alittle help with lighting choice for zoos?

[Guygettnby]

hello all i have been bit by the bug and cant seem to stop buying zoas. at this current time i have them all set up in a 20g tank and i have a 65w pc light on it right now. what kind of light would you recomend for this size tank?

could i use a single 175w MH pendant and be fine with it or do i need to try and go with t5's?

i really want to try and start getting my zoas to grow nicely to were i can start fragging and trade with people. i am thankful for any help you can give.

 

[mfinn]

As they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So asking the question mh or t5,,, some people like one and not the other.
I happen to like mh. Specificly 14k mh.
The next guy might say the opposite.

 

[TKByrnes]

2nd ^^^ I also have mh 20k with pc actinic. I like Blue. and I get 3-4 new polyps a week in my aquapod.

 

[Guygettnby]

but will a single MH be enough light or will i need more? i am worried about the light being too much. maybe i will try a 150w MH and 2 T5's.... i think that would be more then enough light.

 

[MTB]

I think you would be fine with one halide. Most cover 24"x24". Which one were you looking at?

 

[LoudProudNPunk]

Mh is more than enough for zoas.

 

[My-eel-bit-me]

I love my Solaris lighting. Otherwise I would go with MH, just hate the heat they give off.

 

[goldmaniac]

Zoa newbie here -

so all I've been reading is that my 150w MH lights, plus a couple PCs, all in a hood, is on the lower side of light requirements...

14k Phoenix's, about 2-3 months old.

So i placed some eggcrate about 6" from the surface and put all my purchased zoa plugs towards the top.

HOWEVER, one by one, on any cluster of zoas that haven't been opening nicely, i've been moving them towards the bottom, giving less light. most of the troubled zoas have opened up because of this.

2 Questions:

1) am I right to conclude that 12" down (in a 24" deep tank) could still very well be enought light for some these guys, and that my dual 150 watt Odyssea canopy is enough for a zoa tank?

2) one of my first zoas I bought were some RPE's, they were cherry red in the seller's forum, now they're faded/pink. Will too much light fade these zoas? I also have a cluster of Eye of Rah's that have darkened. think these guys just need LESS light?

thanks in advance everyone -
G.

 

[TKByrnes]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11837437#post11837437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by goldmaniac
Zoa newbie here -

so all I've been reading is that my 150w MH lights, plus a couple PCs, all in a hood, is on the lower side of light requirements...

14k Phoenix's, about 2-3 months old.

So i placed some eggcrate about 6" from the surface and put all my purchased zoa plugs towards the top.

HOWEVER, one by one, on any cluster of zoas that haven't been opening nicely, i've been moving them towards the bottom, giving less light. most of the troubled zoas have opened up because of this.

2 Questions:

1) am I right to conclude that 12" down (in a 24" deep tank) could still very well be enought light for some these guys, and that my dual 150 watt Odyssea canopy is enough for a zoa tank?

2) one of my first zoas I bought were some RPE's, they were cherry red in the seller's forum, now they're faded/pink. Will too much light fade these zoas? I also have a cluster of Eye of Rah's that have darkened. think these guys just need LESS light?

thanks in advance everyone -
G.

I keep my rpe's on the sandbed. usually the darker the colors (dark red, Blue and purple) you want in low light. the brighter colors like yellow and green at the top. IME.... I hope this helps you out.

 

[goldmaniac]

Thanks, sounds like the light is enough to fade the zoas... I'll move them down even more, soon. looking to re-aquascape again.
thanks