16 Bow Lighting

[NanosAreCool]

I am currently setting up a 16 Bow nano reef and am not sure on what type of lighting fixture I intend to go with. Because I have no desire to try and keep SPS, clams, or any other organisms requiring very high intensity light I have decided to go with PCs. I am trying to decide between the Coralife 96watt quad, or either a 2x40watt or 1x40watt Current USA fixture. I have no experience with Current USA and my experience with Coralife has been mixed, althrough the more recent experiences are overall better than the old experiences.

I also dont want extreme growth out of my corals. I am living in a small apartment and am looking for healthy corals, not necessarily outrageously growth/size from them because I have zero space for propagation or fragging without making a huge mess and potentially ruining nearby furnature. With that sad I am seriously considering the 1x40watt fixture because of its price and the fact that in a fairly small tank I believe it would be more than enough light to keep stuff like Zoos, a torch, maybe a frogspawn, without them becoming too huge too quickly. Any opinions, suggestions, or recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[banditfl]

Get the Current-USA 2x40w and you will be pleased. The 16 bow is fairly tall so you should get the growth performance you are looking for with corals you listed.

 

[NanosAreCool]

Is the Orbit any better than the Satellite? It looks like the only difference is in the shape of the unit.

 

[DarthBaiter]

The Orbit is much better than the satelite. I own both and if you are getting a Current, I recomend the orbit. The fan is better(bigger and quieter), the wireing is better(the fan is tied in to one of the lights), and feels much more solid. Also, you get legs with the Orbit, while the satlite you have buy em as extras.

 

[Herbie]

I had the coralife 96 w power quad on my 16 bow. Its a perfect fit. I took the glass off and just set the light right on the tank. It has its own built in splash shield so you wont get the bulbs wet. It doesnt stand over the tank lighting up the room. all the light goes into the tank if you set it right on the rim.
My tank was mixed LPS and zoo's,shrooms. I had GREAT results with this setup. Good growth for everything including the LPS. Had a long tent. plate,hammer etc. that did well under this lighting.
I think I have a few pics in my gallery of the 16 bow lit up with the coralife.
IMO.......great coloration and heathy growth!
Good luck...........Herbie

 

[NANOFOOL]

i like the orbit myself