Will This Light Be Good For The Tank and Help Coral And Fish Later?
- Thread starter Kolby
- Start date
It's a good bulb, but we can't really tell if it's going to work for you because we don't know any of the following -
What size is the tank?
What type of lighting fixture(s) do you have on the tank?
What bulbs are being used?
What corals and other light loving livestock do you keep or plan to keep?
There are also other considerations, such as where you plan to place the corals in the tank, and how far from the tank the lighting fixture will go, and how you want the tank to look. A 10,000 K bulb will look like a north daylight, but some people like a lot more blue.
Lastly, don't take the word of anyone in an LFS without verifying it first. While there are some good people in LFSs, most are clueless. You got lucky this time, but you might have had a problem if you got the wrong item.
What size is the tank?
What type of lighting fixture(s) do you have on the tank?
What bulbs are being used?
What corals and other light loving livestock do you keep or plan to keep?
There are also other considerations, such as where you plan to place the corals in the tank, and how far from the tank the lighting fixture will go, and how you want the tank to look. A 10,000 K bulb will look like a north daylight, but some people like a lot more blue.
Lastly, don't take the word of anyone in an LFS without verifying it first. While there are some good people in LFSs, most are clueless. You got lucky this time, but you might have had a problem if you got the wrong item.
Kolby
Member
i cant tell you exactly hot tall/wide/long the tank is because i dont have it yet, but its supposed to be a 30gallon or a 35 he doesnt remember.
Not sure about the lighting fixture either but the bulb fits and works.
the bulb was a t5 aqua blue special, but i couldnt find any at the fish store.
no corals at all atm, but he does have a breeding pair of clownfish in there not sure exact type of clownfish as i havnt seen them yet, but ones black and white and one is orange and white.
i dont plan on getting corals until maybe 2-4 months after the tank has been going succesfully
also would getting little blue leds make things stand out more onnce i get corals?
and i have learned that the hard way with them almost killing my beardeddragon.
Not sure about the lighting fixture either but the bulb fits and works.
the bulb was a t5 aqua blue special, but i couldnt find any at the fish store.
no corals at all atm, but he does have a breeding pair of clownfish in there not sure exact type of clownfish as i havnt seen them yet, but ones black and white and one is orange and white.
i dont plan on getting corals until maybe 2-4 months after the tank has been going succesfully
also would getting little blue leds make things stand out more onnce i get corals?
and i have learned that the hard way with them almost killing my beardeddragon.
How many bulbs does your fixture hold?
If you measure the tank, this calc will tell you the gallons
http://www.ifocas.org/calculator.htm
If you measure the tank, this calc will tell you the gallons
http://www.ifocas.org/calculator.htm
Newjack
Member
I don't think he has the tank yet, to measure. I think your the one that posted a thread about needing a light yesterday.
For the little blue LEDs it depends on what they are. It could be moon lights witch just give it a moon lit effect at night when your lights or off. If they are Blue LEDs that are really bright and all then yeah they should but if you have the right kind of hood a Actinic light would work a lot better. If you post a pic of the inside of the hood we can tell you options a lot better. Maybe this will help.
Here is a pic of what my hood use to look like. the little blue LEDs in the middle, lit up, are moon lights they just make a blue light for at night.
These lights are just to show you the difference. The exact bulbs will not work in your set up.
Here is are compact florescent lights, the top one is actinic witch makes your corals have a glow like look to them, the bottem is the 10k Daylight bulb.
Here is what it looks like now with LEDs. It has the blues and whites together called 50/50 panoramic LEDs.
For the little blue LEDs it depends on what they are. It could be moon lights witch just give it a moon lit effect at night when your lights or off. If they are Blue LEDs that are really bright and all then yeah they should but if you have the right kind of hood a Actinic light would work a lot better. If you post a pic of the inside of the hood we can tell you options a lot better. Maybe this will help.
Here is a pic of what my hood use to look like. the little blue LEDs in the middle, lit up, are moon lights they just make a blue light for at night.
These lights are just to show you the difference. The exact bulbs will not work in your set up.
Here is are compact florescent lights, the top one is actinic witch makes your corals have a glow like look to them, the bottem is the 10k Daylight bulb.
Here is what it looks like now with LEDs. It has the blues and whites together called 50/50 panoramic LEDs.
Since you don't have the tank yet, and you don't plan on corals for a few months after setting the tank up, I think your best option would be to use the light you have for now, and once you get the tank going revisit lighting.
I'm guessing a lot here, but I suspect that the fixture only has a single T5 bulb in it. This isn't going to be good enough for any typical corals. You'd want at least a 2 bulb fixture for soft corals, and a 4 bulb fixture would be a whole lot better, and allow you to keep most corals. I use a 4 bulb T5 fixture on my 30 gal reef.
Since this may involve a new lighting fixture, consider other forms of lighting such as LED.
I'm guessing a lot here, but I suspect that the fixture only has a single T5 bulb in it. This isn't going to be good enough for any typical corals. You'd want at least a 2 bulb fixture for soft corals, and a 4 bulb fixture would be a whole lot better, and allow you to keep most corals. I use a 4 bulb T5 fixture on my 30 gal reef.
Since this may involve a new lighting fixture, consider other forms of lighting such as LED.
I was thinking his uncle, who didn't remember the tank size, might measure it for him, so he could provide & get better feedback on selecting a light.
His pic shows a T8
Here a good read - http://aquarium-digest.com/tag/watts-per-gallon/
small... extract
T8 & T12 Lights
These are the old stand-by of the aquarium industry and are still good for fish only, FOWLR marine aquariums, and low light planted aquariums.
For Reef or high light planted aquariums, these are generally a poor choice, not because they do not work, but because it takes so many of these lamps to produce the results of more modern aquarium lighting options.
Watts Per Gallon: As a generalization, 3-4 watts of Daylight T8-T12 Lights are required for planted freshwater aquariums
For Marine Reef, 4-5 watts of T8 lights (mixed with actinic UV-A blue)
with more details as DaveK said ^ some RS members should be able to provide some good advise
His pic shows a T8
Here a good read - http://aquarium-digest.com/tag/watts-per-gallon/
small... extract
T8 & T12 Lights
These are the old stand-by of the aquarium industry and are still good for fish only, FOWLR marine aquariums, and low light planted aquariums.
For Reef or high light planted aquariums, these are generally a poor choice, not because they do not work, but because it takes so many of these lamps to produce the results of more modern aquarium lighting options.
Watts Per Gallon: As a generalization, 3-4 watts of Daylight T8-T12 Lights are required for planted freshwater aquariums
For Marine Reef, 4-5 watts of T8 lights (mixed with actinic UV-A blue)
with more details as DaveK said ^ some RS members should be able to provide some good advise
Kolby
Member
Alright guys, i knnow the hood only has onne thing for the bulb and it fits and 18in bulb. If everything goes as planned and it stops raining the tank will be here today and i can post pics. I will get exact measurements and everything. Sorry for the lack of knowledge. But there is one more question, whats a good cure to salt creep he says its really bad on his tank.
CodyWarner92
Member
Hmm... 1b x 15w t8 for corals? I'm kinda lost here.. Standard 30g tank is 36" x 12" x 16"(L x W x H) from what i've gathered up. There's also 30g High with 24" x 13" x 24" and a 30g Breeder with 36" x 18" x 12". I have a 60g with 6b x 39w t5ho for my corals. I never heard of t8 supporting any corals in a 30g with these dimensions. I think you need a 4x39w t5ho or you could go LEDs which have been very popular lately. If you have a 36" wide aquarium and looking into a new fixture, I do have a Coralife's 4x39w t5ho unit i'm going to part with soon on ebay. I had this light running on my 60g for a year and loved it. I would definitely recommend getting this fixture. Cheapest one I could find is http://www.marineandreef.com/36_inch_4_lamp_Coralife_Lunar_Aqualight_T5_Light_p/res08606.htm
everywhere else i look is going to be $250 or higher which is what i paid. I'll probably sell mine for $160.00 or something whenever and IF i do decide to part with it.. haha Like I said there great lights it's going to be hard for me to get rid of mine.
everywhere else i look is going to be $250 or higher which is what i paid. I'll probably sell mine for $160.00 or something whenever and IF i do decide to part with it.. haha Like I said there great lights it's going to be hard for me to get rid of mine.
Kolby
Member
Ok everyone, i have changed my mind, and im going to use a diffrent tank than he is giving me, its a 50 gallon 48inx12 3/8in x 20in that being LxWxH. which is roughly 50gallons. I will post pics of the tank here,it currently had my new beardeddragon in it but hes going to a smaller 40 gallon
The tops where the hoods go are LxW 23 1/4inx11 1/2. Now im wondering what fixture or fixtures i need to get to light this.
The tops where the hoods go are LxW 23 1/4inx11 1/2. Now im wondering what fixture or fixtures i need to get to light this.
CodyWarner92
Member
That may be expensive to light the whole aquarium by 48" and only 12" width if you plan with leds. What I mean by this is your fixture is going to be covering the whole top of the tank. You don't need hoods or glass tops either, i took mine off to get more light into the tank. You may not have any room to get your hands wet if you plan with T5ho. Ex. My fixture is 13" and 16" wide with leg mounts(6Bulb Fixture). Although 48" give you more wattage going into the tank vs 36" bulbs, i'm just not sure how a 4bulbs x 54w total of 4.32w per gallon which is supposedly great but i read alot how watts per gallon is a huge variable circumstance. I personally couldn't tell you how this would par in your tank but hopefully someone here will. I know my tank is 20" tall and I use 6bulbs x 39w.This is interesting topic but unfortunately i have 39w bulbs not 54w. I think you could do it with a 4bulb setup t5ho. Also, LEDs.. If your a good DIY handyman alot of people have been building their own led fixtures for alot cheaper. I plan on doing this in the future
CodyWarner92
Member
You could also build 2 separate LED fixtures to fit into where your hood/glass tops would usually go into. That would be cool haha .. That a project that could be done later on though if you WANT but not necessary.
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CodyWarner92
Member
You still want to do corals right? If not disregard my above posts.
Are you talking about cutting out the center brace? That is not a good idea. It is there for a reason. If the lights are setup right there will not be shadowing.
CodyWarner92
Member
Yeah, I just figured this out. My friend basicly slapped me in the back of the head for asking him about it lmao .. I seriously thought they were just meant for convenience lol
Might ask Mark & others... if this one would work... if so, it's a deal
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...-nova-extreme-48-8-bulb-t5-w-moon-lights.html
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...-nova-extreme-48-8-bulb-t5-w-moon-lights.html
This fixture would be perfect for that tank and would make the tank look amazing!
You could put any coral in the tank without any fear of lighting being an issue and the fixture is still available.
If you are interested, feel free to PM me.
CodyWarner92
Member
I think this light would be over the top haha .. He has 12" width and that light may cover atleast 15"-16" .. 8x54w is really impressive though. I never seen this before... To bad i already upgraded to 6 recently.
What you have is considered a standard 55 gal tank in the hobby. So from now on you can just call it a 55 gal tank and everyone will know what your talking about.
This size tank had some nice features and some not so nice features. It's got a large frontal area, so the tank looks big. It is also very narrow front to back. This can make the tank very difficult to aquascape. To get the amount of live rock you need in the tank and still leave enough room in front so you can put your hand in to clean the glass and do other tank maintenance, about all you can do is make a big rock wall along the back of the tank. This doesn't mean you can't have a great tank, but it is harder to get it looking just right. If you were buying new, I'd recommend that you get a 70 gal tank, which has the same frontal area as a 55, but is 18 inches front to back.
As for lighting, for T5 lighting on a 55 gal tank, you use a 48" long fixture that runs the whole length of the tank. You use a 2 or 4 bulb fixture, depending upon the corals you want. The 6 and 8 bulb fixtures would provide more light but if you figure that 8 bulbs at $30 each is $240 to replace a set, that gets into a lot of money fast. At that point you'd be better off going with LED lighting, even with it's much higher initial cost.