AnayaReef
Member
Tank dimensions - 22"h x 30"w x 12"d with a 2" wide support down the middle that could block light (see pic at bottom)
Current lighting - 2x 10,000 24W T5 (front and back) & 2x Actinic 24W T5 (middle 2 bulbs) These are old bulbs, all need replaced. Sits about 6 inches from the top of the tank on legs. Considering whether to replace these bulbs or invest in an LED fixture. Would really like an LED fixture.
Light/Tank history - This is the light I have always used on this tank. This was my Reidi seahorsee tank once upon a time. I successfully kept a maxima clam on the sandbed. All other corals in this tank were soft previously (aside from my sun coral but he doesn't care about light), but I think this light would have been sufficient for SPS and LPS if I had some in this tank. I am just basing that off the fact that my clam was happy and healthy...nothing else. Corals I kept were soft and simple in this tank (due to the seahorses), kenya tree on a small rock on the sandbed, xenia, mushroom on a rock on the sand bed and some various tall branchy corals that for the life of me i can't remember the name of.
Goal for tank now - This tank is meant to pacify me while I resist setting up my large tanks until AFTER I move in May next year (I know, resistances is futile, but I'm trying!). I have lots of live rock in there and the only thing I have now is a snowflake clown, a green BTA (who likes to attach to a rock near the bottom, partially shaded), halloween hermits, emerald crabs, peppermint shrimp, cerith and nassarius snails and a sand sifting starfish. I have been waiting on corals until I decide on my lights and get them either replaced or a new LED fixture. This will also make acclimating the tank to new lights much less stressful and risky, basically the GBTA is the only guy I really have to worry about for acclimation. I plan to get a clam again. I plan to have a variety of corals, soft and stony. I have enough rock that I can place corals anywhere from the bottom all the way to about 6" from the top if needed. Most of the rock is in the bottom 10-12" of the tank. See pic in my blog post here, which shows all but the top few inches of the tank. Rock has been slightly rearranged since this pic.
Budget - $150-ish range or less, ideally closer to $100. I still have some other expenses to get the tank where I want it to be as far as equipment, so I am trying to be frugal. The cost to change all the bulbs is going to be around $90 on BRS. I did some reading on LEDs and found some people who like this one, which is around the same price as the bulbs: http://r.ebay.com/rgGcn9
I like the idea of LED for so many reasons, specifically not having to replace the bulbs constantly which gets expensive :wildone:
Features wanted - I need to be able to set blues and whites separately to timers to turn them on and ideally adjust their intensity. I need the light to be sufficient for the inhabitants, especially the clam on the sandbed when I get him someday. Moonlights would be a huge plus, or I could dim the blues to almost off every night manually... While I would love program-ability, sunrises and sunsets, that really is not something I NEED for this tank...it would just be a bonus. However it WOULD be nice to get a light that I could one day get a controller for. I would like something that I can repair and upgrade if possible. I'm fairly handy, and if a light blows or something happens, I would like the ability to do the work fairly easily myself.
Concerns - the support bar on the tank concerns me that it will block too much of a single LED unit, but the tank is really not large enough for two units really. The unit I have linked above is about 16" x 8"...centering if over my tank would mean the 2" block goes right over 10% of the lights (give or take). Perhaps setting it up high enough the support bar would not be an issue? I am concerned if I get something strong enough to support a clam on the sand bed, that it will be too intense for corals halfway up the tank. The only corals I had high up before were xenia...
Any thoughts or suggestions on this? I will continue to use the light and tank once I setup my big tanks later. So it is a worthwhile investment.I tried to be as thorough as possible and provide as much info as possible
Let me know if I missed anything
Thank you! :smurf:
Current lighting - 2x 10,000 24W T5 (front and back) & 2x Actinic 24W T5 (middle 2 bulbs) These are old bulbs, all need replaced. Sits about 6 inches from the top of the tank on legs. Considering whether to replace these bulbs or invest in an LED fixture. Would really like an LED fixture.
Light/Tank history - This is the light I have always used on this tank. This was my Reidi seahorsee tank once upon a time. I successfully kept a maxima clam on the sandbed. All other corals in this tank were soft previously (aside from my sun coral but he doesn't care about light), but I think this light would have been sufficient for SPS and LPS if I had some in this tank. I am just basing that off the fact that my clam was happy and healthy...nothing else. Corals I kept were soft and simple in this tank (due to the seahorses), kenya tree on a small rock on the sandbed, xenia, mushroom on a rock on the sand bed and some various tall branchy corals that for the life of me i can't remember the name of.
Goal for tank now - This tank is meant to pacify me while I resist setting up my large tanks until AFTER I move in May next year (I know, resistances is futile, but I'm trying!). I have lots of live rock in there and the only thing I have now is a snowflake clown, a green BTA (who likes to attach to a rock near the bottom, partially shaded), halloween hermits, emerald crabs, peppermint shrimp, cerith and nassarius snails and a sand sifting starfish. I have been waiting on corals until I decide on my lights and get them either replaced or a new LED fixture. This will also make acclimating the tank to new lights much less stressful and risky, basically the GBTA is the only guy I really have to worry about for acclimation. I plan to get a clam again. I plan to have a variety of corals, soft and stony. I have enough rock that I can place corals anywhere from the bottom all the way to about 6" from the top if needed. Most of the rock is in the bottom 10-12" of the tank. See pic in my blog post here, which shows all but the top few inches of the tank. Rock has been slightly rearranged since this pic.
Budget - $150-ish range or less, ideally closer to $100. I still have some other expenses to get the tank where I want it to be as far as equipment, so I am trying to be frugal. The cost to change all the bulbs is going to be around $90 on BRS. I did some reading on LEDs and found some people who like this one, which is around the same price as the bulbs: http://r.ebay.com/rgGcn9
I like the idea of LED for so many reasons, specifically not having to replace the bulbs constantly which gets expensive :wildone:
Features wanted - I need to be able to set blues and whites separately to timers to turn them on and ideally adjust their intensity. I need the light to be sufficient for the inhabitants, especially the clam on the sandbed when I get him someday. Moonlights would be a huge plus, or I could dim the blues to almost off every night manually... While I would love program-ability, sunrises and sunsets, that really is not something I NEED for this tank...it would just be a bonus. However it WOULD be nice to get a light that I could one day get a controller for. I would like something that I can repair and upgrade if possible. I'm fairly handy, and if a light blows or something happens, I would like the ability to do the work fairly easily myself.
Concerns - the support bar on the tank concerns me that it will block too much of a single LED unit, but the tank is really not large enough for two units really. The unit I have linked above is about 16" x 8"...centering if over my tank would mean the 2" block goes right over 10% of the lights (give or take). Perhaps setting it up high enough the support bar would not be an issue? I am concerned if I get something strong enough to support a clam on the sand bed, that it will be too intense for corals halfway up the tank. The only corals I had high up before were xenia...
Any thoughts or suggestions on this? I will continue to use the light and tank once I setup my big tanks later. So it is a worthwhile investment.I tried to be as thorough as possible and provide as much info as possible
Let me know if I missed anything Thank you! :smurf:
