Acans and LPS under PC lighting?

Dave VG

New member
Thinking about getting a 29 gal biocube. Anyone have luck with Acans and other LPS under PC lighting?
 
i run 260w of pc on a 55. it has 130w at 6700k and 130w of 420/460. I have acans that are doing great along with frogspawn. It can be done as you will see on multiple threads if you search google. Placement is key. I light acclimate even on the pc's because i fried a mint cherry red large blasto from too high of a placement.

The 29g biocubes have come down in price recently and the newest hqi are the best ones in my opinion. You can pick one up for 500 or so. I would do the hqi because even though i run pc's successfully, i dont like them.

Best of luck!
 
I ran stock PCs over my 12g aquapod for a while with good luck. I didn't have acans at the time, but othe lps did well, as did an orange monti cap.
 
i have a BC14 stock lighting other than a led strip for moon lights. i keep acans, torch, hammer, and orange cap just fine. i dont get spectacular growth, but nothing has died.
 
I'm looking to go with Acans and chalices mostly maybe a select few Z's and P's. Jackson I remember your tank it was very nice. So I guess its a go then.
 
Thanks to all for the input. I'm rethinking it and may go with a 20H and T-5's.
 
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I've kept chalices, acans and euphylia under pc lighting ( 4 96 watt bulbs, 2 10 k and 2 actinic over a 90 gallon) for several years and they thrived.
 
FWIW... when I had my all-in-one running with teh stock hood/PCs, I had real issues with heat. The tightly enclosed hood made it near impossible to draw out the heat. There are tweaks you and do, and maybe the newer ones are better, but...

If you're looking at an all-in-one, consider one with a MH fixture. I had MUCH better luck maintaining my tank after I replaced the PC-stocked hood with the MH fixture. And most the corals did better as well.
 
yeah depending on how deep the tank is and the wattage of the PCs, but you should be fine..the acans wont have the popping colors like they would under halides or t5s, nor will they grow as fast, but will do fine..

But keeping your water fresh of nutrients they will do fine...there is a difference in dirty water and nutrient rich water..so good luck..post some pics once you get them going..
 
I loved our BC 14 but I did NOT care for the limited color choice for PC lamps. That being said, leaving the hood stock greatly alleviated evap and in the summer months I would crack the top and blow a fan across the water surface.

With an open top and a MH setup, you will have much evap and heat will be an issue I can imagine.

Our plan now for my wife's office tank is thus: she liked the BioCubes but I knew she didn't like the colors in our old one, (the best that tank looked was when just a single stunner strip lit the tank,453 nm). We had an Ecoxotic 25g 18" cube ordered. It comes with a glass top and the goodies in the back compartment..basically this is a mini Solana 34. Since she will be keeping mostly softies and maybe a couple LPS one Evil Par38 lamp should do the trick.

Hope some of this info helps.
 
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