Q: What would you do??????? WWYD ?

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joeyfromlawrenceville

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Messages
195
Location
lawrenceville,georgia
I'm not clear why some folks here have bio-cubes with T5 or compact florescent and others have metal halide. I am looking to build a small reef ( 30 gal. or so) in my bedroom over the winter and need suggestions as to which way to go as far as lighting . Some nano style set ups have halide lighting and others not. Mostly I will have soft corals, clams,mushrooms and the sort. I am very much a NEWBIE to this and just want your help to make my next adventure a success. Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions you have on choosing the right self contained compact tank.:hat:
 
The lighting you need is dependant upon what types of corals you want to house. The experts will be able to look at what you're wanting to keep and make recommendations.
 
For those corals all you really will need is the Compact Florescent.

Not to sure about the clams though.
 
from what i understand, clams need very strong lighting, the soft corals would be fine with whatever
 
I agree. For softies and shrooms, PC lighting will be fine. If you want to try some LPS, then look at T5s. For SPS and clams you'll need at least T5s and maybe halides.

I had T5s (4x39 watts) on a 30 long and had no trouble with LPS corals, and the lighting was almost too much for some of my shrooms.
 
As far as the corals PC`s or T5`s will be ok on what you mentioned. The clam depends on what you get. Some clams need more intense lighting while some like the squamosa clam need medium lighting. You can look in my images to see what it looks like. I only have VHO lighting and it`s doing pretty good.
 
Thanks to you all, I think I'll do some research on a standard JBL biocube,my wife saw the 24 gal at LFS today and liked the size. They had it up and full of coral( actually a sea horse only tank), they said they have made no mods on it. It did not have a protein skimmer on it, not sure if that is ideal for me, as I can't do a water 30% PWC every 3-4 days like they said they do.I would assume I could add a small in sump model later ?

Glad to hear I don't need the halide lighting for a simple coral/fish aq.
:hat:
 
I agree with what has been said to this point. The only thing that I don't agree with is using PC lighting. The bulbs tend to "shift" and are only good for 6-8 months. They produce a lot of heat and don't generate enough lighting for most SPS, LPS or clams. I would go with T5 at a minimum and look at using a 150w MH along with the T5s. T5 produce more intense light then PCs do and will give you more options. If you add the MH then you will be setup for your clams and SPS corals.
 
...The bulbs tend to "shift" and are only good for 6-8 months. They produce a lot of heat and don't generate enough lighting for most SPS, LPS or clams. ...

Hmm... don't tell my LPS.

All lights shift over time, but you're right... I replace my PCs every 6 months like clockwork and can really see the difference when the new ones are put it.

But I'd disagree that PC lighting isn't good enough for "most" LPS. Assuming you have enough wattage, I'd say you could do just about all the LPS you want under PC, assuming you place it correctly.
 
I have used PC bulbs for 5+ years and never had any problems. Most LPS will not be a problem. Best LPS growth I ever had was a 4x55 PC setup on a 75 gal tank.

I use halides on my 180 with SPS and clams but my frag tank uses PCs. Nothing against T5's but PC's work fine.
 
Only thing i have to add that hasn't been mentioned so far is that If you do plan on keeping sps or clams and will need the MH lighting in the future, you may wanna just bite the bullet and buy the halides from the start. The new lids for nanocubes and biocubes that have the MH lighting will cost you an absolutly insane amount of money. For the nano cubes the upgraded lid cost 60$ more then the whole tank did. A criminal price if you ask me.
 
Only thing i have to add that hasn't been mentioned so far is that If you do plan on keeping sps or clams and will need the MH lighting in the future, you may wanna just bite the bullet and buy the halides from the start. The new lids for nanocubes and biocubes that have the MH lighting will cost you an absolutly insane amount of money. For the nano cubes the upgraded lid cost 60$ more then the whole tank did. A criminal price if you ask me.

I have considered that, and your right,the $ of the upgrade is unbelievable.However, it is not the money that prevents me, it is the heat that causes me to have temp issues with my tanks, this tank will be in my bedroom , I also have open windows in my house 4 month a year, temps in daytime reach near 78/80, my Nova T5 lights on my 37 are a slight issue( have them raised off by about an half inch), can't imagine what metal halide would be like, and a fan or chiller might present a noise problem for a BR tank. I am sure my wife would be happy with some Zoa's, polyps ,dusters and inverts.she is fascinated with our emerald crab, I could probably buy her her own 3 gal Pico with a crab and she would be thrilled.:p
Probably a couple months off now from that purchase, the Visa bill came in and all of my aquarium hobby purchases for Sept on there, not pretty, kind of went overboard last month:( Better chill out for a short while.:cool:
 
the nanocubes get amazingly hot. not only did the halides heat the tank, my bedroom is noticably hotter than any other part of my house. i guess in the winter it will be a plus but in the summer it wasnt good. the tank has pushed 85 at its highest point. if i could do it over i would have done my own tank but im kinda glad i did the nano cube cuz it made it much easier on me to set up the tank besides the whole costing a buhjillion dollars thing.
 
Ok so i don't want this to sound like i'm trying to be some kind of shady salesman here but I have a 24gal jbj nano cube just the tank sitting at home from when we had to RMA a cracked tank. It doesn't have the lid or pumps or anything else. Gives you the option of putting a MH pendant over the tank and run a fan across the open top, or just any kind of a fixture in general. Most people take all the sponges and rings and all that stuff out of the back anyway and replace it with LR rubble.
 
Ok so i don't want this to sound like i'm trying to be some kind of shady salesman here but I have a 24gal jbj nano cube just the tank sitting at home from when we had to RMA a cracked tank. It doesn't have the lid or pumps or anything else. Gives you the option of putting a MH pendant over the tank and run a fan across the open top, or just any kind of a fixture in general. Most people take all the sponges and rings and all that stuff out of the back anyway and replace it with LR rubble.

Thanks for the offer, if I were planning on going the Metal halide direction I would certainly consider, but for the ease to a newbee and overall appearance of nano cubes I will hold my course on the 24 nano. With up stairs bedrooms, and a very old central AC in this house, I am real concerned about the heat. Too bad that it is my basement gameroom with all the right conditions fo a large tank and always cool temps, as I have a neighbor who is ( at times) willing to give us a 135 gal with all the equipment, it is just not a place we spend any time at, except for parties .
 
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