10 gal lights?
- Thread starter ykwan
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sir_dudeguy
Active member
current doesnt make a 2x80w fixture that would fit a 10g tank. You're thinking of the 2x40 which totals 80w 
I've got that same one on my 10 and i like it a lot. I asked about it a long time ago in here and everyone seemed to think it was a good one to get.
There are no 20" T5 HO lights, unfortunately...otherwise i would've gotten that for my 10.
Personally, i'll never use MH...heard to many bad things about them to want to bother w/them. For one, they lose their intensity or whatever REALLY fast. They last a long time, yes, but over the life of the bulb, its losing a ton. So at the end of however long you run it, the light that the corals are receiving will be much different than when you put that bulb in to begin with. IMO its best to keep the light consistent.
Over the life of a T5 bulb, it only loses 20% of its intensity or whatever it is that they measure. And those bulbs last a long long time...over a year and a half sometimes.
I'm not sure where PC's fall in, but i know that they're not as bad as MH with that. And then there's the fact that some people's corals just burn under MH even after proper acclimation.
Other people have different opinions on them obviously, but thats my view on them t5's are the way to go, but your tank is just 4 inches too short, so i'd go w/that 2x40w pc fixture. I like the colors and intensity of that light a lot. Plus its got 2 moonlights and everything is on separate switches
I've got that same one on my 10 and i like it a lot. I asked about it a long time ago in here and everyone seemed to think it was a good one to get. There are no 20" T5 HO lights, unfortunately...otherwise i would've gotten that for my 10.
Personally, i'll never use MH...heard to many bad things about them to want to bother w/them. For one, they lose their intensity or whatever REALLY fast. They last a long time, yes, but over the life of the bulb, its losing a ton. So at the end of however long you run it, the light that the corals are receiving will be much different than when you put that bulb in to begin with. IMO its best to keep the light consistent.
Over the life of a T5 bulb, it only loses 20% of its intensity or whatever it is that they measure. And those bulbs last a long long time...over a year and a half sometimes.
I'm not sure where PC's fall in, but i know that they're not as bad as MH with that. And then there's the fact that some people's corals just burn under MH even after proper acclimation.
Other people have different opinions on them obviously, but thats my view on them
t5's are the way to go, but your tank is just 4 inches too short, so i'd go w/that 2x40w pc fixture. I like the colors and intensity of that light a lot. Plus its got 2 moonlights and everything is on separate switchesCurve50880
New member
MH can cause heating problems in your tank as well, then you would be forced to purchase a chiller. If you feel like spending the extra money then I would def go with the MH because then it is easier to keep different kinds of SPS. If it were me i would go with the PCs though.
Given the choice I'de go with the Current, their nice lights, and they have 3 seperate power cords, one for Daylight, One for Actinic, and one for the Moonlight. The Coralife is just one 50/50 bulb. Current also has better reflectors, so even though it is 16W less it is still brighter then the Coralife.
I don't know that there's a significant difference between the two reflectors - they're all just plain polished aluminum reflectors.
Also, you should not worry about the heat from a 70w MH. In all reality, a 70w halide is going to put off LESS heat than either 2 power compacts or the 96w single - and it's going to be brighter.
As far as bulb life of a halide, its lumen output will depreiate over time - you really should change your bulbs every 7-9 months or so. But - you should be changing your PCs after that timeframe as well - PCs lose output too, but they are also subject to some color shift that will spur excess nuisance algae.
So if you can afford the halide - I'd go for it - I've seen too many problems with Current PC fixtures to recommend them.
Also, you should not worry about the heat from a 70w MH. In all reality, a 70w halide is going to put off LESS heat than either 2 power compacts or the 96w single - and it's going to be brighter.
As far as bulb life of a halide, its lumen output will depreiate over time - you really should change your bulbs every 7-9 months or so. But - you should be changing your PCs after that timeframe as well - PCs lose output too, but they are also subject to some color shift that will spur excess nuisance algae.
So if you can afford the halide - I'd go for it - I've seen too many problems with Current PC fixtures to recommend them.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9928407#post9928407 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
current doesnt make a 2x80w fixture that would fit a 10g tank. You're thinking of the 2x40 which totals 80w
hehe yeah meant 2x40w, my bad
i thought the 20" 2x40 had only 1 moonlight?
bigdaddyTank
New member
Current USA now has a 18" Nova Extreme X2 T5 HO unit. It has 2 20W t5 ho bulbs
oldreefer76
New member
I ran 175w mh and never had a temp problem stayed 79f on a 10g 8" off the water have the same on a 15g now and have to run my heater to get 79
are there any pics out here of the JBJ on a 10gal?
The other thing to think about is that I am using an AC70 stuffed with chaeto for filtration, which is large enough so that the JBJ wouldn't have room to clamp on the back rim, unless it hangs off the AC70 hung on the side instead of the back wall.
A 2x24w T5 retro is in the same balllpark as any of the PC fixtures, and could be re-used for almost any future nano upgrade, even to a 4' 33 long or something.
The other thing to think about is that I am using an AC70 stuffed with chaeto for filtration, which is large enough so that the JBJ wouldn't have room to clamp on the back rim, unless it hangs off the AC70 hung on the side instead of the back wall.
A 2x24w T5 retro is in the same balllpark as any of the PC fixtures, and could be re-used for almost any future nano upgrade, even to a 4' 33 long or something.
bigdaddyTank
New member
marineandreef.com has them.
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