Lighting upgrade for a Minibow 7

[blange3]

I have a Minibow 7 with the Coral Sealife 32 watt upgrade.

I'd like to add more lighting but I don't want to hang a pendant or build a custom canopy.

I'd like something to increase my light that requires a minimum of DIY time.

I'm keeping mostly zoas and some softies, so it doesn't have to be too intense.

I need a new bulb soon and figured if as long as I'm spending some money, lets see if there is an easy upgrade.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Paladin]

Just curious, are the softies and zoas not doing well with the current 32w?

 

[EmasCterE]

Hey Paladin,

I had a 7G Minibow for many years and the softies did great under the 32W. You don't need to worry.

If I were to set it up again though, i would go MH because I love the look of the light. The shimmer it provides is definitely stunning.

 

[Paladin]

Thanks EmasCterE. Yeah, I just bought a used 7G Minibow from a local guy recently and tore out the stock fluorescent lighting and replaced it with a 32W PC retrofit. The softies and zoas appear to be doing fine.
And I'm using a simple Whisper HOB filter, and hate it when sand sometimes gets sucked up and jams the motor. Any suggestions to prevent that?

 

[EmasCterE]

Yes. Don't use the whisper. What many people do is take a large aquaclear HOB filter and retrofit it with a weaker motor from a smaller aquaclear by exchanging the motors. The purpose of this is to get more real estate and weaker flow. You can then use that large real estate in the back for a heater, grow chaeto, or even a small skimmer.

 

[blange3]

Hey Paladin,

They are doing OK, but my Xenia is not as robust as it was. I bought the setup used and I'm sure the bulb is due to be replaced, so I figured I might as well bump it up a notch if I could.

I know many people do well with 32 watt nanos, and if there is nothing readily available I'll stick with what I have.

 

[Paladin]

blange3--understood, and good luck with your tank.

EmasCterE--the Minibow did come with the AC500, but I wanted to use the stock top, which meant only a small opening for a spare Whisper I had laying around. Anyways, I'll consider using the AC500--thanks for the input.