lighting for a 3g?

gregbot9000

New member
what is good lighting for a 3g measuring 12"x7"x8"? im keeping just zoas and softies...maybe a lps. i was looking at the screw in bulbs, the power compact ones that are 50/50...i dunno what there called. ive seen a guy have like 4 of them over a 10g b4..

what are some other options,...
 
A friend of mine had converted an old 2.5 gallon glass jug into a minature reef. He ended up adapting a one watt LED flashlight to hang above the aquarium. He adapted a AC/DC power supply (so he wouldn't spend a fortune on batteries) and then suspended the flashlight with a coat hanger or something McGuiver-ish like that.

The light worked EXTREMELY well lit the tank great. He had to stand it off from the jug a little bit because if it was too close it would just cast an intense light on a small diameter of the tank.
 
It would work, but they take up alot of room. I have several of those collecting dust. I don't think they're nearly as good as regular PC's.
 
is this one of the 3g picotopes made by JBJ? If so, i'm lighting mine w/the stock light it came with (9w pc bulb) and then i also put one of the coralife aqulight 2x9w fixtures on it. So far i've got a bunch of mushrooms, kenya tree, digitata (doing WAY better than it did in my 40 breeder and that had 4x96w pc's) and a monti cap which is also doin great. Oh, and a tiny little hammer coral too :)
 
i was trying to be as cheap possible with the lighting. lol. thats why i wanted to try those.

do you think reflectors would make them better?

is this one of the 3g picotopes made by JBJ? If so, i'm lighting mine w/the stock light it came with (9w pc bulb) and then i also put one of the coralife aqulight 2x9w fixtures on it. So far i've got a bunch of mushrooms, kenya tree, digitata (doing WAY better than it did in my 40 breeder and that had 4x96w pc's) and a monti cap which is also doin great. Oh, and a tiny little hammer coral too

no its custom built.
 
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I see. That coralife aqualight 2x9 is only like 25 bucks and replacement bulbs are under 10 bucks each (where the cheapest i've found those screw in coralife ones is like 15 for the 10w one...and i hated that bulb when i used it on an old 2.5g pico)
 
Re: lighting for a 3g?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9345520#post9345520 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gregbot9000
what is good lighting for a 3g measuring 12"x7"x8"? im keeping just zoas and softies...maybe a lps. i was looking at the screw in bulbs, the power compact ones that are 50/50...i dunno what there called. ive seen a guy have like 4 of them over a 10g b4..

what are some other options,...

That must have been me. ;)
They were 20w 50/50's by Coralife I believe.
Ran the tank just fine for more than a year.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9347453#post9347453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sugar Magnolia
Current USA Dual Satelitte 2 x 18W. Dimensions 12" x 7.25" x 2.5" Dual daylight and dual actinic and a moonlight. http://www.current-usa.com/satellite.html

That's what I run over my 2.5 gallon, sits about 4" above the water surface to dissapate heat.

I want to use this over my 2.5 AGA tank. It seems too deep, especially with my AC20 hanging on the back.

How did you get a light to fit nicely that is larger than the top of the tank?
 
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