Ickypimp Posted July 19, 2005 Posted July 19, 2005 ok i am new round here and dont know as much as many (but more than some) about this hobby but i feel i have to say this I am still struggling with how to light my 10 gallon nano when it gets underway, i have seen alot of conflicting evidence as to what is suitable for what.. you guys seem also to be obsessed by watts also WHY, the wattage of the lighting simply has no relation to the light output. It's important to understand energy use in lamps when you choose from today's full array of lighting technologies. The amount of light given off is measured in lumens. One lumen is the equivalent of the light given off by one candle. A watt, on the other hand, is the amount of electricity a light bulb uses to produce light - it's not an indication of brightness. so is it propper to compate t8 with PC or MH with T5, well no... colour of light is also significant and something that is often mentioned but rarely explained, it seems apparent that blueer light is more desirable, around 10, 000k seems to be average... why, is it aesthetic i know that photosynthetic corals contain several pigments that absorb light at different wavelengths is actinic light a must or is it a luxury coral fluoresence... you would need to filter all that blue light to really see it.. i am stumped as to where to go next the tank i am going to use for my nano is a tropiquarium 55, it comes fitted with a standard 15 watt T8 (ehhem) freshwater tube. i can get both an actinic tube and a power glo tube for that holder, i was looking at going actinic with that lamp then adding a T4 triphosphor white tube, i have used these to great effect in my cidhlid tank... My biggest problem is that of finances and avalability,i have very little to spend... most stuff on ebay is too big for my needs, most stuff i can find is too expensive or waaay OTT help me...please i need some clarification oh yes you are gonna ask what i want to keep, well i just want average, zoanthids, softies, leathers shrooms, maybe a sun coral and a couple of LPS, couple of fish...
NowSnow Posted July 19, 2005 Posted July 19, 2005 read this thread http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...fties+intensity i would light the tank with this for the things that you want to keep...i dont know how much "very little to spend" equates in dollar amounts but its a nice fixture http://www.hellolights.com/201xcoaqpcho.html
mattgreene22 Posted July 19, 2005 Posted July 19, 2005 I have the light NowSnow lists from hellolights on my 10g with montipora (which have grown at least a little in the month I've had them)...so I'd agree it would probably work out nicely for you as well with that stocking list. As far as why everyone refers to wattage rather than lumens...it's mostly convenience but partly ignorance. Some people think wattage is the key...either becuase they don't know the difference yet or because people always told them about wattage per gallon "rules". Others, myself as well as many many more, get the difference but just don't have a way on hand to measure the lumens our lamps put out (towards the tank). In general, wattage is easier to reference here in the states and is normally stamped somewhere on the box. It's the quick and dirty comparison...but you're right it really isn't a good one. Besides the fact that different kinds of lighting use energy differently...there are also differences in quality and shapes of reflectors within the same light type, "overdriven" bulbs, and product variability...so most of our comparisons are really just our best guesses. (Unless your Sanjay Joshi...check him out)
Ickypimp Posted July 19, 2005 Author Posted July 19, 2005 I am familiar with Sanjay Joshi, which partially triggered my outburst... I would think that the manufacturers would give output in lumensit would be simple to create a formula then for lumens per tank depth and surface area, this could even be adapted to give a low, moderate and high catagory rating on a proposrd set up, hell i reckon a bit of excel jiggery pokery would do that and reccomend what inverts you could keep with said lighting, that would be a great tol for the budding reefer..
mattgreene22 Posted July 19, 2005 Posted July 19, 2005 Yeah...I wish it were out there. What we need is for Sanjay to start moving out of just MH and start looking at the kind of lights nano-reefers are using.
danferd2002 Posted July 20, 2005 Posted July 20, 2005 Go for the 96w quad from coralife, you will want highter light corals eventually- everyone does. You can get one on ebay for like $100. Its well worth the money. You can keep softies, zoos, LPS, and some of the lower light SPS with this light. So your options open up alot more.
Steve973 Posted July 20, 2005 Posted July 20, 2005 Watts are an adequate value to compare when you're comparing the same type of lighting. But if you're going to want "higher light" corals (and I'm assuming this means SPS), then you won't want fluorescent lighting - you'll want metal halide.
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