Halide good enough?

[meredith1985]

This may be a silly question but here it goes...... On a ten gallon tank with nothing else in it except two clowns would a 70 watt metal halide fixture work for a nem? If it would only work of a few different kinds... which ones?

I'll explain about the fixture. My boyfriend is an electrician and saw a metal halide fixture at his supply house for like $80 or something and thinks it would be sufficient for one nem on a regular 10 gallon tank. We dont want to pay $300 bucks for this one ten gallon that we are using for our pair of clowns, but we do want to get them a nem to host.
Thanks for any help!

 

[clowns101]

IMO,I would be a bit worried about it with heat build up and so on.SO I would think more along the lines of a JBJ but they arent the best brand and not many people make a 70 watt light!So it would have to be modifyed and watched for a bit to see how heat build up is and eveaporation is.

 

[papania]

I am sure you will hear from a bunch of people by the end of the night that a 10gal isn't big enough for a nem

 

[meredith1985]

Then ten is just the home of my pair for now. I'm hoping to put them in a 30 or something soon, but time will tell. I'm really just wondering if the light will be sufficient for the nem or not. Like is it worth a try or should I try and find somebody willing to let go of one pendant for cheap?

 

[dalston]

I suppose it would be sufficiant (not ideal) for one of the less light demanding species, it would be the least of your worries however. With such a small tank and water volume, you will have space and water quality issues in no time.

 

[meredith1985]

well, then I'll just get two and put them on my 90 and have everybody live there. I have t5's and powercompacts on that tank right now..... the halides would replace the power compacts.

 

[Chris27]

The halide would work just fine over the tank. Using a fan and adjusting the height of the light off the surface of the water will eliminate any problems you have with heat.

 

[meredith1985]

thanks. I was worried about it being 70 watts compared to the 150 watts that I see on other people's tanks. I just think that's a little excessive for my needs.

 

[Chris27]

Both a Ferrari and Scooter will get you to work, one is just a little faster....

7 Watts / Gallon on a tank with a depth of 11" is a bit overkill, but if you have it, why not use it. T5's, PC's and VHO's will all support the needs of most livestock, but they don't penetrate deeper water like MH does, that is why they tend to be the gold standard when lighting deeper tanks.