tank of dead fish. I was so distraught over the fish! I told family and friends, "All of my fish died! Oh, and I lost my job." I was definitely more upset over the fish. My landlord was more upset over the job. P.S. I'm a gal not a guy but no biggie. I've been called all sorts of things. Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 ok if you want to be able to keep anything then the 250 is the way to go. if you want to keep lots of stuff a 175 would be plenty. in smaller tanks the actual watts per gallon isnt the issue. 2x65 watts would be sufficient for all softies and some lps....if you could get 2 96 watters in there you could keep all lps and some sps....many people are keeping sps succesfully under pcs in nanos as well as clams...with pcs the more light needy corals jsut need to be higher in the water column that say if you had halides. so i will second the 250w halide assuming you want no boundries in what you can keep. but you have many other options as i have seen awesome tanks that were all lps and softies Link to comment
pseudo Posted June 21, 2003 Author Share Posted June 21, 2003 Thank you SLOreefer! This is just the lowdown I needed. You and Rush have convinced me so I'm off to research the 250w for prices. (I know, not cheap but this hobby isn't!) On that note, I just had to share this... This afternoon I broke the news to my hubby that we were going to have to upgrade our lighting on the 29g. (I brought the tanks into the marriage.) He said, "Well, it won't be any more expensive than the $150 worth of rock you just bought...right?" Silly, silly man. I'm going to have to get him in here with all you guys and gals so he can see our tank's potential. I don't think he has any idea. He was excited that we're getting some snails! (Did I mention he NEVER had a pet growing up? Not even a hamster or a goldfish.) :*( Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 man deprived child...i would have died without my tanks growing up. well i had cats and dogs and birds and everyhting too but ya i love pets.anyway i dont htink you will be dissapointed with your choice of a 250w halide. you will be able to keep anything you want. jsut be sure when you are setting up your rock to make some spots with shade so you can have lower light species as well. Link to comment
pseudo Posted June 21, 2003 Author Share Posted June 21, 2003 Hiya SLO, I agree - very deprived! I had hamsters, birds, fish, cats, dogs. If I had my way, our house would be filled with animals right now too! The one thing I never had was a ferret. That was the only animal I couldn't get mom to bend on. I finally talked my husband into getting a dog almost 2 years ago. He always wanted one but his parents wouldn't let him. (I thought every boy needed a dog!) Hubby has turned into a child with our Beagle. We don't have children just yet so our dog is our son and boy is he ever treated like a human! Anyway, just wanted to thank you for your tip about creating shade. I was wondering how I was going to be able to keep the lower light species happy and (duh!) didn't think of creating shade. I thought I was making progress but I have so much left to learn! Link to comment
Rush Battle Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 Sorry about the sir thing......but yes, I keep mostly large polyped stony corals, and they are doing quite good. My light setup on that tank is kinda "rigged." As in, it is just pieced together, but it looks good. They are all full fixtures.....kinda hard to explain, I will post a picture for you later. I think that you have a good handle on things. If I were you, and I had the money, I would do halides, because they allow the most diverse species set. But if you want to keep the lower light species, go for power compact lighting, it is nice too. I have only pc lighting on all my tanks. Rush Link to comment
pseudo Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 Hi Rush, No apologies necessary for the 'sir' thing. I'm not easily offended. Well, I guess I am if you called me some other names I can think of. Not a biggie, though. I can't wait to see a pic of your tank. I've been researching some more and I'm a bit worried about the heat from halides. I really don't want to burn the house down and I'm sure that's probably naive. I've been reading a lot on here and it seems like no one's had any real trouble. I have a couple of really dumb questions that I'm having a hard time figuring out. (This will show what a novice I am!) 1. I'll be building a canopy myself. What are the differences between a ballast kit, ballast and retrofit kit and which one would I need? It's been hard for me to figure out exactly what I need and prices since I'm not real sure where to start on that. Right now I've just got that cheap plastic hood that comes with the aquarium so I know that's out. 2. One more silly question and I'll be all set on lighting. If I went with the 96W PCs from Custom SeaLife, they're 36" and my tank is 30". If I oversized the canopy to get these 96W PCs in would I be losing too much light to make a difference? MH looks like the easiest, most practical solution. Just interested to know what you think. Off to research some books I can buy. I made the mistake of thinking the library might have some books I could get my hands on but I think reef keeping technology has probably changed since 1970! Link to comment
Deimos Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Yay!! Another convert to the Church of Halide....long live Pope Radium CCL (250 for you heathens..lol) Welcome aboard Pseudo... You definately won't regret the decision... Good Luck! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.