lighting questions

[playa0069u]

hey I have a few questions.
background: 10 gallon fowlr/reef.
xenia, button polyps, three stripe damsel, janitors, peppermint shrimp.

right now, I am running 2 15 watt N/O flourescent tubes. one (plant bulb) is kinda redish and the other (daylight) is bluish.

1. Can I run like actinic or any special bulbs in these undercabinet fixtures?
2. Can i take the apart and build a canopy with them or do I need to get waterproof endcaps.
3. I want to add 1 or two more, how hot do you think they will make the tank.
4. I have a glass lid right now jfyi.
5. Will getting rid of the glass lid lower the temperature?
6. And if I build a canopy, will putting those fans on it lower the temperature?

thanks alot everybody.

[jojo22]

Get rid of the glass lid it prevents gas exchange if nothing else. I would build a canopy get water proof endcaps and add a fan. You should be fine. But you may want to just look into a complete unit. I have one of these and it works great. Mine is the 96 watt version.http://www.captivereefing.com/showthread.php?t=3628&highlight=copper

[perpetual98]

1. You can run any 15 watt N/O tube in there
2. Yes, just pay attention to how they're wired and if you have something in between the bulbs and the water, you won't need waterproof endcaps
3. If they're sitting on the tank, they might make it more hot
4. Ditch the lid. Helps with gas exchange and temperature. Of course that also changes #2
5. See #4
6. Yes.

My suggestion? Get something like this from HelloLights.com...

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/lamps-now_1920_2326153

Pretty much adresses all of your issues and you can get one with legs brand new for under $100 with legs. Also check the classifieds here, at RC and nano-reef.com for deals too.

That's just my .02.

Eric

[playa0069u]

thats great info thanks alot.
1. Will running an actinic in there add alot to the tank?
2. Should I ditch the red bulb because of algae?
3. Is the fan necessary?
Thank you so much but I don't want to buy anything. I get these undercabinet light fixtures for like 25 cents lol and 50 cents at garage sales. I'll get some waterproof endcaps and see what I can do. Thanks alot.

[playa0069u]

OK waterproof endcaps are like 10 bucks plus shipping a pair lol. f that. soo that^^^ light would be waterproof? well not "proof", but you know what I mean, no need for the lid. How hot would that be it looks like pc right? AND!!! if ussually keep the lids propped open a little bit to let the gases exchange a little more freely, if I made a canopy, and left the lid on ther but propped open a bunch, I still would not need the waterproof endcaps correct? so like I could ditch the bought lid, take one of a bajillion 10 gallon tanks I have, remove a pane, and put legs on it propping it up an inch or so above the rim of the tank, securely? how much light would that it not even worth it? AND ONE MORE THING PLEASE.!.!!.!!. How hot is a too hot tank, I know stability is more important than overall temperature but how hot is too hot? In Florida with it now becoming winter, we havent been using the air, but the days are just hot enough to bump the heat up. thanks alot everybody.

[lReef lKeeper]

you wont need the lid at all if you buy a fixture like the one that Eric suggested. no lid, no canopy, no nothing. they will not raise the temp. of the tank enough to notice either.
imo anything over 82 degrees is to hot.

[spsreefer]

I had the aqualight on a 55 when I was in college. Its a good light for the money and I kept a very nice softcoral tank with it. T5's are great too. There is even a 70w HQI/T5 combo for nano tanks

Good Luck!

[playa0069u]

what exactly are t5's my N/O bulbs say t5 on them the 18 inch ones I mean. my tank runs around 82 but it was at 84 today.

[lReef lKeeper]

sounds like it is time for a fan !! if it doesn't cool down enough tonight ... it will get even hotter tomarrow.

[perpetual98]

High Output T5 (HO) only come in 24" as the shortest lengths. Normal Output (NO) ones come shorter than that.

FWIW, I'm using that Coralife Aqualight over my 10G at work. There's nothing in the tank right now though. I might just put a couple fish in it. I don't have the resources or the drive to make it a reef tank. I say that now....

Eric

[playa0069u]

ok this is in NO WAY offensive but why are you telling me this perp lol. so the t5 bulbs i find arent the t5 bulbs your talking about. the t5 your talking about are the High output?

[lReef lKeeper]

if your T5 bulbs are under 24" then they are NOT High Output T5's. the T5's most people in the hobby use are the High Output ones. if you are going for a reef ... the High Output ones are HIGHLY recommended !!

[perpetual98]

Sorry, re-reading your post, I missed your question. Yes, the bulbs that you have are T5.

The numbers in there (T5, T8, T12) each stand for 1/8 of an inch. A T5 bulb is 5/8 of an inch, a T8 is 1" etc.

Eric

[playa0069u]

k but can the N/O ones be over 24 "? or are the ones over 24" always HO. N/p perp i thought u were trying to sell the light or something lol

[playa0069u]

ok SOOOOOOO for a 10 gallon nano that originated as a fowlr. it will have shrooms, kenya, and xenia and the button polyps I already have. should I go with the 20" 1x96W CF hood w/ Quad 50/50 -Square Pin or should I get the 20" 1x28W Coralife Aqualight hood w/ 50/50 -Square Pin? do I really need 96 watts for those low light coral? there is a massive price difference lol which is why I am asking.

[dakar]

k but can the N/O ones be over 24 "? or are the ones over 24" always HO.

NO/HO are available in a myriad of length's over 24"... below 24" will generally be T8's, think there may be some shorter T12's around.


ok SOOOOOOO for a 10 gallon nano that originated as a fowlr. it will have shrooms, kenya, and xenia and the button polyps I already have. should I go with the 20" 1x96W CF hood w/ Quad 50/50 -Square Pin or should I get the 20" 1x28W Coralife Aqualight hood w/ 50/50 -Square Pin? do I really need 96 watts for those low light coral? there is a massive price difference lol which is why I am asking.

For us, a 96w quad over a 10g tank worked very well, obviously closer to 4X the light of the 28w deal... with a little patience you can get the 96w quad in a retro kit (including all the tube, wiring and workhorse 5 ballast) for around $20-30 on eBay... even with a cobbled together reflector the light is great. That's my nickel worth.

[Fatman]

Theres a post around where dakar shows how to make a 70 or 75watt HQI for your small tanks using a ballast from online, and a light casing from home depot.
All usually for under 130 to 150$.

[playa0069u]

ok but do I need that much light for the corals I listed, or can i go with the smaller one?