best way to light a 6" deep zoa frag tank?

loyalty

New member
i've been doing some reading in the main forum, but wanted to get some input from you guys too. i've got a tank from glass cages that's 24x12x6. with such a shallow tank, i was thinking PCs would be more than enough for good growth (mostly zoas) but i've been thinking about checking out T5 lighting. I'm trying to do this on the cheap as a side project. any ideas?
Thanks
 
I'm running (2)-65W PC's over the same size tank and the zoas seem to do pretty good. Some don't seem to like as much light as others (no surprise there, though), but the colors are nice. I use Odyssea bulbs (a 50/50 and an actinic 03), but can't speak to their ballasts (running a coralife fixture).
 
I'd definately lean toward the blue spectrum with that much light/shallow of a tank jerr. Pc's have quite a bit of par. I have three 65w'ers (one coralife 67k, one odyssea 65k daylight, and one coralife actinic) over jenns cube and those green and white paly's i got awhile back turned snow white. I'm assuming because of intensity. They are about a foot from the bulbs. Everything in the upper half of the display has lightened considerably.
 
wouldnt a single 65 watt be fine? I have a 24" 65 watt Current fixture over my 10 gal that is like 12" deep. It seems bright enough. What few zoas I have in there are doin' fine. Even the montis are lookin' good...but they are closer to the light.

Steve
 
Yeah, the quantum meter showed around 85 par at the bottom of the tank (about 4" below water level), if I remember correctly. The ones that are doing good look great. The others have shrunk, but still look okay. Some of them would probably be happier under less light. I got a 20x20x12 at the swap and plan to swap it out with the 1/2 15.
 
Hey Jer,

I have an Odyssey in my basement that is 24" I think. I can't remember the watts but it is the one with four bulbs and one connection in the middle. Come and check it out if you are interested. The bulbs are only a couple of months old at best.

Rob
 
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