SaVeThEeELs Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 ive been reading up on T5s.... there are 2 kinds normal output NO and high output HO the ho is the best...but you pay for the best... my logic in goin towards t5s is cost effectiveness and heat they arnt as bright as a halide, but dam close t5 bulbs are aLOT cheaper than halide bulbs.....half the cost they dont burn as hot, heat can be a big problem in smaller tanks.... this guy is 24'', and normal output, but the price is right..... i saw some british dude w/ an 18'' ho t5...still lookin for that badboy a halide would be perfect for my 20.....but im not a walmart executive yet.... getting closer to my price and power i want price is still not right....guess im being cheap... nicer.....but still halide could be bought for this.... Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 help me look!!! i may have to settle for this.....i think the bulbs are still 40+ damit Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 lots of lights! so hard to choose, ive got an idea, eels if you had to pick one of those lights for a 10g and you can incorporate it into a 20w 20'' existing fixture what would it be? all this research is awesome btw, youre gunns be quite prepared when you get your up and running. haha i had no idea anyone was even posting on my other thread, sort of forgot about it oops. i will make the move to that thread once i get a nice camera and can start it out with some good pics Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 lots of lights! so hard to choose, ive got an idea, eels if you had to pick one of those lights for a 10g and you can incorporate it into a 15w 20'' existing fixture either the 24'' coralife t5no fixture or this guy thats if im still using a fixture i got..... thats about all i want to spend.....no more than 50-75 tops..... Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 i think ill try out ''this guy'' and keep my 20w coralife, thatll give me 48 watts and that fixture looks like good output, now Ill need to find a way to put that on top of my tank. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 i think ill try out ''this guy'' and keep my 20w coralife, thatll give me 48 watts and that fixture looks like good output, now Ill need to find a way to put that on top of my tank. scratch that, im going to half and half the cost of this with my parents for a bday present, im pretty sure it will do the job guess i need to show what it is http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113030 Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 10, 2006 Author Share Posted November 10, 2006 updates: got a clownfish and seom hermits from the lfs today. got a maroon white striped clown, tank bred, that was bred to stay small (or so he says) unlike the huge maroon ones that get to like 6'', id say this little guy is about an inch- if he gets too crazy or big the guy said bring him back and Im welcome to trade him in for a perc or ocellaris, but they were 10 bucks more so ill give this one a shot for now, he looks good, and 4 hermits, looks like a blue legged and 3 reds, they all have red antennas tho, not like the firs one i got there at all, regardless theyre hyperactive and im sure theyll help out the algae problem. he didnt have any nas snails so i may just order some online coral im gettin from a guy is shipping out monday so ill gets some pics up then and try to permanently move to the new thread in member aquariums Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 tentacles, i have just gotten into this thread. but are you looking for lighting on a 10g? or a 20g like savetheeels was talking about? i have done a freakishly large amount of research on lighting tanks around these sizes. lmk Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 11, 2006 Author Share Posted November 11, 2006 tentacles, i have just gotten into this thread. but are you looking for lighting on a 10g? or a 20g like savetheeels was talking about? i have done a freakishly large amount of research on lighting tanks around these sizes. lmk definitely want to know what youve found out about lighting, what do you think about the light i talked about getting above? and yea, 10 gallons Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 ok, for ten gallons, what do you want to keep? and how much are you willing to spend? Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 well I was looking at a 96watt fixture that was on sale for about $160, the link a few posts above, Id have to say thats about my price cap. I have hermits snails a clown- maybe a pair if I get bold, and coral wise Im going to have zoas frogspawn ricordia and caulestra, and anything else along those lines, the guy i am getting them from said they would do ok in my sort of low light ~40w, until i get something new. bring on some suggestions Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 ok, here we go: your best option for that price would be to get a 70w halide and mount it in a homemade hood. put a fan blowing in and some vents and you're golden. that would cost around $160 to make and would be much better than the 96w quad. the next best option would be 2 x 36w bright light kits for ahsupply.com. here you sould also have to manufacture a hood. this would cost around $70 or so off the top of my head. your easies option would be a 2 x 40w satellite fixture. much more efficient than those 96w quads. the orbit is also very nice but its not too much better than the satellite to warrant extra cash. this option also comes with a moonlight for around $100 or so I believe. i think this would be the easiest and most efficient option for your needs. plenty of light to get great coloration out of your soft corals and even your lps. this should be great for anything short of sps, clams, and most anemones(a flower anemone would be fine). links below: http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_satellite.html for the satellite http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm for ah-supply http://www.illuming.com for the halide Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 ok, here we go:your best option for that price would be to get a 70w halide and mount it in a homemade hood. put a fan blowing in and some vents and you're golden. that would cost around $160 to make and would be much better than the 96w quad. the next best option would be 2 x 36w bright light kits for ahsupply.com. here you sould also have to manufacture a hood. this would cost around $70 or so off the top of my head. your easies option would be a 2 x 40w satellite fixture. much more efficient than those 96w quads. the orbit is also very nice but its not too much better than the satellite to warrant extra cash. this option also comes with a moonlight for around $100 or so I believe. i think this would be the easiest and most efficient option for your needs. plenty of light to get great coloration out of your soft corals and even your lps. this should be great for anything short of sps, clams, and most anemones(a flower anemone would be fine). links below: http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_satellite.html for the satellite http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm for ah-supply http://www.illuming.com for the halide since you say the best option is a 70w halide id like to go that route, but I live in a townhouse with 3 roomates at college so I dont have any way of making my own hood anytime soon, is there a mouting system or a 70w halide that comes with one somewhere that you know of? also why do you say 70w halide is the best? just curious thanks! Link to comment
directional Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 since you say the best option is a 70w halide id like to go that route, but I live in a townhouse with 3 roomates at college so I dont have any way of making my own hood anytime soon, is there a mouting system or a 70w halide that comes with one somewhere that you know of? also why do you say 70w halide is the best? just curious thanks! MH tends to have a spectrum that perices through the water better then the other types of lights. Therefore being more efficent. I think Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 MH tends to have a spectrum that perices through the water better then the other types of lights. Therefore being more efficent. I think sounds good to me now to find one with its own hood or mouting system or one that can fit on my hood also how hot do these things run since they are ''the closest form of lighting compare to the sun'' Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 well actually now that ive looked at them all and thought about it I think the satellite would be best, cheapest for me- alot cheaper than the 96w, and itll have less heat issues than the 96w, and its got a perfect size. Im going to look into them a bit more, bu I think the 2 by40w 20inch fixture with some of those mounting brackets would be about perfect. thanks very much for the info travisurfer, it was very helpful and educational Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 no problem. the reason why mh is the best is because it penetrates through the water much more efficiently. the only non retrofit mh that is worth anything would cost you over $200. mh is extremely hot and would require fans in the hood. the 2 x 40w should also be noticably brighter than the 96quad. it comes with fans and a moonlight just as added bonuses. the site i posted will basically be the cheapest price you can find on it. just about every softie and lps should be fine. let us know how it goes. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 well i was getting alot of dusty stuff churned up in the tank by the powerhead so i pointed it toward the aquaclear now instead of toward the front of the tank and I removed the whisper filter and just have the powerhead on the far right blowing toward the ac on the far left, hopefully that will let it settle all the random crazy flow going on in the tank, heres a crappy shot of it with my macbook camera haha, had to balance it in my hand and leave over the top just to see it, anyone got any powerhead placement tips? also i dont really know but this powerhead may just be a bit too pwerful, but it was 10 bucks so i couldnt pass it up, the clown seems to like the flow tho edit: thats pic is all opposite, the powerhead is on the right and the ac on the left also found these two little brownish tanish rolley poley lookin bugs, anyone know what they are? just kill em? Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 that tank looks great! the powerhead is a bit overwhelming though as far as size. the little bugs are pods. good cleaners and food source. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 that tank looks great! the powerhead is a bit overwhelming though as far as size. the little bugs are pods. good cleaners and food source. yea that thing is pretty big, maybe ill sell it off and get a smaller one Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 me, i know halide is the best, but im goin t5 with mine... because.... the bulbs are cheaper than halide bulbs...but how easy to find...i dunno, i dont order online so well find out... bulbs are 20 bucks a piece or so, and they all wont go out at once.....vs- 50-90 bucks if your halide blows out... it will be on a shallower, smaller tank, so i know a halide will heat it up.... which could mean i no longer need a heater, t5s are nice and bright, you get brigher light out of them, w/o spending as much on electricity....which doesnt matter if you dont have to pay for it like i do.... only one company makes a true actintic for a t5.....still only 25 or so per bulb Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 i would go for the larger mini-jet. should clean things up a bit. how do you keep the sand so clean? Link to comment
directional Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 me, i know halide is the best, but im goin t5 with mine... because.... the bulbs are cheaper than halide bulbs...but how easy to find...i dunno, i dont order online so well find out... bulbs are 20 bucks a piece or so, and they all wont go out at once.....vs- 50-90 bucks if your halide blows out... it will be on a shallower, smaller tank, so i know a halide will heat it up.... which could mean i no longer need a heater, t5s are nice and bright, you get brigher light out of them, w/o spending as much on electricity....which doesnt matter if you dont have to pay for it like i do.... only one company makes a true actintic for a t5.....still only 25 or so per bulb YEEESSSSSS... I would do T5 before MH. Never had either or but T5 is so much more efficient and cooler. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share Posted November 13, 2006 i would go for the larger mini-jet. should clean things up a bit. how do you keep the sand so clean? well the rock came from my established pico so nothing from that made much of a mess in the new tank, and the hermits are cleanup crazy- have 5, and i guess the fact that its pretty new still, but ive ordered 3 nassarius snails to get it even cleaner. Also may be the fact that my camera doesnt pick up on details otherwise thats what i do^ my hermits eat anything, a blue leg a zebra and three red legs, and my astrea and turbos help out too, the astrea is always going across the sandbed, or if it gets on the glass, at the very bottom so its in the sand too edit: one last reason why it may be clean- the crazy powerhead i have, i took it out to clean it today and the intake was fullll of crap, i guess its sucking up all the lighter stuff off the top of the sand bed- may be some benefits to it after all haha Link to comment
FUGU!!! Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 I just set up a 95watt PC retrofit kit that I turned into a pendant.MUHAHAHA! Link to comment
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