Setting up my 24g nanocube... WHAT LIGHTS?

[Gamefreak0109]

I'm getting my 24g nanocube set up and I'm gonna order new lights, should
I get the 10k lights? Or should I go for
the combo lights? I AM going to have coral. And I am using the original hood as well. I'm just trying to figure out which lights to get.

 

[melosu58]

I dont think your stock lights will be enough. You`ll need some supplemental lighting. Look up T5 HO lights.

 

[Gamefreak0109]

well shouldnt the nanocube be ready for reef? isnt that the point of it? Im new to salt and i just want to have a little bit of everythign, i actually may not have much coral. more inverts and fish.I just wanted to know what lights to get that are available for the stock hood, i just didnt knwo if i should go with the 10k, or the combo lights

 

[melosu58]

The K rating doesnt mean anything to me. I just worry about intensity and I know that T5HO lights will be all your corals in that size need. I dont know what kind of lights come with that set up.

 

[Frogspawn]

Game freak, check out the Current 150w HQI that comes with the 24g AquaPod. its a perfect fit for what your looking to put it on and it gives you 15watts per gallon.. more then enough for most corals. as for the Kelvin color

10k This is more of a yellowish color, but promotes more growth in corals. this bulb is good for frags that have just been harvested and need to heal some.

14k This is more of a whitish blue its a good in-between bulb, most people go for this color temp. (Currently this is what i am using).

20K This bulb is much bluer then the other 2 and really brings out the color in corals. It dont however help the growth as much but will make your corals vibrant!

 

[melosu58]

Thanks Frogspawn. I really dont know much about the K rating.

 

[Frogspawn]

Game, keep in mind when adding coral to your set-up that houses fish it becomes allot more difficult to treat if a problem arises. Problems such as Ick are very common and with a fish only set-up these problems can be treated very easy and most of the time very quickly. although, once you start adding inverts and coral to your tank, it then requires a much different approach if a unfortunate problem emerges.

I hope you enjoy your nanocube and lets see some pictures when you get it up and running!

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

Do you know anything about the 8k lights frogspawn? The lights i am looking at come in either 6700k 8000k or 20000. The 6700k is good for freshwater planted aquariums if im correct so i was looking at the 8 or 20

 

[Frogspawn]

Well, the 8k would be more along the lines of a natural sun light. i think natural sunlight is around 6500k, being allot more of the yellows and reds. 20K like i said is great if you are looking for color. i would seriously consider a 10k or 14k.

Are your corals going to be frags?

i switch back and forth. as you may know the Avg life spawn of a MH bulb is about 6-8 months with an avg daily usage of 8-10hours. In the Fall i buy a 10k bulb and come spring i buy a 14 or 20k bulb. i do this for 2 reasons

1) in the fall where i live its starting to get a little colder and the presents of a 10k bulb warms the room, and no i dont mean by heat. just the color of the bulb makes you feel a little warmer. IMO LOL this also lets my corals get a good 6-8 months of good growth.

2) in the late spring i switch over to my 14/20K bulb. this bulb gives off a bluer or cooler light. This time of year my lights are on much longer and i see alot of vibrant color coming to the tips of the coral. Since I have my lighting on alot more the life span of this bulb last me only about 4-5 months.

i forgot to mention.. when changing bulbs from 10k to 20k you can burn corals very easy... i use a series of screens i lay across my tank and remove one of them every other day and increase the lighting to 100% in steps of 5 screens.

day 1) 5 screens lighting on for 5 hours
day 3) 4 screens lighting on for 5 hours
day 5) 3 screens lighting on for 5 hours
day 7) 2 screens lighting on for 6 hours
day 9) 1 screen lighting on for 7 hours
day 11) No screens lighting on for 8 hours
day 13) No screens lighting on for 9 hours
day 15) No screens lighting on for 10 hours


if those 3 bulbs is what you have to choose from i would choose the 20K. Dont expect a good growth rate but you will see some.

 

[Mitchell0605]

Read this: Lighting the Reef Tank: A Primer for Beginners by Doug Wojtczak - Reefkeeping.com
He mentions his experiences trying different lights including 10,000K 6,500K and 20,000K.

 

[harmy4993]

see i was watching a video on a frag farm and they said they use 10k in the newly cut frag tank to promote faster healing and 20k on the frags after that to promote faster growth and better colors.

but your saying 10k is for growth and 20k is more for color and slower growth?

 

[iNano]

fishneedit.com 150w metal halide its only like $110

 

[Frogspawn]

Yea, not sure why some one would say such a thing that 20k would promote faster growth.. if that was the case why wouldn't they just use 20k when they were trying to get the freshly cut frags to heal quicker? just makes no sense to me... any ways thats what i was always taught and i have taking a few classes on lighting for my Engineering Degree.

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

thanks guys ill read that! and if your asking me about the frags then no its not for frags it will be for my brothers/dads new tank. They will be moving a few corals over from the old tank so i guess most corals will start as mostly frags..it will be an established tank eventually though