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Old 01-29-2006, 05:52 PM   #1
Black96WS6
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: San Diego, CA
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Homemade Lighting Setup Question w/Pics

Hi,

I tried searching for this, and while I did find lots of useful info, none that quite pertained to my question, so here goes:

Background:
When I purchased my tank a few years ago, I had only the intention of a predator tank with some rock, wasn't even sure to have live rock or not, so I just went with a basic fish lighting setup, a Coralife 50/50 T8 15Watt.

Now, however, I currently have a [acronym:da75fba1b3="Fish only with live rock"]FOWLR[/acronym:da75fba1b3] setup, and would like to move up to mushrooms. I am saving up for a nice coralife pro aqualight, in the $200-300 range.

While at Wal-Mart today, I happened to see 2 things: a 24" 75Watt effective (17 Watt actual) plant growth T8 fluorescent for $9.96, and a 100W effective (25W actual) power compact fluorescent 6500K for $5, plus a $5 lamp/socket/wiring kit.

I put the 24" light over the tank and it really brightened it up, so much so that I'm not sure I even need the power compact fluorescent, which is REALLY bright (see photos) below.

Now, I know these lights don't have the the blue actinic lighting, however I thought this would be better than just the 15Watt 50/50 on there, to keep things growing until I can get the aqualight.

Will this type of lighting cause a problem with any of the polyps, coraline, etc because it doesn't have the corresponding blue? Or will the depth of the water decrease the need for ths?

Also, should I put the power compact on as well?

Here's the tank with the 24" T8 setup:


Here's the power compact next to it for comparison:


And here's how I put it together:
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Old 01-29-2006, 11:46 PM   #2
ellisz
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I have used that 100w bulb for a fuger before. Not sure it will penetrate very far. Shrooms don't need a ton of light though. Do you know what [acronym:e440cb186b="Kelvin or Potassium, depending on context"]K[/acronym:e440cb186b] value the other fixture's bulbs are? Might not be the right spectrum.
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*180 gal Display, 100 gal basement sump, 33 gal refugium, 3x250 MH, 2x160 VHO actinics, zoos, some softies, LPS & lots of acros and other SPS.
*100 gal prop tank plumbed into main system w/ 2x96 PC lights and 1x150 MH,
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