Shallow anemone tank lighting

[NirvanaFan]

I have a tank that is 48" long, 24" wide, and 12" tall. There will probably only be 9" of water in the tank. The plan is to house just bubble tipped anemones in this tank. What lighting would you put over it? I want to stay away from metal halides because of the heat issue. I was thinking of retrofitting a 6 bulb t5 setup. Would this be overkill on 9" of water though?

I don't see much point in using PCs because for a little more money, I could use t5s. Another option is to get a 6 bulb unit to put over my 75g reef, and put my current lighting (440W VHO) over the anemone tank.

Can any of you think of any other cheap alternatives to this lighting? I will consider buying used if I can find a deal.

 

[eeorrandy]

Here is my anemone tank... 4' x 8' x 16" deep

I'm using 2 400w se xm10,000k mh in lumenarc reflectors... works very well for me.

 

[Slakker]

I would pick up a used halide setup. They're quite a bit cheaper than T5's and pack a heck of a lot more punch than VHOs.

 

[NirvanaFan]

A pair of 175w halides would be good enough for BTA right?

 

[eeorrandy]

I think 175 or preferably 250's would work ok if you use a good quality reflector. The shallow depth really works in your favor. Is this a prop tank? If so I would recommend 10k lights for growth.

 

[NirvanaFan]

You really think they will benefit from 250s over 175s? This is going to be a prop tank. The plan is to feed heavily, and skim wet. Obviously I'll want them to grow as fast as possible, but I don't want to go overkill on lighting. Each light is going to have to cover a 2'x2' area, so they can be fairly close to the water, which should increase penetration. I'm still in the process of acquiring equipment, so I'm in no rush, but I would like to get this up and running sometime soon.

eeorrandy, where did you get that big tank/tub? Do you have any sources for something 4'x2'x1'? How long do you run your 400w lights for?

I was also debating on running a dual light cycle. Maybe something like 7 on, 5 0ff, 7 0n, and 5 off. This would let me run 2 cycles a day, They would effectively get 14 hours of light over 24 hours. Do you think this would increase growth, or just waste a bunch of electricity?

The tank will be about 45 gallons. I have a 55g sump, with an Octopus nw-200 skimmer. Chaeto will be ran in the sump to help absorb the excess nutrients, because I'm sure there will be some. I was also planning on running a remote deep sand bed in an old salt bucket to help absorb even more nutrients.

 

[garygb]

In a tank only 12" deep, I see no need for MH at all. If you decide to go MH, I think 150 watt is plenty. You would be fine with T-5s (you could get by with 4 bulbs just fine), PC, or honestly, for a BTA, you could get by with a bunch of NO.

 

[NirvanaFan]

What kind (t8 or t12) and how many NO bulbs would you use? I'm guessing that I can find different klvin temperature t8 bulbs?

 

[traveller7]

9" of water, a close enough distance, and the right ballast you can really use just about anything above incan :>)

I prefer halides to keep the critters centered/reduce wandering, but if you have the right tank and want to use all the space, T5 or VHO would be my choice for BTAs.

 

[garygb]

Like traveller said, most anything would work. If you were leaning toward T-5s to begin with, then just go with a 6 or 8 bulb fixture (because the tank is so wide. Tek Light and others have individual reflectors--which gets you the most bang for your buck (although you don't have to have individual reflectors in such a shallow tank). I would put a mix of 10,000K and 12 or 14,000K. Again, if you do decide to go with MH, I wouldn't go with anything greater than 150 watt. Two fixtures of 150 watt would be plenty.

 

[eeorrandy]

Edit

 

[E.J. Coral]

NOs or PCs would be fine for a display tank, but if this is a prop tank, I would make the lighting strong enough so that people that buy the anemones won't have to deal with light acclimation. Go T5 or MH, or use the VHO that you already have .... just my opinion.

 

[eeorrandy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12843904#post12843904 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NirvanaFan
.

eeorrandy, where did you get that big tank/tub? Do you have any sources for something 4'x2'x1'? How long do you run your 400w lights for?

I've had two of these built by a local fiberglass fabrication company in Sacramento. I'm sure you could find one in your area. very cost effective.. overall it was about $1.25 per gallon (system).

I run my lights from 4:00am to 1:00pm to keep the heat down. They stagger an hour turning on and off, so each light runs 8hrs.

I agree with E.J. Coral... for a farm or prop tank you goal is max growth, not just getting by. Along with a good feeding regimen, skimming, water changes, lights are very important for photosynthetic anemones.

Just my experience and opinion, hope it's helpful

 

[NirvanaFan]

thanks eeorrandy. You have been very helpful. I'll probably go with a 6 bulb t5 retrofit, or with dual 175s. This will be set up in my basement, so that should help keep the heat down.