I just picked up some zoanthids, I have a 24 gallon nanocube with the 150watt 14K viper light (stock bulb). I am thinking of getting a 20K bulb to replace the stock bulb. Is this too much light for zoanthids? I have them near the top of the tank. Some of them are open and some are closed. water levels are good. thanks for the help.
Lighting for zoanthids?
- Thread starter stsmythe
- Start date
aquarius77
In Memoriam
I would lower them till they all open up. In my personal opinion i think the next time i replace my bulbs i am going to get 20k, they seem to bring out the color in the coral.
Stinkyfish1
New member
I'm using a 150 20k bulb now on a 40g and the colors look great on the Palys and zoos but growth pretty much came to a halt. I'm going back to a 14k supplemented by atinic to bring out their colors. 20k bulbs seem to have too low PAR for growth.
I would stick with 14k and see how that works.
I would stick with 14k and see how that works.
TONY DELBRIDGE
New member
I also have a 24 nano. I started with a 150w sunpod, but missed the blue from the actinics. A few months ago I purchased the Current 150w MH with the two spectrums of T5's...WOW what a difference !! With just the T5's lit, the tank looks awesome !! The colors really stand out. I even modified my moon lights from 3 whites and 3 blues to 6 blues. Really cool looking at night. Yea, the light hangs off the side a couple of inches, but what a difference !! My zoos are multiplying like crazy now !! I changed the MH from a 10k to a 14k. 10k was much too white. The 14k really brought out the colors of the zoos better.
DurTBear
Member
Tony, did you use the stock bulb on the 150W Sunpod? I just ordered the 150W Sunpod but I'm going to change the bulb to a 14K Phoenix which I'm told is blue enough so it doesn't require actinic supplementation. But I know what you mean about missing the blue from the actinics because I really like when I just have the actinics on right now on my PC fixture. Maybe I can find a way to take out the actinic bulbs and necessary wiring from my PC fixture and put them in a smaller box so I can leave them on the tank with my new Sunpod.
TONY DELBRIDGE
New member
DurtBear, Now that I think about it, My old Sunpod unit had a 75w MH bulb and I believe it was a 14k (stock). I bought it used for $100. This light was better than my old PC's which came with my nano. The coral thrived much better, but the colors of my zoos were washed out for the most part. My new Current Orbit 150 MH with T5's is much brighter. Bulb is twice the size so I'm sure my old light was a 75 watt. The stock bulb on this unit was a 10k. I have heard the growth potential is greater with a 10k, but again the colors were washed out (too white). When I switched to the 14k bulb, the colors of the zoos looked much better. The best part is when the MH is tuned off and only the T5's are on. WOW !! I couldn't believe the effect !! I never knew my zoos were so colorful. I have seen pictures on the internet, but mine never looked like this until I used actinics only. I couldn't be happier with this setup. It's a little large for my tank, but it is really worth the extra $$. Seems each time I look at my tank I see new polyp growth. My leathers and turbinaria are always extended. Me and my corals are happy now.
DurTBear
Member
Thanks for the info Tony. Yeah, I'm going to have to find a way to keep the actinics because I love it during sunrise/sunset when they're the only lights on. I might have to buy a retrofit kit and make something to mount them on. I would have just gotten a fixture that has the metal halide AND actinics but all the fixtures were too big for my 20g tank (they were all 15" wide while my tank is only 12" wide). I was also thinking of just taking my current PC fixture and ripping it apart. Then I would buy a new reflector and somehow mount just the actinic bulbs. But I'm no electrician by any means so I would need some help from someone that really knows what they're doing.
