good enough lighting for 20L?

[jasert39]

Thinking of getting a 20L nano reef going...is 110 watts or pc over the tank enough to get a beginner going? Any information would be helpful, also if you have a 20L with pc lighting let me see some pics!!!!

[Kogo]

i know a guy running that same wattage in VHO for a 20l. his soft and lps corals seemed to be doing very well.

[KING OF THE REEF]

I would love to post a pic of my lights, but the camera dosn't show the true intensity, Im running Vho's in my canopy (check out my daily 20 gallon log in the same forums (nano reefs)]. They are truely better than pc or t-5 alone, but paired with either one they will look awsome

[Billy1234]

I have a 150w halide over my 20L, so I think you're good with 110w of PC light, but get some more opinons. Read this (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=550860), it's another famous WaterKeeper thread, full of information on all sorts of lighting.

[jasert39]

wow billy great link...what a thread...im on page five and was getting tired ill go back in and finish it later today. Thanks. Anyone else running pc's over a 20?

[aural]

i ran PCs over my 20l for about 6 months. Switched to a 150w Halide and never looked back. You just dont get the same lighting effect with PC or VHO.

[Billy1234]

Yes, I would just go with the halide, you'll be much happier. I might, notice might, be selling my light. Keep me updated because if I do decide to sell it, I will sell it to you if you're still interested. I have a 20L too so it would work great. You can PM me if you have any questions.

[surfnvb7]

please dont go with PC's! if you are anti-MH, at least go with T-5 HO's or all VHO's.

also, please don't say MH's are too expensive....

since a 20g-long is 30inches, heres a coralife PC fixture that is also 30inches also, plus legs and you are looking at $130:
http://www.hellolights.com/302xcoaqpcho.html

175w MH retro kit, plus an XM bulb all for $140:
http://www.hellolights.com/arocu17rekit.html

no brainer...but its totally up to you :rolleyes:

[DesertBandits]

What corals do you want? If you dont want sps id go for PCs. With PCs you can get everthing in a nice compact hood you can just plug in at a cheap price. With anything else you have to build your own hood, and worry about ventilation and evaporation damage to your lighting, salt spray, etc. Unless you want sps go with simplicity. Plus who wants all the gross excess alge growth that comes from MH. From what ive seen with MH you really need to have a sump with macros or your main tank could look like crap, plus you're a beginner right? PC will be way more trouble free, in dealing with nusiance alge. Plus you can do dawn/dusk if you get a unit with 2 power cords.

[surfnvb7]

:rolleyes: aside from the standard arguing over what kind of light is better, i'm gonna have to disagree with your comments

PC's are a terrible lighting choice, you'll learn that after having them for a while.

if you don't want MH, go with either VHO's, or T-5 HO's, both can be purchased in a nice sleek little hood like you stated.

With PCs you can get everthing in a nice compact hood you can just plug in at a cheap price
as i stated above, MH's arent necessarily expensive, in fact...as I pointed out above, some PC's hoods are more expensive then their MH counterparts. esspecially when you have to think about replacing bulbs every 6-8months.

as for a canopy for the MH, a couple scraps of wood (about $10), a hammer, and some nails will make you a cheap and effective one. some MH's don't even need hoods, just hang the pendant from the ceiling or whatever.

and worry about ventilation and evaporation damage to your lighting, salt spray, etc
you have to worry about this regardless of the type of light. PC's put out just as much heat per watt as MH, you just don't notice it as much because it is spread out along the length of the long PC bulb and ballast and dissapates faster, with a MH...the heat is more focused coming from a smaller area. make sure to read the link Billy provided above.

evaporation is about the same, it mostly depends on if you have an open canopy and fans, and humidity in the room. salt spray is easily prevented if you have a glass/plastic cover, no matter what the light.

Plus who wants all the gross excess alge growth that comes from MH.
not true, you can have just as much algae growth with other lights. it depends more on water quality and then the color of the bulb.

From what ive seen with MH you really need to have a sump with macros or your main tank could look like crap. PC will be way more trouble free, in dealing with nusiance alge.
absolutely not true, i don't have a sump, lots of people don't have sumps with their MH's. i know people who have PC's that have more algae growing in their tanks then people with MH's.

Plus you can do dawn/dusk if you get a unit with 2 power cords.
simply add an extra actinic bulb.

please check out this link, it easily shows the difference in corals b/w MH and PC. I wish I had some VHO's and T5's also to show how much better they are than PC's. again, i'm not saying MH is the best lighting choice out there, i'm just saying MH, VHO, and T-5 HO are ALL better than PC's hands down. http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=726775

the pics are gone, so in the order of the red X's...here they are again:
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ayoung/Aquariums/20g%20reef%20tank/blue%20tip%20stag%20before%20and%20after.jpg

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ayoung/Aquariums/20g%20reef%20tank/green%20cap%20before%20and%20after.jpg

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ayoung/Aquariums/20g%20reef%20tank/green%20and%20orange%20zoos%20before%20and%20after%201.jpg

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ayoung/Aquariums/20g%20reef%20tank/green%20and%20orange%20zoos%20before%20and%20after%202.jpg

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ayoung/Aquariums/20g%20reef%20tank/red%20ring%20zoos%20before%20and%20after.jpg

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ayoung/Aquariums/20g%20reef%20tank/reef%20tank%20-%20right%20side%20-%2011-13-05.jpg

[DesertBandits]

Ok, schooled; but the spirit of what im trying to say is in the context that this dude says hes a noob whose trying to get started. Isn't making his own hood thats not a fire hazard, wiring in a fan, shielding the bulb from salts spray, etc a bit over this guys head for now? A fixture from Current USA would grow any non sps coral this guy wants, and give him a starting point to work from so he can start up a tank. Were you building all this stuff on your first tank? If you don't learn to walk before you can fly theres a good chance you're in for a serious mess. I think its good to get a feel for the hobby with some basic equipment before you start diying your whole set up. Yeah, if you wanted the best looking color on your tank I would say: diy a hood with a 10,000k MH bulb and some VHO Uri Actinic 03 bulbs. I just think thats over this guy's head for now. T5 is a good option for better color than PC, just be prepared to pay about double for your hood. A 14,000K MH pendant is also a posability, but again be prepared to drop 300$.

[DesertBandits]

Also, wouldn't the MH intensity be pretty hard on such a shallow tank? Wouldn't it exclude many corals, and cause him the need to raise his light up to acclimate all his new arrivals?

[surfnvb7]

DesertBandits...I'm gonna PM you...cuz I got kinda a long response and don't want to tie up others into our conversation.

BTW..i'm not flamming you in any way. :)