frag tank lighting

[stoneroller]

It's 24 inches across so they could fit. but hellolights has 65w PC bulbs on sale, ends tomorrow. not sure if I am going to keep this tank set up, in the long run. thus the question

[JimD]

"I hear ya Jim. But, what's in those BioCubes and other nano all in ones? Seems folks are growing out corals in those. T5s? PCs?"
Those tanks are not designed to be used as a reef tank, theyre designed basicly for the convenience of the hobbyist who wants to get into an aquarium without having to buy a lot of extra equipment and are very limited in what they can successfuly house. When I see the word "coral" I immediately think sps, a tank like that would be no wheres near what youd need to allow that type of coral to "thrive". Most of the smaller bio-cubes are using lower wattage pc's if Im not mistaken, ok for mushrooms, some lps and possibly certain species of zoas although still not ideal. No matter what you decide to do, Pc's will most likely not be the best choice, (although some people will argue that to the death, lol), a much better option would be T-5's, a brighter, more long lasting/efficient light source that can and will grow some sps and most all zoas... Good luck!

[BIGBIRD123]

"I hear ya Jim. But, what's in those BioCubes and other nano all in ones? Seems folks are growing out corals in those. T5s? PCs?"
Those tanks are not designed to be used as a reef tank, theyre designed basicly for the convenience of the hobbyist who wants to get into an aquarium without having to buy a lot of extra equipment and are very limited in what they can successfuly house. When I see the word "coral" I immediately think sps, a tank like that would be no wheres near what youd need to allow that type of coral to "thrive". Most of the smaller bio-cubes are using lower wattage pc's if Im not mistaken, ok for mushrooms, some lps and possibly certain species of zoas although still not ideal. No matter what you decide to do, Pc's will most likely not be the best choice, (although some people will argue that to the death, lol), a much better option would be T-5's, a brighter, more long lasting/efficient light source that can and will grow some sps and most all zoas... Good luck!

I agree with Jim, not cause he's "Older" than me but because of his knowledge and my experience. I wouldn't put anything less than T5's on a frag tank. There are some pretty reasonable 70w MH out there and I have one and it works great.

Steve

[jrnannery]

Ok, time to hear from a detractor...I have a 29 gallon BioCube, yes, it has PCs, and I am growing zoas, shrooms, palys, and SPS, yes SPS coral in my tank. I have upgraded through nanotuners.com to a 144 watt PC setup, and it is plenty bright.

I do agree, however, that MH would be the best way to go. I wish there was a setup that did not alter the stock look of my Biocube, yet allow me to run a MH bulb of significant wattage.

[Jeff]

hey jrnannery, do you still have that frag of sps you got from me?

[Jeff]

you can grow frags under any light you want, it is just mow many bulbs you will need and how often you need to replace it.

[junkstang]

A 96w POWER QUAD ON A 20L TANK SHOULD GIVE YOU A GOOD 6 MONTHS BEFORE REPL. THEM.