luckster Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 could someone recommend lighting for my 10 gal..In it is 3in ls,15lb lr,yellow polyps,mushrooms,finger leather, a colt,hermit,2 snails and a dottyback...all water levels are great just need better lighting...the light now is a life gro 20 wtt,it is pretty bright but I know I need better...... Link to comment
Deimos Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 Luckster, I'm probably going to get crap here...but...I've got a 10 gallon setup very similar to yours (depth-wise that is...about 3 inches of sand which leaves about 9 inches of water depth...) and I've got a homemade suspended hood over it with 3 X 15w NO fixtures in it. If you're only planning on keeping softies and at most LPS...then I'd recommend a setup like this to save a bit of cash. The only place I wouldn't suggest skimping if you do go this route is on the bulbs....I have a Coralife Magtinic (reflectored), a Coralife Actinic bulb, and a Zoomed 10,000K bulb. I've found that this produces a good amount of light...and I like the bulb mix. If you're looking to not spend a ton of cash..I'd suggest building your own hood with NO fluorescents or even some of the cheaper PC retrofits. Just my experience..HTH... Later.. Link to comment
Nishant3789 Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 yea man if u want to go all NO sure get 3 undercabinet fixtures from walmart they should be like under ten bux each. then get those bulbs mentioned. i wouol suggeast two 10ks and one actnic 03. now in total the light setup may cost u just as much as one 36 watt strip from petsupplyliquidator ( a sponser of nano-reef.com) which is 45 bux. weither way ull end up with just about the ame intensity. ok fine maybe PC iwsa lil more but i prefer the actnic look of the NOs better and the colour of NOs. well hopethis helps nishant Link to comment
gobies Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 If you're going to go with NO bulbs, definitely get the ones with reflectors. Makes a huge difference. Link to comment
newreefers Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 I just set up a 10 gallon, I made a canopy so the lights sit 8" above the water(heat facter) , 3-4" of ls, lighting is 72w of pc. This puts the lighting at 7.2w per gallon, enough to keep clams and stonies down the road. Link to comment
Nishant3789 Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 ok ok ok now listen to me verrry carefullyyyyy, stonies and clams CAN be kept under NO. youy would jut need three times the wattage of PC. nishant Link to comment
The Unit Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 I was in the same boat your are....10 gal but what about lights....im a kid so money is always tight...i looked at everything from MH to NO's and PC's at the time seemed to much[ i know MH is more but i said i "Looked", not concidered] so i went for 2 15w NO's....cheap...like 30 bucks....this was fine for a while...i had and still have a condylactus and rock anemone and yellow polyps...but it wasnt enought for me.....so i put to more on and was happy but now i with i had just went with the $100 2x32w petsupplyliquadator light....NO's are ok but they just dont compare to the brightness of PC....and the color isnt that much of a difference ........DO IT RIGHT THE 1ST TIME.....something i wish i learned a while back........also i have a pic of my 4x15w NO's somewhere on this site......ill look later Link to comment
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