Lighting question

[rustypixel]

Seeing that i'm getting a few different responses about lighting, I figured I'd post here and see what the clam-folk have to say. I'm planning a 24"X24" cube that will be about 21" tall and will have a 2" or 2.5" sand bed. I will definitely want two clams (Crocea) in there and was thinking about a 150W 14K bulb. Some say good for clams some say not so good and I should go for 250W. Please give me your opinions/suggestions.

Thanks.

 

[mbbuna]

if you want Croceas and 14k go with the 250watt

 

[rustypixel]

I've taken pencil to paper and re-thought the tank dimensions. While it will remain 04" wide and 24" deep (front to back), the height will now be 17" with 2.5" - 3" of live sand. I still wish to keep the Crocea on the sand or on some live rock rubble on the sand. I also still want to use a 14K bulb... so... does the 250W suggestion from another member still stand?

Thanks again.

 

[Snprhed]

I still think your better off with 250's

 

[LBCBJ]

If you do the math thats 25 watts per gallon, without actinics...way overkill. Most people with large tanks have 8-10 watts max. Plus 250w on 10 gallons is going to cause serious heat problems with your water and serious evaporation. I have a 150w 14k on my 18g nano and my clams love it. Also with a 250, you will be able to keep very few corals other than acroporas.

 

[rustypixel]

Thanks for the input, LBCBJ. But the tank is more like 30 g or so. Can I ask what is the correct amount of wattage per gallon? I do want to keep some SPS but I also want some other corals in there that are not as light needy.

Thanks again.

 

[mbbuna]

watts per gal is not a good way to look at lighting. you need to consider the depth of the tank and how well the light source can drive the light in to the water

 

[rustypixel]

It seems that a 250W light is the light of choice. I think that I will lean in that direction and probably plan to purchase that wattage light. My only worry with that is that the tank will only be 17" tall and then take away approx. 3" of sand, leaves about 14" inches of water depth. The fact that I plan to have a fairly exposed rock structure will leave all my other corals in the open and exposed to this amount of light. Should I be concerned about this?

Thanks.

 

[Snprhed]

Rusty, do you plan on getting a bigger tank anytime soon?

You should be able to pick up a whole 250w MH system on the used section pretty reasonably.
Also heat is a reasonable concern with any MH. I have a 150W MH over a 20H and had to put a fan on it. As far as or stuff in the tank. I had a Pagoda cup, quite a few mushrooms, GSP, Zoas and other stuff.

Let me first say I do not know nor do I promote this persons product. I just went into the selling forum and this was the first one I came to.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=856553

 

[LBCBJ]

Oops, I looked at Rustypixel's sig. and noticed that he had a 10g, I overlooked those dimensions. So yes, a 250w would be fine on a 30g, which is a totally different story. Watts per gallon is in no way precisley accurate, its just a ballpark figure that most people try to keep between 5-8 no matter what size tank. You may still want to look into sometime of cooling fans bc you'll probably have heat issues

 

[HotRod68Camaro]

i have a similar question (sorry to hijack the thread)

what specturm should i go with on a tank that is 16-17" deep with a 1" sandbed. its a 400W MH The bottom of the pendant is 12@ from the waterlevel i currently have a 10k bulb.

Thanks

Kyle

 

[LBCBJ]

Its all a matter of personal taste, whether you like blue or white. Like I said before, you may get faster growth with a 10k, but i personally like the blue hue of a 14 or 20k.

 

[HotRod68Camaro]

would i get as good of growth as a 250W 10k since mine is a 400W if i went with a 20k or maybe 15k

 

[LBCBJ]

well, the larger wattage helps, but the color of the bulb still plays a factor in growth. Clams will grow under any kelvin really, they just seem to grow fastest under 10k. This is bc they're mostly a shallow water species.

 

[rustypixel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7482796#post7482796 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snprhed
Rusty, do you plan on getting a bigger tank anytime soon?

You should be able to pick up a whole 250w MH system on the used section pretty reasonably.
Also heat is a reasonable concern with any MH. I have a 150W MH over a 20H and had to put a fan on it. As far as or stuff in the tank. I had a Pagoda cup, quite a few mushrooms, GSP, Zoas and other stuff.

Let me first say I do not know nor do I promote this persons product. I just went into the selling forum and this was the first one I came to.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=856553

I do plan on going larger, but that's a whole other story in the basement and will be a completely separate setup than than one I'm thining about now. The basement tank will be an in-the-wall 90G that will require much more in the way of lights. The tank I'm talking about now will be permanent.
Well, I guess I'm going to go for the 250W fixture. I guess my two concerns were mainly cost and possible damage to light sensetive corals. As for heat, I plan to get a chiller for the setup.
As long as I can maintain a happy and healthy Crocea on the sand or very low in the tank, I'll be happy... broke, but happy.