new tank

[eddiecon]

hey guys, heres the pickle. i have a 29g and a 20 long for a refuge. i nedd help on lighting cause i want to stock the 29 with sps and assrt corals and a few fish. im figuring that 30 lbs of live sand will work and bout 25-35 lbs of LR. as far as lighting is concerned im in a loss i dont want MH cause of evaporation and thinking of using t5s or PC's but would like advice. and i would also like to know if i can have a clam? please reply thanks a bunch-eddie

[gjuarez]

Most people will say that it is very difficlut to keep sps and clams with power compact lighting and I would have to agree. I havent tried the T5s but a lot of people have had success keeping sps, but then again their aquariums are blasted with light with lots of bulbs since they can fit plenty of them. I am curious as to what members will say so I am taggin along.

[JimD]

Youre going to have evaporation issues no matter what. Theres been a lot of debate over the T5/SPS topic, some say yes, others say maybe. My personal outtake is that most of the desirable SPS/clams require high light situations in order to "thrive". That being said, I would suggest halides over T5's for the par output alone. Not to mention the shimmer effect which actually aids in coral growth. Heat issues can be reletively simple to address, ie: fans, chiller, whatever. In the end though, its your choice..
Good luck!

[Andrew]

If you keep parameters in the correct ranges, mainly Ca at 400 or higher and Alk at 3.0meq/L, many sps will survive with PC, but most grow very slowly, and don't color well IME. I'd suggest two retro kits (a total of four 65 watt bulbs to get decent growth with PC).

If you absolutely cannot have MH, i would personally go with 4 VHO or 6-8 bulb T5 setup with bulbs slanted toward the blue spectrum.

For best color and growth I would go for a 250 watt MH pendant with a good reflector (some help here guys n' gals?).

HTH

Andrew

[Tim Marvin]

If you absolutely cannot have MH, i would personally go with 4 VHO or 6-8 bulb T5 setup with bulbs slanted toward the blue spectrum.

For best color and growth I would go for a 250 watt MH pendant with a good reflector (some help here guys n' gals?).

HTH

Andrew

The only thing I have to add is: use a 250w DE halide to keep down on heat transfer. T-5 "should work", but I would cover the top with them.

[gjuarez]

I am currently using a 250w metal halide and I am satisfied. I am seriously thinking of going DE to get some of those phoenix 14ks, they are awesome. Eddie, to control heat issues with my metal halide I got a bell pendant. I placed it about 9 inches from the water and my tank stays at room temperature. I will be switching as Pete is building me a canopy 10 inches high and I am installing computer fans. From what I have heard, I will not have heat issues.

[justin-branam]

may i suggest:

http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=12

the special says its only until may 15, but come may 15 they will change the date to a later one. the mh bulb you will get will most likely be a 10,000K 150w DE bulb. best bargain lighting system in my opinion, and you wont have to worry to much about the heat with the built in fans.

justin

[MikeDeL]

When people say "shimmer lines" they are reffering to the flickering lines of light on objects in the aquarium right? I have 2 T-5 bulbs over my 45 right now that create this effect. Cant wait till I get the other 4 bulbs put on.

[Dozer]

I think others have covered most of what you need. The only thing I would add is to keep doing your research and if possible look at other people's tanks that are running halides and other people's tanks that are running T5's. You may find out some of your assumptions aren't true once you see them in person. For example, when I was looking I assumed T5's would use way less electricity and run much cooler than halides but when I factored in how many total T5 bulbs I would actually want I found out this wasn't necessarily actually the case. Also, consider things like placement. Halides need to be hung pendant style or mounted to the underside of some type of canopy. A T5 hood would sit right on top of the tank. Both of these have different advantages/disadvantages depending on the situation.

[bigdscobra]

I have had a 29g with just the PC lights on it dual 65w. I have had no problems keeping a derasa clam at the bottom of my tank. Also got one of Alex's refuge plate corals it is half way up the tank and is doing great, nice and pink now. But since i have my stand and canopy built i will be changing to a 175MH 14,000k hamilton just to get better growth in the sps that i plan on getting.

[Polkster13]

Eddie,

Not sure where you are located, but if you want to see a comparison between T-5 and MH, you are more than welcome to come over to my place. I have a 135 gallon with six T-5 bulbs and a 150 gallon with two 250 watt DE MH fixtures.

If interested, PM me for directions to my place. I live by Lake travis which is NW of Austin.

[mkengr45]

I think you should reconsiderthe metal halides. I had PCs for a long time before switching to a halide, and I will never go back. Particularly if you want to keep SPS and maybe a clam. I have a 250w 20k metal halide over a 30 gallon oceanic cube and am extremely happy with the growth and appearence of the tank. If you go PC or T-5, I would be willing to bet that at some point down the road you end up switching to a metal halide. All these guys have far greater experience than I do, this is just my opinion. HTH

Randy

[hobogato]

Most people will say that it is very difficlut to keep sps and clams with power compact lighting and I would have to agree. I havent tried the T5s but a lot of people have had success keeping sps, but then again their aquariums are blasted with light with lots of bulbs since they can fit plenty of them. I am curious as to what members will say so I am taggin along.

i agree also - tried for 4 years. now i have PC to suppliment blue for my MH 10K. all corals, even the ones that supposedly dont need a lot of light are looking better and growing.