Questions about upgrading lighting

[nicolebrzu]

Hello! I'm returning from a long hiatus here. Two years ago I was unfortunately forced to condense my 40 gallon reef tank with 20 gallon sump to a 20 gallon tank with no sump or any fancy equipment due to my living situation. I thought it would be very temporary, but it ended up being two years! I've been very out of the loop in the reefing world because there wasn't much I could do with my awful set up (we're talking stock lighting that came with the 20 gal at Petsmart and a HOB filter all crammed in a tiny corner! UGH!!!) I'm finally in a new house with plenty of room and am super excited to be re-setting up my 40 gallon breeder. It's currently cycling and I know I need to change the old bulbs in my lighting fixture before I get to the stage of adding corals again.

My old lighting fixture is probably about 7 years old and I know lighting technology has come a long way since then, so my thought is I can either replace these bulbs or I can upgrade to something else and finally be able to keep some of the things I couldn't keep before. My old lighting is Current USA dual 96watt compact fluorescents. I would love to eventually be able to keep a BTA and know this lighting is not enough for that.

I'm interested in LED lighting, but I don't really understand it in a watt per gallon sense as compared to more traditional lighting systems, so I'm not quite sure what I would need. I'm also open to other lighting (metal halides maybe?) that I don't have experience with if its a better choice for what I want to do.

So my question is, if my goal is to be able to keep a BTA in a 40 gallon breeder, what is your lighting recommendation? If you think LEDs are the way to go, can you please direct me to a reputable brand and explain how many to buy? It seems like most of them require multiple modules and I'm very confused! If you have any other lighting suggestions/recommendations, I'm all ears!

Thank you in advance for answering my questions! Everyone was always so helpful when I was here a couple years ago! I appreciate the shared knowledge!!!

 

[DaveK]

For now, I would change out the old bulbs, and see how you make out. Then, consider what you want to keep in the tank, and upgrade the fixture.

LEDs are great, but they have a high initial purchase price. Yes, you will get that back, long term, but it is still quite an investment. Also the technology changes very fast, so you might get something good today and find it almost obsolete in a few years.

One other consideration is that you can repair most PC, T5, or MH lighting with off the shelf parts that are widely available. For most led lighting you need to get matching parts from the original manufacturer. If they are not available, you have to replace the fixture with something else.

As for BTA's, they are fantastic looking, but can get big. I once had one that when expanded filled about 2/3 of a 90 gal tank. Consider carefully, if you want to devote that much space to the anemone. Also consider all the times people have had an anemone destroyed by it getting sucked into the filtration system or a circulation pump. I'm not saying don't get one, just consider all the factors first.

 

[nicolebrzu]

Thanks for the tips, Dave!

Funny that you mentioned being able to repair PC lighting... I just realized that the fan on my current lighting hasn't been running. They don't seem to make this fixture anymore. Any idea where I can get a fan for it? Or should I see that as a kick in the butt to buy new lighting?

 

[DaveK]

Depending on the fan, you may be able to find a replacement fan of some sort that will work.

Often you can use computer fans, but keep in mind that these are usually 12 volt DC fans.

Raido Shack's online store has quit a few, and some are 120 volt AC fans. Alliad Electronics has an even larger selection.

The factors to pay attention to are the fan size, especially it's thickness; the type of power needed to run it; the volume or air it moves; and how much noise it makes.

If the original fan is really non-standard, and this can happen, it's often possible to remove the old fan, and mount a small fan on the outside of the fixture. You may need to drill a few holes to do this.

One trick for using the very inexpensive 12 volt DC computer fans is to also get a 12 volt DC power supply and use that to run the fans, plugging it into the same timer you use for the lights.