nano lighting ?

[blueboy]

I'm setting up a 16 G mantis tank. i realise the mantis doesn't need/ like light, at least not bright ones, but i would like to try a few shrooms, zoos, and softies. question is will 18W of PC be sufficient, it's only 12" to the bottom, and the corals will be mounted up on the rock well before the mantis is introduced.thanks for your input.

[GaryP]

That doesn't sound like a lot of light to me. I'm dealing with the same issue in my wife's nano. She has 16 watts in a 9 gal. She went out and bought a maxima clam, of all things, to put in it.

Gary

[blueboy]

yeah, it doesn't really look like alot of light either. but, the light came with the tank. i was considering building a little hood and fitting it with some retro's, maybe the 18W plus a 32W 50/50. i know that would do it, i'm just trying to keep the nano simple as possible right now. i wonder if the 18W will just suport the life i mentioned?

[GaryP]

As long as you are limited to fish and non-photosynthetic inverts you should be OK. The problem with non-photosynthetics is that you have to feed them and that can be tricky in a nano because of negative impacts on your water quality.

Gary

[cpreefguy]

I would go with a couple of t-5's

[blueboy]

i had thought of that, but what could i fit over a 16" long tank

[MikeDeL]

You could buy a Coralife quadlight. 96w. I have one over my nano cube and it does great. I think that is what Felipe at Fin-Addict said he was using in his nanos.

[cpreefguy]

Yeah, Felipe is using the 96watt powerquad retrofit over those 12 gallon eclipses. If you build a canopy you could fit a 96w retro in there

[GaryP]

I'm thinking of doing something along those lines in my wife's Nano. That system that Felipe made is pretty awesome. Even has a small air driven skimmer and cooling fan.

Gary

[JimD]

I gotta tellya, imo, those 96w power quads suck, theyre really nice for the first few months then they lose intensity quick like! I had one on my 12g Eclipse for 6 months and replaced it with a 32w smart light and the tank seemed twice as bright. Not to mention a new 96w quad bulb costs in the neighborhood of 50 bucks! Keep in mind, this is only MY experience, YMMV.

[blueboy]

i was actually considering a 32 watter, and keeping the 18 as well. thats 50W, over a 16G cube w/ 4" of substrate. i think that should be plenty for some polyps, just enough to make the tank a little less bare. mantises are cool, but hide alot, i need something to look at besides a hole in the sand.