help with lighing

bigmatt1992

bigmatt1992

New member
hey im going to have 2 powe compacts and 2 48 standred florcent strips im going to all retro fit them all to one hood but for rite now there goin to look gheto o well lol but i was wondering wat light combo i should do if im trying to keep coral should with fish should i go with 2 antic 2 50 50 or could i got with all antic and no 50 50 or 1 one 50 50 rest antic blue idk thats why im out asking you guys and thanks for the response on the other threads they been a great help so keep the help comen

THANKS :) :) :) :) :) :)
Matt
 
I would d 10k on the power compacts and actinic on the regular fluorescents. That will give you nice growing power and the actinics will will it some color.

Unless you like for it to be really blue go with 50/50 compacts and actinic fluorescents. Nicer growing power but sacrificing some growing power.

I would only use the fluorescents as supplements only since they cant grow corals as well as the compacts.
 
ok thank you for the input so do you think i should be good on lighing then cuz i was a lil worried becouse im 16 and straped for cash but i make it by and buy what i need most of my money from my job goes into my tanks so i wanted to know if i should get more lighting or if id be ok with that so use 10 k for power compact and antic for the florcents
 
WOW almost the same age i'm 17 now all those younger people getting into the hobby, i seen a few 12-14 year olds setup nanos that were pretty nice for their experience and their age. (I'm 6 years into the saltwater hobby so far)

What size tank are you putting them on?
 
with what you have you will be able to grow corals like zoas, mushrooms, leathers, and ricordias... atleast that is all i attempted with my PC... i just recently upgraded my lights because i found someone selling a gently used metal halide ballast fairly cheap... i built my own lumenmax reflector for about $40 with the socket and wires... you should be fine with what you have... i started with less... if you can wait and save and are good with your hands you should be able to do what i did... also there is a lot of information on this website you just have to look for it...

one last thing... welcome
 
im putting them in a 75 gallon i have a 10 gallon nano setup with a tomato clown and a cleaner shrimp and frog spawn and mushrooms and xezia
 
I personally would recommend at least 4x65w power compacts for a tank that size. If you end up buying a fixture I would either go with 150w-175w metal hailides, or a 4 bulb t5 H/O setup.

With what you have now You would be able to keep all the stuff in your nano but higher in the tank.

I would just save up for a fixture.

After my short 6 years experience one thing I learned is if you do it right the first time you save a lot of money in the end.
 
check new thread for my reflector... also if you decide to go the route of MH and wish to build them... there is a place online that sells the metal (google spectral aluminum aquarium first link bottom of that page)... i know where to find the plans and would be willing to help you

~josh
 
i wanan retro fit them into a hood like 4 compacts and 2 strips but idk how to and i got a balst down stairs my dad had laying around for a florecent light it has like 3 wires comeing off each end so idk what the hell to do with that maybe you guys can help me out with that
 
It shouldnt be heavy, a regular flourescent ballast for 2x 48" bulbs should be at the most <1 pound and 8"long x 2"wide x 1"thick...

A icecap can run 4x 48" VHO bulbs and weighs <1pound and is only around 10"x 4"x 2"
 
It's probably like a workhorse ballast. Go to their website they have diagrams there, but I am not 100% sure the hookup is the same. Do at your own risk.
 
it comes with a diagram on the box lol and it says its for 2 40 watt T12 lighitng do you think i could get away with more lighting with it if then the T12
 
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