Light problem

[Shaker nemo]

I plan on making a lighting system for my 10 gallon tank.:bounce1: its 20" in length. I plan on only growing soft corals(mushrooms and zoanthoids). will this light be enogh for my tank? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarium-Po...419?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bd4b7f33 and do i need blue Actinic lighting? thx in advance :3

 

[Pluedke1]

I'm not sure. You might want to look into the par 38 bulbs. One bulb lit majority of my 16 gallon frag tank but ended up with a 50 watt Evo. Good luck

 

[Shaker nemo]

Thx

 

[hllywd]

Do yourself a favor and throw one of these kits together unless you're really set on PC, or have no budget... http://www.rapidled.com/12-ultra-premium-led-do-it-yourself-retrofit-kit/

IMO if your go with that bulb you'll need actinic of some type to go with it.

 

[zachts]

Do yourself a favor and throw one of these kits together unless you're really set on PC, or have no budget... http://www.rapidled.com/12-ultra-premium-led-do-it-yourself-retrofit-kit/

IMO if your go with that bulb you'll need actinic of some type to go with it.

I'd agree, skip the PC altogether, I never had good results with them, though I ran 3 standard 18" T8 on a ten gallon for years with great succes even growing some sps. (this was a dirt cheap build I did in college, cost me all of about $35 bucks bulbs included from the hardware store) ultimately I used two actinics and a daylight bulb, though the plant and aquaium bulbs from the hardware store grew coral and algea great, just lousy color without actinic.

Go with one of the Rapid kits, or some other one out there. I'd probably spend a few more dollars unless your on a tight budget and go for a dimmable kit with at least two channels (why not right, that's the beauty of LED)

also go with a color ratio that is better than the stock kit what was kinked, use Neutral white rather than cool white, and add some violets.

For 12 led kit I'd go with:

3 NW
6 RB
3 Violet

just ask them and they will swap out the colors for a different ratio for you.

for small tanks and multiple channels I like the Steve's LED kits since they have dimmable drivers and allow for more channels on a small build, though with the ratio I mentioned you'd have to use 4 drivers to ballance the voltage for best efficiency and would only need a 12 volt powersupply not 24volt. could use two of the single drivers and a double for the royal blues to get 3 leds per driver chip......... It would be about the same cost as the rapid kit only you'd get dimmable as well.

don't forget the cost of heatsink and fan which are not included in that rapid kit, but anything from the heatsinks they sell to a simple piece of aluminum channel works.

 

[asid61]

+1 to what zachts said about the color combo, but swap out a royal blue with a regular blue. Although I would stick with Rapid; it's a lot easier to put together and fix if broken IMO. I don't like the Steve's drivers too much.

 

[Shaker nemo]

ahh but im on a small budget cant find the end caps for it. Do i need a ballast?

 

[Shaker nemo]

will this be enogh for my 10 g? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nano-30-50C...343772?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item3ccf15b3dc thx

 

[zachts]

Yeah, you'll need a ballast for it, you can get away with out end caps if you cant find them, you could solder wires to the bulb pins or use bullet/crimp connectors or some such to make the connections as long as they are solid and don't come loose.

hunt around ebay for a bit, you can probably find some used lights than you could gut to get a cheap used ballast and end caps........

on a really tight budget I've seen setups using screw in CFL bulbs that worked pretty well (6500k daylight, and some of the blue party bulbs for cheap actinics) works just about as good as the type bulb you linked to.

 

[hllywd]

will this be enogh for my 10 g? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nano-30-50C...343772?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item3ccf15b3dc thx

The color will likely be pretty bad with than ratio of blue to white, and it will offer little intensity. In a word I would say no. This is an option for PCs, a good reflector is a requirement, and I differ a little with zachts in that I think a good plug for the bulb is a requirement for safety, you do need a ballast for any PC, everything is here for about $60 - $70 or so - http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm

Used is a way to find good equipment others are no longer using, but you really need to face that this isn't an inexpensive hobby. Realistically any reef capable light for a 10 gallon tank is going to be $75 on the conservative end up to as much as you'd like to spend.

Used is a great way to save money, but keep in mind anything someone else is selling will probably need new bulbs to avoid issues that arise from old bulbs.

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, and there are ways to save money, but it's not realistic to think you'll light even a 10 gallon reef for $20 or $30.

 

[asid61]

A small budget, huh? A par38 bulb for $90 form Reef Breeders if you want leds.
If youa re dead-end broke, then this would do the trick: http://www.ebay.com/itm/E27-12x3-36...340?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19dd9f51f4
Otherwise, a some PC fixture like the one posted above will do fine. However, sourcing bulbs is tricky.

 

[Shaker nemo]

A small budget, huh? A par38 bulb for $90 form Reef Breeders if you want leds.
If youa re dead-end broke, then this would do the trick: http://www.ebay.com/itm/E27-12x3-36...340?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19dd9f51f4
Otherwise, a some PC fixture like the one posted above will do fine. However, sourcing bulbs is tricky.

. How many of those do I need? (yes I'm dead end broke lol.this would be awesome if I only need one)does it need a ballast?
Thx

 

[Shaker nemo]

Can't I just hook up 4 10watt LEDs withs a 40 watt ballast?

 

[hllywd]

. How many of those do I need? (yes I'm dead end broke lol.this would be awesome if I only need one)does it need a ballast?
Thx

You could probably get by with one. No ballast, but you do need some type of clip on fixture to hold it in position.

Can't I just hook up 4 10watt LEDs withs a 40 watt ballast?

No. For any LEDs you need a driver, not a ballast, that is matched to the forward voltage of your LED circuit, and can supply the correct drive current to the LEDs. You also need a heat sink, fans, soldering iron, and misc. other supplies to put the light together. 4 quality 10W LEDs and a driver, or driver power supply combo would likely be more than the RapidLED kits I posted originally.

Again, there are ways to save money, but this is an expensive hobby! This is just my rule, but I rarely purchase a piece of equipment without thinking whether or not it becomes obsolete the first time I upgrade my tank. For example, the RapidLED kit I posted can be expanded upon, and even integrated into as big a system as you may eventually want. You seem to be solely focused on building a 10 gallon tank with components that likely won't transfer to a 50 gallon tank when you want to expand. This money will be wasted, gone because there is no resale value on basic equipment.

The most pragmatic advice I can give to you is this: If you can't afford a quality light, and other equipment right now put the halts to this project ASAP. Take some time, and save some money until you can do it right. If you can't afford a light up front how will your animals be able to handle it if a marginal piece of equipment, like a cheap light fails and you don't have money to purchase another? Once this tank is up and running your expenses have only begun. I would say stop, take a DEEP breath, and rethink your plans. Not only will you be disappointed when the shoestring budget tank fails, but it's unethical to subject living creatures to a marginal system that is likely to fail.

 

[asid61]

The par38 I posted from ebay will support coral with one bulb. However, it won't look as good as a Reef Breeders par38 or Led Tric par38 bulb. You could make your own LED fixture, but it would cost too much for the soldering equipment.
I know what it's like to be on a shoestring budget, because that's how my tank survives! No skimmer, Aqueon 10 for filtration and some flow, and a Pico Evolution pump for flow. And a Jager heater, just because it was $5 more and is very reliable. The tank has a couple small sps, a bunch of LPS, and a couple mushrooms. Lighting is a DIY fixture with 12 leds. Cost me about $100, but works great.
The most expensive thing in my tank is the LR. That way, my tank looks alive even if I have very few corals. You won't run out of room for about a year probably, and when you do, I urge you to frag and sell and save up for quality stuff that way.
That's going to be the problem for you in the future: livestock. Mostly, I just save up until I can buy a big bunch from online, as that's cheaper than an LFS.

 

[hllywd]

The par38 I posted from ebay will support coral with one bulb. However, it won't look as good as a Reef Breeders par38 or Led Tric par38 bulb. You could make your own LED fixture, but it would cost too much for the soldering equipment.
I know what it's like to be on a shoestring budget, because that's how my tank survives! No skimmer, Aqueon 10 for filtration and some flow, and a Pico Evolution pump for flow. And a Jager heater, just because it was $5 more and is very reliable. The tank has a couple small sps, a bunch of LPS, and a couple mushrooms. Lighting is a DIY fixture with 12 leds. Cost me about $100, but works great.
The most expensive thing in my tank is the LR. That way, my tank looks alive even if I have very few corals. You won't run out of room for about a year probably, and when you do, I urge you to frag and sell and save up for quality stuff that way.
That's going to be the problem for you in the future: livestock. Mostly, I just save up until I can buy a big bunch from online, as that's cheaper than an LFS.

I'm really not trying to be a downer, but in your "shoestring budget" reef even when it's up and running there are on-going costs... No skimmer? How much salt are you using with water changes? What does that cost? How much is your RO water to mix the salt? Any additives? What if everything gets sick? Do we treat this like the gold fish bowls from a carnival? I think it needs to be pointed out that if Shaker nemo's budget only allows for a $15 Ebay LED desklamp, or a $12 bare PC bulb he or she isn't going to be able to keep up on regular water changes necessary to make a small tank healthy. Saving some money for a few months so he or she can afford more appropriate equipment also provides a cooling off period to do a lot of research on how to set the tank up successfully. A 10 gallon tank can be super cool, it can also be a money pit for someone who doesn't have much...

 

[asid61]

I'm really not trying to be a downer, but in your "shoestring budget" reef even when it's up and running there are on-going costs... No skimmer? How much salt are you using with water changes? What does that cost? How much is your RO water to mix the salt? Any additives? What if everything gets sick? Do we treat this like the gold fish bowls from a carnival? I think it needs to be pointed out that if Shaker nemo's budget only allows for a $15 Ebay LED desklamp, or a $12 bare PC bulb he or she isn't going to be able to keep up on regular water changes necessary to make a small tank healthy. Saving some money for a few months so he or she can afford more appropriate equipment also provides a cooling off period to do a lot of research on how to set the tank up successfully. A 10 gallon tank can be super cool, it can also be a money pit for someone who doesn't have much...

Well, no skimmer has worked for a long time for me, and I'm not about to drop $50 on a good skimmer.
Originally, I got RO/DI from the LFS for $0.80/gallon, but later bought my own RO/DI system for my plants. I now use that for my aquarium as well. A 50 gallon bucket of salt has lasted me almost a 9 months now, and cost about $20.
I don't think water changes are ever going to be a cost problem.
I don't use additives. If everything gets sick (which it never has, but okay) then I can use garlic or buy treatments at the LFS. Again, not a huge problem.

I agree that saving up is a good idea though. At least for a good heater and salt.

 

[Metal Man 1221]

I think the still standing point here is that any marine tank is going to have ongoing expenses that the OP needs to plan for.

 

[zachts]

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, and there are ways to save money, but it's not realistic to think you'll light even a 10 gallon reef for $20 or $30.

You can, and I did for years, many people have, just don't expect the best color from corals, and you probably wont grow alot of SPS that look very nice, mostly brown.....

A couple of daylight screw in cfls and one of those blue ones would grow coral and not look totaly awful. could cost you less than $20. numerous people have documented doing this successfully.

I used three cobbled together 18" t8 for a very long time, ballasts I got for around a buck each on a sale, endcaps were around $10, 3 bulbs from the hardware store were $15-20 depending on which ones I bought. power cord and some connectors I had lying around and a box I made out of some old scrap wood.

 

[zachts]

I'll just add that my first tank for the first several years I had it just like asid61's without a skimmer and on a yearly upkeep budget of $100, I very carefully planed out water changes, food, and livestock additions to fit that budget. Adding upgrades as I had a little extra money available. a tight budget is no reason to stay out of the hobby, just plan for it and do you homework.