I am new here, would like to start have a tank. Size: 150*80*50cm....How many watt light would be better ? By the way, I did some search on the light. LEDs sounds good. How do your guys think about it ? It seems you all use T5 or MH. Any suggestion would be very appreciated. thanks in advance.
New here,question
- Thread starter alicetse
- Start date
- Location
- MURICA
Depends what you plan on keeping and how deep your tank is. Stronger lights penetrate to the bottom and corners of the tank better.
Fish only then a T5 will be more than sufficient. Soft coral and LPS will do fine under T5 too. I got a 6 bulb T5 fixture that puts out 108 watts.
If your gonna keep SPS then go with the power hungry metal halides and T5's.
LED are nice but if your just starting out keep it simple and less costly.
My opinion....Look into a good quality T5 fixture.
Good luck
Fish only then a T5 will be more than sufficient. Soft coral and LPS will do fine under T5 too. I got a 6 bulb T5 fixture that puts out 108 watts.
If your gonna keep SPS then go with the power hungry metal halides and T5's.
LED are nice but if your just starting out keep it simple and less costly.
My opinion....Look into a good quality T5 fixture.
Good luck
- Location
- Middle Village, Queens
Hey what's up Alice.
LEDs are getting more and more popular. I hooked up some Ecoxotic's to my 14 gallon which ran me a few hundred bucks. You can email them and they will tell you exactly how many lights/watts you need for your setup.
My softies and LPS are all doing fine under the LEDs.
LEDs are getting more and more popular. I hooked up some Ecoxotic's to my 14 gallon which ran me a few hundred bucks. You can email them and they will tell you exactly how many lights/watts you need for your setup.
My softies and LPS are all doing fine under the LEDs.
- Location
- New York, NY
+1 with what dakota kid said.
Know what you want to keep and your set up will be tailored to that.
If you have the extra cash for a good LED set up, go for it.
It is costly at purchase but when you factor in power savings, no bulb replacement for a long time(as most manufacturers claim) and less heat output, then LED's are really a good option.
Know what you want to keep and your set up will be tailored to that.
If you have the extra cash for a good LED set up, go for it.
It is costly at purchase but when you factor in power savings, no bulb replacement for a long time(as most manufacturers claim) and less heat output, then LED's are really a good option.
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Ecoxotic's ..I will go for some reference..
Your LEDs work well ..Could you please send me some pictures of your 14 gallon ?
So, at the begaining ,,LEDs cost too much. For a long run. LEDs worth to set up ..emm Thanks ,,I will take it consideration.
- Location
- ohio
- Location
- New York, NY
If you plan to keep plants try www.plantedtank.net/forums
There is a wide knowledge base on how to do things right from lighting to tank stocking if you want to keep plants.
That's where I started off when I first got into the aquarium hobby. I got into planted then reefkeeping. So I stumbled upon MR and this helped me in the saltwater side of things.
+1 with Dre. It's nice to actually see a tank set up. Check out LFS and local hobbyists too. See what works for their set up and what doesn't. This will help you decide initially what you may want for your tank set up, what fits the budget and what may work out for you.
There is a wide knowledge base on how to do things right from lighting to tank stocking if you want to keep plants.
That's where I started off when I first got into the aquarium hobby. I got into planted then reefkeeping. So I stumbled upon MR and this helped me in the saltwater side of things.
+1 with Dre. It's nice to actually see a tank set up. Check out LFS and local hobbyists too. See what works for their set up and what doesn't. This will help you decide initially what you may want for your tank set up, what fits the budget and what may work out for you.
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
Alicetse,
1)I think you posted in the wrong forum because your tank is not considered a nano(at least not to New Yorkers) LOL
2)So are you keeping plants with the tank you mentioned? If so, what light is on it? If not, I can give you some info on using LED on planted tank and coral tank.
On average, if you use properly design LED fixture and 1-1.5W LED / gallon of water, your tank is considered at high light for planted tank and thus CO2 is needed. For a reef tank, beginner can use 1.5-2W LED /gallon of water for softies and LPS. Then, if you want very fast growth rate of SPS you can go up to 3W LED / gallon but DIMMER is a must, you can easily burn your coral with it. You can also search RC for a calculation of LED base on surface area since your tank's height falls within the correct zone of the method. If you tank is 30 inch, then the formula they provide will be incorrect.
3)To use T5 for planted tank, Hobby with 'The Planted Tank Forum" has a detailed chart what to use for what light level you want.
4)To use T5 for coral, they work for sure but don't under estimate how much they cost-an ATI 48" 8 bulb version is $800, not much different from LED implementation of similar light output. There are both pros and cons to either technology. Research more and BEST go to forum members' tank to see for yourselves. Oh don't go the extremist member starting with "J" or "D" in the members name because they will swear one technology over the other no matter you can prove to them. (It's an inside joke here in MR, LOL)
5)If setup correctly, keeping softies and LPS is even easier than planted tank. Of course, I am not talking about tank that keeps only 4 or 5 different type of plants. REAL Planted Tank hobbyists that collect over 30-100 different species of plants just like coral collectors.
6)Join a reef club in your vicinity that you can talk to hobbyists directly in person like the LIRA in Long Island
1)I think you posted in the wrong forum because your tank is not considered a nano(at least not to New Yorkers) LOL
2)So are you keeping plants with the tank you mentioned? If so, what light is on it? If not, I can give you some info on using LED on planted tank and coral tank.
On average, if you use properly design LED fixture and 1-1.5W LED / gallon of water, your tank is considered at high light for planted tank and thus CO2 is needed. For a reef tank, beginner can use 1.5-2W LED /gallon of water for softies and LPS. Then, if you want very fast growth rate of SPS you can go up to 3W LED / gallon but DIMMER is a must, you can easily burn your coral with it. You can also search RC for a calculation of LED base on surface area since your tank's height falls within the correct zone of the method. If you tank is 30 inch, then the formula they provide will be incorrect.
3)To use T5 for planted tank, Hobby with 'The Planted Tank Forum" has a detailed chart what to use for what light level you want.
4)To use T5 for coral, they work for sure but don't under estimate how much they cost-an ATI 48" 8 bulb version is $800, not much different from LED implementation of similar light output. There are both pros and cons to either technology. Research more and BEST go to forum members' tank to see for yourselves. Oh don't go the extremist member starting with "J" or "D" in the members name because they will swear one technology over the other no matter you can prove to them. (It's an inside joke here in MR, LOL)
5)If setup correctly, keeping softies and LPS is even easier than planted tank. Of course, I am not talking about tank that keeps only 4 or 5 different type of plants. REAL Planted Tank hobbyists that collect over 30-100 different species of plants just like coral collectors.
6)Join a reef club in your vicinity that you can talk to hobbyists directly in person like the LIRA in Long Island
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