Setting up BTA tank, need lighting advice

Y

ycrazyy

New member
So I just finished building my new starphire ~30g tank (24" W x 18" D x 16" H) and am in the process of having the stand built. Once that is done I am going to plumb it to a 20g sump, have a CSS65 skimmer and probably a Vortech on the main tank for flow.

My question is about lighting though. I am considering going with a JBJ K-2 150w Viper MH or the TekLight 24" 4x 24W T5 setup. I am just curious what some anemone people would say would be better for this setup and would keep a BTA the happiest. The tank is basically being built for the anemone and a pair of clowns (the gf has to have what she wants afterall), so I am willing to change things if needed to accomodate the BTA. Any opinions or advice is greatly appreciated or any other lights that someone would recommend (in that price range please, no $800 options here) are appcreciated as well. Thanks in advance.
 
I think the anemone will do fine in either. If you want the happiest anemone go with the MH. T5's are definitely better than PC's as they seem to reach the bottom of the tank better.

I'd set up some LR in such a way to keep the BTA towards the top of the tank.
 
I was doing some more searching and ran across the Outer Orbit 24" unit with 1x150w MH and 2x 65w PC Actinics (also the Coralife Aqualight Pro same specs and the Outer Orbit 24" with 1x 150w MH and 4x 24w T5's but that one is a bit more expensive). Would any of these be a better choice for the tank or is a single 150w MH with a 14k bulb going to accomplish the same thing?
 
the 10k is going to put out alot more intensity that is beneficial to the BTA than the 14k will. Check out this page to compare some bulbs: http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/select2lamp.php .

You'll see that the 14k is going to be pretty high in the actinic range and much lower in the "daylight" range.

Actinic is mostly for our benefit. I think you'd be much better off with a 10k 150 watt MH and some seperate actinic supplementation (T5 or PC).

Good luck!
 
See the problem with t5's is the length of the bulb, if t5's will fit on your tank, i would def go with them, but make sure they all have reflectors. The k-2 viper hqi 150 watt system is very nice as well, either one the bta's will do good no matter what, just as long as the water conditions are good as well. And by the way good luck, anemone's are a blast.
 
Believe it or not I actually have another Viper for my 24g JBJ, and the bulb exploded last week for no reason. This is the 3rd bulb in 3 months because the one that came with the light was DOA and flopping around inside the light. Luckily it was all covered under warranty so I haven't had to buy the new bulbs.

edwing: due to the fact that I am not going to have a canopy over my tank I can't do a retro (I've thought about it but I like having an open top better). That is why I was looking into the T5 fixtures and since the tank is 24" long, it will fit most fixtures quite nicely.

Right now I am sort of leaning towards the T5's because they will have the actinic supplements and night lights and run cooler as opposed to having just a single bulb shining down which may not cover the ends of the tank very well.
 
Again, I am not putting a canopy over this tank so all of the retro kits are kind of out of the question. Basically my options are either a clip-on MH style lamp or a hood like the Tek Light with mounting legs since this won't be hung from the ceiling either.

On another note, I just ran across the Finnex 23" / 24" (they call it different lenghts on different sites) T5HO fixture. It seems to be a LOT less than the Tek Light and includes the bulbs. I was looking at the 4x 24w or possibly 6x 24w of these since it is so much less. Is there a reason these are so cheap? Will they not perform as well as the Tek Light?

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=178 link to the Finnex
 
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