lighting question from a newbie

[toddy]

i am look for the equipment for a 48L *18W*24H
the lighting i am looking at are T5s the shop i am getting equipment and tank from put "DELTEC 2X 54W 47" T5" in the package my question is are they any good or should i spend more now than later these would be the more expensive option at twice the price "ARCADIA 4 FT T5 4 X 54W"
any advice most welcome

lee

 

[Johnsteph10]

T5s aren't bad if you want to light a fish-only tank. If you want more, however, T5s are really underpowered.

I guess the first question should be what do you want in the tank?
fish=fine
others=at least powercompacts (PCs)

John

 

[Unarce]

I think most Metal Halide users will tell you to go for the gusto right off the bat. I went with Power Compacts first because my first house didn't have AC and I wasn't about to spring for a chiller. Sometimes it's not feasible to spend that much the first time around. You will eventually want MH and if you can afford them now and you're able to handle the higher temp, than go for it.

 

[Johnsteph10]

HA!
Reefnutz and I were writing at the same time. He pretty much jumped to what would have been an arduous series of questions.

Whew!

John

 

[toddy]

thank you for the fast replies

what mh lamps would you reccomened for my tank then
AQUAMEDIC 2 X 150W METAL HALIDE 27410 £419.99
ARCADIA METAL HALIDE 250W 14,000K 51130 £53.50
ARCADIA METAL HALIDE LAMP 150W 92083 £43.95
DELTEC SLIMLUX 1X 150W METAL ALIDE 34387 £199.95

a quick look on the lfs website gives me these
as for the stocking of the tank fish,inverts and Anemone for a pair of clown fish and probly some corals in the end as i get more experiance

lee

 

[Unarce]

I usually suggest 20,000K.

Here's the latest thread where I go into a little detail as to why I think it's best. Hope this helps.

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... hlight=20k

 

[kim]

Aaaaagh....anemone. Please get the experience first, and then once you have studied their care and requirements, maybe the anemone later. Much later.

Depends on variety, but if you are after a natural clown hoster, remember that what you buy may be older than your grandfather (but in anemone years, just starting out in life), is much harder to keep than most corals, and requires a stable tank with good water quality (which however skilful you are, simply doesn't happen for months).

And you will almost certainly need halides - 2 x 250W minimum. And no powerheads in the tank.....

kim

 

[srbayless]

Howdy,

My personal preference is 10,000K bulbs, they offer more light than some of the higher Kelvin ratings but still offer a nice white color. I do have actnic supplementation with those bulbs. I once tried some 20,000K bulbs on my 175 setup for my 55gallon tank, but found them to be too dim and way to blue. Again, it's just a matter of personal preference.

As for T5 setups, I haven't used one yet. I did use a 4 bulb VHO setup over the 55 gallon tank, and had success with it. I switched over to MH when I decided to keep clams and some SPS corals. I have seen people have success with those organisms under VHO, but I figured I would have to upgrade anyway when I purchased a larger tank.

Good Luck,

Scott.

 

[krullulon]

Aaaaagh....anemone. Please get the experience first, and then once you have studied their care and requirements, maybe the anemone later. Much later.

Depends on variety, but if you are after a natural clown hoster, remember that what you buy may be older than your grandfather (but in anemone years, just starting out in life), is much harder to keep than most corals, and requires a stable tank with good water quality (which however skilful you are, simply doesn't happen for months).

And you will almost certainly need halides - 2 x 250W minimum. And no powerheads in the tank.....

kim

kim -- i have to disagree here... 500 watts of metal halides is *far* too much for a 12 gallon aquarium! this is a nano tank (48L). lighting is largely dependent on depth and surface area, neither of which will be extreme in a nano tank. 500 watts of halide over a 48L tank = cooked critters.

EDIT: whoops, may be my bad... looks like the above is 48" *long*, not 48 *litres*... if this is the case, then i don't disagree with kim.

and power heads in the tank are fine and very helpful -- the extra circulation and current they provide is critical. i don't believe i've ever seen a reef tank that didn't include supplemental circulation from power heads or other additional in-tank pumps.

i do agree about waiting -- both from the experience and tank eco-system maturity standpoints. i'd also like to reiterate what the experts tend to say here -- nano tanks are extremely difficult to maintain, much moreso than larger tanks due to small water volume = high capacity for fluctuating conditions. also, when you say "fish, corals, and an anemone" keep in mind that a tank this size (48L) isn't going to be able to hold very much bioload.

EDIT: again, if this is a 120g tank and not 48 litres, ignore the above.

as others will surely suggest, there's a huge FAQ and article library on wetwebmedia.com that will speak to many of these questions.

 

[toddy]

sorry i did not make tank dimensions clear
48" long by 18" wide by 24" high gives me a 340L or 75 uk gallons or 90 us gallons.

as for the anemone and corals these will be a long way off going in to the tank untill it is stable say running 6 months.

the tank will have 20 kg of fiji live rock to start then more later fully cured at lfs.
a 36" *15" *15" sump will be going in uder the tank.

after looking at light setups would "4 * 54w t5s" be ok or a "3 series pendant twin 250w 14k 110cm"
the 3 series is double cost of t5s but if i will end up needing it later down the line i would rather pay now than later.

thanks lee

 

[nice1bruva]

Aaaaagh....anemone. Please get the experience first, and then once you have studied their care and requirements, maybe the anemone later. Much later.

Depends on variety, but if you are after a natural clown hoster, remember that what you buy may be older than your grandfather (but in anemone years, just starting out in life), is much harder to keep than most corals, and requires a stable tank with good water quality (which however skilful you are, simply doesn't happen for months).

And you will almost certainly need halides - 2 x 250W minimum. And no powerheads in the tank.....

kim

hi mate!!
:lol:

good advise as usual!!