Misc Lighting questions again.

[littleprince]

I have a 20g high.

I might be able to hook up a 250W blueline eballast, with a 10k ushio bulb (seller says bulb is older, so I might replace it right away).

Anyways, I've read some different opinions on the blueline eballast. If you have something you can share, please tell me.

2. How high above the tank do I need to mount the lights? My current hood I made would probaly only be able to have the bulb about 6-7" above the water. Is that enough? The back of the hood is open, and their are cooling vents on the top, and currently two fans blowing in. Although I could always add a 3rd or 4th fan.

What bulbs would you recommend for this setup/ballast? The most actinic I could/would supplement are two 13 watt PC's. As I dont see how much more is gonna fit in there. I was thinking a ushio, or AB?

To adjust the corals to this light, is this right: Let the mh come on for about 15 mins at a time, than off for 1/2 hour, than on etc... than decreasing the time its off at 15 mins per week? Or some better method? Lighting is currently 65 W pc daylight, and 30 Watt of actinic.

Also, if its a mogul lamp, I dont need an extra UV sheild or anything right?

Thx for everyone.

[MacnReef]

This seems to be a pretty good question. Altho, it is not only geared towards nanos. I would post it somewhere else where you may get more traffic. Unfortunately, I don't know you answer!

[Carlos]

I had blueline ballasts for a while and I had no problems with them except for the fact that they underdrive Iwasaki bulbs. Also, they produce too much noice and makes it almost impossible to run any x10 controllers in the house.

In terms of your lighting, the AB bulb will do just fine and 250 watts will also be ok. I would start by placing the lights as high as possible and making your photoperiod short. Increase the photoperiod by an hour ever week until you reach the full period. After that, start lowing the lights a couple of inches every week. That will ensure that the corals are properly acclimated to your new lighting.

HTH,

Carlos

[littleprince]

I've never understood the shortened photo period technique. If I added a new coral, wouldnt I have to do this again, unless the coral came from a tank with high light? Wouldnt this be bad for my other corals?

High is relative. How high would you guys recommend? 2 feet like in the light of god? or 12 inches?

[Carlos]

When you are adding new lights to the tank, you move the lights. When you are adding a new coral to the tank, you place the coral at the bottom and slowly bring him up to his final location.

In terms of height, I would start with 18" and slowly bring it down over a few weeks period.

Carlos