lighting questions...

[tcarola154]

ok so ive been looking for a lighting upgrade... and i was curious how much is too much? its a 10 gallon tank

right now i have some star polyps... and Im not sure if i should put a 1x40 watt lamp or a 2x40. would 80 watts be too much?

what would you guys recommend... the current usa satellite or orbit? is there any real difference other than style?

also... has anyone tried the red sea "reef success" stuff? is it any good?

[zuzecawi]

IMO 80 watts would be too much. I think the usual rule of thumb is 4-7watts per gallon. Star polyps really don't need much light, in the world of coral. And wattage isn't always accurate, it's also the intensity of light... 40w pc lighting is IMO much brighter than 40w regular flourescent. One 40 for a 10g should be good for star polyps, mushrooms, maybe some kinds of leathers or colt corals. I use current usa satellites. Orbits are a bit higher end, they have more moonlights, sleeker design, but basically that's the main difference. Besides the price. You can actually burn your coral by increasing light too much too fast.
HTH

[tcarola154]

exactly the answers i was looking for... thanks a lot!

[HoopsGuru]

I run a 96w powerquad bulb on my 10g softie nano and all corals seem to enjoy it fine. Hard to say which is better, it may depend on your desires for the tank. I get excellent growth and have to frag often, but that is mainly what I use the tank for.

[tcarola154]

hmmm... so maybe the orbit 2x40 wouldnt be all that bad... i wish i could find a 20" fixture that has like 65 watts... but it doesnt appear that any exist. The problem is that i would love to get a few of the higher light demanding corals like acropora and i know 4watts/gal wouldnt be enough... so if i get the 2x40 do you think it would kill my star polyps? now that i think about it the lfs had it pretty high up in their tank with a bunch of strong MHs... so maybe i could get away with it just being on the bottom of the tank. Would 80watts in a small tank have any adverse effects on fish or inverts?

[nodoubt471]

i had the 2x40 current usa over my tank with some very happy soft corals. i really dotn think it would be a problem with your GSP, IME they are very adaptable. other than that, other inverts (as far as shrimp, snails etc) and fish should be fine with that amount of lighting. although i am hesitant to condone acropora under it. although i did have 2 large polyp stony corals under that particular light that did fine.

[zuzecawi]

Large polyp stonies really don't require that much light, vs. clams or sps. I've had bubble coral and frogspawn do great under 5/6/watt per gallon conditions with good water quality and movement. Hmm.. 96wpc on a 10? I guess I'll have to revise my view! Wouldn't be the first time! That's what I love about salt... all the variance.