Lighting a 40G breeder
- Thread starter 40gnano
- Start date
cilistacichlids
New member
im pretty sure that would be a 4 foot fixture
I have a 50g breeder, which essentially 3'' taller than the 40g breeder. I run the Nova Extreme Pro 6x39w T5 fixture. This fixture is PLENTY of light for whatever you would like to keep. They run about $300 brand new but you might want to look for a used one.
I have mostly a SPS dominated tank now. I have a lot of SPS and also an anenome and everything is growing like crazy....
I used to run Mh but I am a T5er for life now. Never going back to the heat...
HTH,
Brad
I have mostly a SPS dominated tank now. I have a lot of SPS and also an anenome and everything is growing like crazy....
I used to run Mh but I am a T5er for life now. Never going back to the heat...
HTH,
Brad
E.intheC
Active member
I have the 20 inch sunpod on my 30 cube and really like it. A lot. The only slight downside is that you can't add actinics to the setup easily. I could retro, but.. It'd be nice if there were some T-5's added in. Overall though I really like the light, and would buy it again.
I have the sunpod 36" fixture which sits perfectly atop my 40g breeder. It only has the 2 150w halides + blue/white led's. The only day I had heating issues was when we had a heatwave and it was 95 and our house doesnt have air conditioning. You can also hang this fixture. I found one 2 months used for $250 so it was a pretty good deal.
E.intheC
Active member
I think that fixture will work out well for you. As posted above (by myself in the beginning as well, actually) 1 MH bulb on this tank won't look as good because my tank is almost half the length of yours.
Either that, or T-5's. Best thing to do is see if you can compare them in person. Post locally and I'm sure someone has a similar setup to what you're looking into buying.
Re: Lighting a 40G breeder
Does this tank have large bracing on the top, like a lot of Acrylic tanks, or is it rimless? If so you may just want the light over the actual opening, not over the bracing...
I have an ******* Acrylic 40B, and the top opening is 23 by 12 inches. I found that if you light the top bracing, it heats up pretty quickly, so I went with a single 150 W, 24" sunpod, which seems to keep the heat in the hole...
If I could go back and do it over, I'd get a 24" 4 or 6 bulb ATI T5 powermodule (or the sunpower thingy). That size would also only light the hole. The light wouldn't spread out so much like the single 150 W halide does, and get the floor area of the tank outside the hole perimeter, but the heat would be less.
Also, I kind of like the unlit perimeter so the fish can swim around in circles without getting a tan
Does this tank have large bracing on the top, like a lot of Acrylic tanks, or is it rimless? If so you may just want the light over the actual opening, not over the bracing...
I have an ******* Acrylic 40B, and the top opening is 23 by 12 inches. I found that if you light the top bracing, it heats up pretty quickly, so I went with a single 150 W, 24" sunpod, which seems to keep the heat in the hole...
If I could go back and do it over, I'd get a 24" 4 or 6 bulb ATI T5 powermodule (or the sunpower thingy). That size would also only light the hole. The light wouldn't spread out so much like the single 150 W halide does, and get the floor area of the tank outside the hole perimeter, but the heat would be less.
Also, I kind of like the unlit perimeter so the fish can swim around in circles without getting a tan
kretzkiller
New member
I just ordered a 6 bulb tek for my 40b. I will post pics as soon as it is up and running. I really wanted the ATI powermodule, but don't have a place to hang it. 
kretzkiller
New member
oh, and if you are set on the mh route don't get them off eBay. The ballast in those fixtures are crap and bulbs are equally as bad. Spend a little more money at the get go and it will save you money in the long run. If you go to MD and read some of the comments on the ballasts you will find that many people bought them to replace the cheap chinese ballast.
