Lighting over a seahorse tank

[patedship]

What would be better over my 26 gallon bowfront seahorse tank? A 175W Coralife MH pendant or a 4 bulb 96w T5 HO system? I do not want power compacts and would prefer something alittle better than them. So that I could possibly keep some caps or something in this tank as well.

 

[Fredfish]

96w over a 26 will be tons of light for most corals including many sps. I would be concerned about heat with the 175w light.

For tropical seahorses like H. kuda you want to keep your tank temp. below 78 and preferably around 76.

Fred

 

[patedship]

I understand, but with the MH they would be pendants so they would be as high off the tank as neccasary. So what would be the most suitable lighting?

 

[seas_inside]

175 watts for a 26 gallon tank, IMO, is WAYY too much. That's over 6WPG! I don't know of anything (if there is anything) that needs that much lighting. 4 bulbs of 96 watts would be a total of 384 watts, over 14WPG!!! Unless, I'm not understanding you and you're saying a total of 96 watts. However even this would be a little too much if you're planing a FO(WLR).

I'd say anywhere from 52-78 watts total would be safer (you could do even less). However, this depends on what you plan on keeping in the tank. Please reconsider your choices for lighting.

 

[patedship]

It would be a total of 96watts. 4 x 24watts...
People keep 150watts MH over 24 gallon Nano Cubes, and there is only about 20 gallons of usable space in the nano so that is over 7watts per gallon.

 

[Fredfish]

People keep 150watts MH over 24 gallon Nano Cubes

Yup, but does that make it appropriate? Lighting is such a confusing topic because there is such a wide range of opinion as to what is 'right' and what is 'best'.

First, here is what I believe about lighting: source (pc, t2, mh...) dosn't matter, its quality and quantity. Light is just photons and photon x from mh is the same as photon x from pc.

Those corals in the nano cube with the 150w mh are probably proto inhibited, that is, they get much more light than they can possible use and are probably using extra energy to protect themselves from the extra light. It just isn't needed.

seas_inside got it exactly right in his last paragraph. In fact, if all you wanted to grow was algae and some low light corals like mushrooms, you could go as low as 30w comfortably.

You have two factors to look at in choosing your light: the heat it will generate, how much the corals you want to keep really need.

You mentioned monti caps as a coral you want to keep. They have moderate lighting needs. What other corals do you want to keep and what sort of lighting do they need. Also consider compatability with your horses.

I suspect that Monti caps would do fine with 50w of lighting and that 96w is more than enough for even the most demanding acro.

Once you have decided how much light you want to put over your tank, the next question is what form factor fits best. Yes, you can go with that 175w mh and raise it up higher, but then you are lighting not only the tank, but the surrounding area. It will work, but do you want to spend the extra money to light areas outside your tank.

I suspect that pc or t5 will end up being the best form factors for your application, but I am not familiar with specific sizes and wattages for these lights.

As far as quality, if you want the right photons for photosynthesis, I would stick to something as close to 65k as possible. For estetic (sp??) reasons you may want something a little bluer, just remember that the more towards the blue your lighting gets, the fewer photosynthetically usable photons it will produce. From your coral's perspective, 96w of 20k lighting is not the same as 96w of 65k lighting.

...Or, to paraphrase this long winded reply, stick to a range of 50 to an absolute maximum of 96w and pick the form factor that fits your tank best.

Fred

 

[patedship]

Thanks Fred, I am leaning towards going with the 4 x 24 watt T5 system, however I will probably just run two of the bulbs the reason for this is because if and when I plan to change the tank from a seahorse tank I will not have to buy new lights.. and hell the T5 system I am getting is only going to cost me $100 so I think it is a wise move. However if I was to go with PC's I suppose it may be slightly cheaper than the T5's. T5s are actually much better than PC's they have just as high of a PAR rating as MH and they run on a much lower wattage..

 

[SH Mama]

Now I have a question about the light I just set up!
My bf got me a 265w light for a 55 gal- we are both new to sh, so is that too much? He's telling me that it's fine, so i'd just like a second opinion! ty

 

[SH Mama]

btw there are no SH in the tank yet, we are still cycling.

 

[Fredfish]

Sounds like a good choice patedship. If you decide you want or need more light, you can just add another tube.

SH Mama. Too much light for what? Seahorses do not need tons of light. What else are you planning on keeping and what are the light demands. 265w for a 55 is a lot of light and will allow you to keep some very high light corals. It would also be good for seagrasses. If you do not plan on keeping organisms with high light demands, its more than you need.

Fred

 

[bosborn1]

I have 130 watts of Actinic over my 29 gallon SH tank and I have no problems exempt that the Macro algaes grow too fast and require weekly prunning.

Scott

 

[Fredfish]

Its not that more light is good or bad, its just not necessarily needed. I have 80w over a 40 gallon tank and am fine. I don't have any corals with higher light demands though and I don't mind the more dimly lit tank.

Fred

 

[pledosophy]

IMHO You can have as much light as you want, as long as you can keep the temp down. I agree with Fred that you can be overdoing it, which can be harmful to your corals.

On my 65g horse tank I had 330w of light, mixed between T5 and PC's.Running that much light I could keep my temp at 74.

IME T5's are way more intense then PC's, and they burn cooler.

IME with my 150w HQI bulb, even with a three inch fan in the canopy, and the light being 8" from the water surface, there is still a heating affect on the water.

My first tank was an 18g with an 18w 50/50 bulb. With that setup I kept macro's, mushrooms, leathers, sponges, and carnations. JME

 

[deerivers]

The specs on my light are on my profile. Is this good?

 

[Fredfish]

deerivers. The lighting you list in your specs will be just fine for many things including some corals.

The answer really depends on how you are planning to set up the tank and what you want to keep. Your lighting sounds like what most people would put over a reef tank. The attinics are usually used to adjust the light spectrum to what is found 30-40 feet underwater on a reef.

What are you planning on keeping in the tank besides seahorses? Are you going to put in any corals?

Rather than posting questions in a bunch of different threads, how about starting your own threat where you can tell us what else you want to keep in with your seahorses and how you want to set up your tank.

Fred

 

[deerivers]

Sorry. This is my first communication of this type ever. I am learning how to do this as well as learning about my tank at the same time.

I think I want 2 peppermint shrimp. But I know I want some corals (found a list of SH friendly ones on seahorse.org), some macro (for hitching), a feeding station (maybe a large shell or a plastic one), and either H. erectus or H. reidi.

Still reading and learning though. Also have a couple books and magazines.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Fredfish]

Thats OK. Reading your posts out of order is kinda fun.

Thats a good list you found at seahorse.org with one small exception. It lists Rhodactus mushrooms as seahorse friendly. This particular species is known to consume small fish and will be a risk with seahorses.

I'm glad I could help

Fred

 

[Fredfish]

deerivers, this thread is for you

deerivers, this thread is for you

Since you keep coming up with new questions, lets start a new thread just for you.

Here is what I understand you want to set up:

55 gallon tank
Seahorses
Some corals
Macro algae or Seagrass
Refugium for pod culture (seahorse food)
10g quarantine tank

The last question I read was about the quarantine tank. Since you don't need anything fancy or pretty, I would look for a used tank. You may have a local store that sells used equimpent, or you can try a local aquarium club. There are always people out there with an extra tank hanging around. $10 for a used 10 gallon tank is a reasonable price.

Going back to macro algae vs. seagrasses, macro algaes are much easier to keep. Seagrasses need a deeper sandbed; 3-6" depending on species. The sandbed either needs to be mature or needs to have some organic material added to feed the seagrass.

Fred

 

[deerivers]

I hope I replied to the right place. Thanks for all of your help.

The tips on the QT tank were helpful.

One last question on the 'fuge...how many gallons? Found some cool HOBs in my reefkeeping mag.

Last question about the clean up crew...keep testing the water and then wait another week or so and then should I add the peppermints or should I add a coral or too?

 

[mpoertner]

Wow, I only have a 50/50 24" florescent, (18watts I think?) over my 29 gallon SH tank. I get good Macro Algae growth and even a little coralline algae.

I don't keep corals with my seahorses though. I heard the seahorses can get stung easily.

Matt