Yet Another Lighting Question

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NightSpirit

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Oct 24, 2003
Messages
196
Location
Arizona, Tempe
Alright, last question for awhile, hopefully after
this I will be square.

I'm running a 100 gallon FOWLR tank, I think the dimensions
are 60 long 22 height and 16 width.

The tank came with 2 20w lights.

Will I be fine with this?

I'm likely guessing the answer is no......

If not, will the
Custom Sea Life PowerCompact/Moon-Lite Fixture.60.5" x 8.4" x 4.5"
be fine for most corals other than clams and SPS?
http://www.customsealife.com/f_powercompact-moon-lite.htm
It's 65x4w.
I know the rule is 3-5 watts per gallon, and this runs to 260,
but I can't think of anything else in this price range....

[edited for clarity]
 
2-20 watts, definitely No.

As for that PC, I would say you can get by with some corals but not most corals.
 
While this is a little under the recommended curve, my opinion is that you'll be able to grow coraline and have some soft corals with low light requirements. Mushrooms will probably be very happy in there and I think you could keep things like a colt, some of the less demanding leathers, ect... Zoanthids should do OK as long as you don't have them near the bottom.
Be sure this is what you want to set up before you spend the money though. It's often cheaper in the long run to save up for what you really want than to buy now and upgrade later. If you decide later that you want some SPS, clams, anemones, ect... you'll have to just about start over on the lights.
 
Ok, thanks for the advice.
Not to be an a$$, but I just want to be sure before I plop down
$300 and up:

so 40 watts is inadequate for just a FOWLR with no corals?

Thanks for any clarification, and all replies.
 
If you dont plan on having ANY corals, just fish, you should be fine with the lighting you currently have.
 
Sweet, then I can save my money for a good lighting system for when I do want corals. Thanks again all for the advice.
 
I would say go with 3x250w MH lights.. Or even 2 would be ok.. You can usually get a retro kit on ebay and find some bulbs from marinedepot.com and be complete and ready to go with the exception of the canopy for around 320.00 I paid 320.00 for mine.. I was not happy with lights that were brighter than the ones you mentioned and I only had a 55gal tank.. BTW if you want a good link to a nice MH retro kit on ebay let me know..

HTH,
James
 
Whoa, my marine store has canopies for my tank for $150, I guess I should run and pick one up....

Would it be better to get a system with both VHO and MH,
or is MH all you need?

Right now I just want fish, but at least I'll have all this good info for
if and when I want to convert.
 
I think MH and VHO is very nice... however if you wanted you could just do MH and add VHO later as its an Easy addition.. I personally run 2x250 with 2x55 actinic PCs and it makes it nice.. I just found that one of the Actinic PC's is burnt out but I really cant see the difference however 55w PCs are extremely different than 110VHO BTW 1 thing that you should consider is that most ppl run their MH lights about 8-12" above the water level so keep that In mind when and If you purchase a canopy as a majority of the ones I have seen are about 4-6" abouve the water..

hth,
James
 
Lights on 100 gallon

Well heres what ive learned about lighting in the last 7 month. On my 75 gallon i have two 250 watt 10 k bulbs. And two 55 watt attanics 03s .I think i sound have bigger O3s in the canopy. What does everyone else think???.When i added these it made a huge difference in the live rock response only after one month. ( 140 pounds) Save your money and buy GOOD ballast. Imo this makes a huge difference. When i bought my ballast i wasted allot of money on them.I spent the the money on cheaper ballast first then one went out only after a few days. Then i was told they could not not warranty them because they were not installed by a Linced electrician ( i bought these from the local eletercal contractor and paid why to much. I know have a PHO ballast that runs both the mh lights. The lights are allot brighter to. If you run your florencent bulbs for while you save $. Imo i would put in 50/50 bulbs. Bye the why i bought the ballast and new spider light reflectors pretty cheap on e-bay.

Well i hope this helps Dewey
 
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