lighting and ph

[angelsj247]

im trying to find the best possible lighting. I only have a fowlr at the moment but i want to get into corals.. so i want to get good lighting now instead of ones im going to have to upgrade. im looking to spend about 150 $
i found these.. are these ok and good enough to keep most corals.. i want to get lighting now, and havent read fully into corals yet but i will be really soon. thanks for all the help- i really like these lights because i like idea of the blue led moon lights.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...2&N=2004+113175

i have a 20 gal long tank. 30" accross.
also how much gph power head should i get. i have one thats 145gph but i heard that that is not enough. i only have 5lb live rock right now but will be getting 15lb more next month.
thanks for all the help

 

[dantodd]

Hi Angels,

Your link isn't coming up properly on my computer.

If you have any questions about some of the acronyms I will be using please go to http://www.nano-reef.com/glossary/?letter=all to look them up.

You will probably not be able to get "proper" lighting for SPS for $150. Most people recommend MH lighting if you want to keep SPS corals. You would need something like these:
http://www.hellolights.com/241x17mehaan.html
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12779&N=2004+113345
I know, it's REALLY expensive. You can certainly make a DIY canopy/fixture for much less.

For just about anything other than SPS you can use PC which is much more affordable and is also good enough for a bubble tip anemone if you choose to get one of those instead of corals. Some keep corals and anemones together but there is always a risk that they will go to battle and try to kill one another.

With something like these:
http://www.innovativelights.com/esu-53103.html
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=13637&N=2004+113345

I do keep some SPS in my 20L with 220W of PC lighting but it is generally not recommended by the experts. I have cheap SPS that were browned out at the fish store when I got them so I know that this is jsut an experiment to see if I can keep them alive and growing. I paid about $120 in parts and built it myself. Also, as you can see I am running about double the wattage of the commercially available PC fixtures.


With the PC lights you should be able to keep zoanthids, soft corals, LPS corals plus BTA and possibly LTA anemones.

I would probably recommend the PC lights. You can do 90% of what you want and it will cost 50% of the MH. Plus the SPS are harder to keep in general so you are more likely to have success with the organisms that the PC will support.

If you are good at DIY I would really suggest building your own and putting in 3 65W bulbs instead of using the premade 2 bulb units but it isn't really needed.

Finally, the 20L is an awesome tank. The shallowness of the tank and nice long proportions make for a lot of wonderful aquascaping opportunities. By far my favorite nano tank right now.

 

[angelsj247]

ok here was the link to the lights.. hopefully it works
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12109&N=2004+113345

 

[dantodd]

Well, they don't list the wattages but it looks like it has 2X 65watts which is essentially the same as the PC lights I linked to but with lunar lights. As long as you confirm that it has 130Watts then it should be able to keep the same things as I listed above.

I don't use lunar lights but I think I may add some eventually.

 

[angelsj247]

yes it does have 2x65 watts. i like the blue lunar lights, thats why i like this one

 

[angelsj247]

thanks for the help.. im going to go with the lights i posted then.

 

[dantodd]

congrats. Sounds like you're on the right track. How long has the 20L been set up as FOWLR? If it has been up for some time you should be able to add some premium live rock with no cycle which is great!

With the new lights you may get a bit of an algae bloom, a few more astrea and/or ceriths should clear it right up.

 

[angelsj247]

its been set up for about 3-4 months now. ill add more snails when is see an algea bloom cuz most of them died i think bc theres not enough food for them..

 

[dantodd]

Do you still have all of the livestock listed in your sig? If so you might consider taking out the shrimp. They will sometimes eat zoanthids. They'll be easier to pull before you add your new LR. I keep one peppermint in my sump. Injured fish get a nice cleaning when they end up in the sump.

 

[angelsj247]

is that all they eat.. zoanthids? or are they bad for everything? yah everything in my sig is correct

 

[dantodd]

I know they like small anemone, I don't know what all they both as far as soft corals go. I pulled mine so I didn't really keep track of everything else they may bother. I understand they're not too bad so you may want to risk it.

You might post in the zoanthid, soft coral or "other invertibrate" forums. They'll have way more info than me.

 

[angelsj247]

thanks