10 gallon lights,

[armagedon48]

right now im running a 15 watt marine pro and a power pro
total 30 watts in my 10 gallon. my mushrooms seem fine as well as my xenia. but i want to up the lights, i have been looking at the PC lights for a few weeks, but i hear they cant keep alot of corals. but i realy cant invest in corals for another 5 years so this realy doesnt matter.

what would make my xenia and mushrooms grow faster, PC, VHO, or MH? i saw a nice MH hood that works for small tanks so it is an option i guess.

my tank is 10 gallons but my sump pushes it to about 18 or 19 gallons.

i got 2 false percs and a fire fish incase that changes anything.

[Sugar Magnolia]

96 watt powerquad would be great on that tank.

[Carl_in_Florida]

I don't know of a vho set that will fit a 10. if you aren't going sps than MH is throwing money away. I would go with sugar's suggestion.

Carl

[armagedon48]

heh i want sps so much. some very nice corals that fall under that catagory. but 10 gallons isnt stable enough.

which anemones can be kept under the 96 watt pc? something for a clown fish (false percs)

[Sugar Magnolia]

BTA would do fine as would Montipora digitata and M. capricornus along with all LPS.

[armagedon48]

btw, how much would a MH setup cost me for the 10 gallon tank?

[armagedon48]

whats the M. capricornus ? google came up with some star charts instead of anything aquarium related.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Montipora

[armagedon48]

oh i could have figured that one out if i thought about it...:D

[Agu]

I have two 10s with the powerquad and am happy with the lights.

Skip the anemone imo. I had one in each tank and eventually gave them away. They tend to wander too much in a small tank.

ime,

[The Marmot]

I'll second the thumbs down on the BTA, mine also wandered way to much in my Nano. Eventually the poor thing got stuck in my sump intake. I got it out and it was OK, after a few hours. I took him back to the LFS the next day, after turning off the sump of course(not trying to get flamed :) ). Currently, I am in the last stages of a full tank re-build. Just got the new sand/rock in the tank yesterday. I plan on going SPS, to a point. I have some M. Digitata, and M. Capricornus, being baby-sat(coral-sat if you will) in a freinds tank, as well as some LPS: Blasto, and Acan Lord's. I have 64W of PC on an 8 gallon tall, with a 3 gallon CPR Aquafuge being used as a sump, meaning, its just got water and my heater, etc...and no sand, or rubble, or macro, or anything like that. Ive kept many LPS with this same set up, and several of the coral farmers I've spoke too all say the the Monti's should do fine with my set up. Weekly 20% changes and the tank has perfect levels. So as long as doing that level of maintanance doesn't worry you, then don't buy into the myth that only softies are suited for a nano, cause its just not true. What I'm tryin to say is, if you want SPS go for it, just do the research into what *kinds* of SPS are right for your tank, lights, etc..OH, and the 96W PC quad, would be fabulous!

[nUgZ]

I would go with the Current 2x40w 20" light system over the 96 quad. First, the Current has independent controls for the regular lamp, the actinic lamp, and the moonlights while the 96 quad is all or nothing. This gives you the ability to do a dawn/dusk setup. Second, the quad bulb will end up less than perfect after a while since the actinic portion of the bulb burns out faster. That means you will need to replace the bulb more often than would be optimal. Third, the fan in the Current actually seems to work while there have been several complaints about the 96 quad's fan. Just some food for thought. My vote is the Current all the way.

[armagedon48]

the 2x40 watt would be the orbit brand right? lunar lights and all. it cost alittle more than the 96 watt doesnt it?

i dont think ill get an anemone because in 6 months ill put the tank under my grandparents controle, eek! so i cant have anything to complex for them. i have a friend that knows someone with a 120 gallon full of pulsing xenia and im gona get a icecream bucket full of them!! my little 10 gallon is going to be loaded with xenia. i think it will look good for something easy to keep..

[nUgZ]

Yes, that is the Orbit light. You can get that light for a great price right now. I would jump on it.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11348&N=2004+113345

[mattgreene22]

if you really want VHO, URI does make 18 inch 30w T12 bulbs. I've begun researching the possibility of using them on my 30g cube. I'm not sure what the best ballast is to use, but once that's determined you could have a DIY project.

That said....I've used the Coralife 96w PC quad on my 10g...and it has done me right. I have acan, gsp, frogspawn, montipora, candy canes, favia, ricordia.

[surfnvb7]

Keep tuned to this fourm this week. I just finished upgrading a 10g tank (130w PC) to a 15g tank (SE 175w MH 20k).

We used the 10g tank now as the sump/fuge for the 15g tank. We could have done a 20g main tank (same footprint as the regular 15g 24x12x12), but my girlfriend needs to fill the tank up with more rock and corals before another upgrade in tank size.

With this amount of light, and flow, she should be able to keep anything she wants, although givin the restraints of certains corals that can sting each other.

This is the MH retro we got for the 15g tank. Its about as cheap as they come with excellent quality, comes with everything you need except you'll have to build a cheap canopy.

http://www.hellolights.com/arocu17rekit.html

I've seen these used on 10g, raised up very high (waste of electricity), so minimum I'd suggest is at least 15g, and as always, try to add either a sump or a fuge, either under the tank or HOB.

[Racenrich]

Here is a shot of my 15g with a 10K MH...running for 2.2 years now.
I had a 96w Power Quad on this to start....it looked great, but just didnt give me the look i wanted. i like the ripple effect as well as the WOW effect you get from a MH setup. my light sits about 8 in above the water.
The 15 is same footprint as a 10g, just 6in taller. As you see my corals start about 3 in from top of the tank all the way to the bottom.
HTH's with your decision.
IMO, MH will allows be my choice of lighting.


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/2711215g_fullshot-rc.JPG

[OCDep]

My only consern with the MH would be the heat they put off in such a small tank. Is your hood vented with fans? Do you have a chiller of any kind?

[Racenrich]

the canopy has a 3in fan built into the side. It runs when the MH is on. Tank is located in the basement so its a little cooler. Temp runs right around 79.

[stewie24]

I have both the current 80 watt orbit and the coralife 96 watt pc. I like both the fixtures, however the current does give a "crisper" look with the dual daylight and dual actintic bulbs. If you are more interested in getting growth from your corals you could always opt to go with a dual daylight bulb and one 50/50 bulb. (this would give the corals better growth while still getting some blue in there for the pleasing look)
HTH
Stewie

[jefathome]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6417478#post6417478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Marmot
I'll second the thumbs down on the BTA, mine also wandered way to much in my Nano. Eventually the poor thing got stuck in my sump intake. I got it out and it was OK, after a few hours. I took him back to the LFS the next day, after turning off the sump of course(not trying to get flamed :) ). Currently, I am in the last stages of a full tank re-build. Just got the new sand/rock in the tank yesterday. I plan on going SPS, to a point. I have some M. Digitata, and M. Capricornus, being baby-sat(coral-sat if you will) in a freinds tank, as well as some LPS: Blasto, and Acan Lord's. I have 64W of PC on an 8 gallon tall, with a 3 gallon CPR Aquafuge being used as a sump, meaning, its just got water and my heater, etc...and no sand, or rubble, or macro, or anything like that. !

Do you mind if I ask what lighting you have?
I'm setting up a small 6g custom that is 10in wide and 11in deep... and I'm having a heck of a time finding lighting that will fit.

btw, what do you ride? XC, Trail, DH?
I ride trail about 2x week and dh about once a week.
Fish are my 2nd love. Well, off for a night ride.... thanks.

LOL... looks liek Racenrich rides as well, but he's an XC geek. ;)
Just kidding rich. Bikes are bikes, so we have more in common than most.

[KING OF THE REEF]

ok on my 15 i am runninga 24in dual aqualight 165 watts total of pc lights. with the mounting legs i dont think a large overlap will occur. might be a good light for ya. i got mine for $112