10 Gallon Lighting?

[1jared1]

I need some input on what type of lighting to use for a 10 gallon nano I want to start. So far I have a couple of Cinnamon clowns and some live sand in the tank. I will be adding live rock soon. I am looking to put a variety of corals and a small anemone. What type of lighting would be best?

[Carl_in_Florida]

I just want to sit back and watch the replys on this one.

Carl

[ckfazz]

My first question is how long has the tank been up and running? It seems odd that you have clowns in there already and now want to add LR. I would not keep an anenome in a tank that small as it will outgrow it very quickly. Lighting will depend on what you want to keep as far as corals are concerned

[rockindacheeks]

150W HQI

EDIT:forgot to add that i have a 20K 150W halide over my 10 and it looks fabulous!

[1jared1]

The clowns just got put in, the tank and live sand have been there for a couple weeks. I let decaying food cycle my tanks. The reason I am adding the Live rock later is so the clowns would get comfortable with the tile I put in the tank (for spawning purposes).

[ahill3780]

rockindacheeks,

I like the avy - love the 3-tire setup on the truck :D :thumbsup: that must have made for an interesting day!

1jared1,

I agree with ckfazz that the lighting requirements will depend on what you plan to keep. An anemone really would not be a good choice for a permanent home in the 10 gallon, and you should not introduce one into a tank that is less than a year old - mine did not do so hot when I got him in my 55 that was only up and running for 3 months. I ended up taking him back to the LFS and trading him out. Most are difficult to very difficult to maintain and almost all require pristine water conditions.

Now that I have an RO/DI unit I am on my way towards preparing for my next anemone attempt but I am not going to even start looking for at least another 6 months after I have upgraded my lighting.

With the intent on keeping corals I would suggect going with at least a PC, or HQI setup. This is just my guess as I only have limited experience myself. :D

Good luck and Happy Reefing!

[ckfazz]

1jared1,
I just re-read my post and I hope you did not take it as a flame because it was not ment to be. I would be really careful right now of your water parameters when you add the live rock since you tank is probably towards the end of the cycle. IMO, I would add small amounts of LR that have cured in a seperate tank and monitor the spikes prior to changing your lighting. Once you have all the LR you want in your tank, then I would change out the lighting. If you only want to keep softies such as zoas and shrooms, PC lighting should be enough. If you plan on keeping anything else, I would consider a MH. I currently am running a 12g nano and am running PC lights as I don't intend to keep and hard corals or light demanding corals. The GENERAL rule of thumb is most hard corals around 5-6 watts per gallon, light demanding hard corals and clams around 10 watts per gallon, shrooms zoas around 2-3 watts per gallon and most softies around 4 watts per gallon. Again, these are only general guidelines so please don't take them as rules. What works for some, migh not work for others. Hope this helps

[rockindacheeks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6575752#post6575752 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ahill3780


I like the avy - love the 3-tire setup on the truck :D :thumbsup: that must have made for an interesting day!


thanks...
we went 4 miles on a flat and right before we pulled in to pit the tire flew off... it was insane

[rockindacheeks]

i had the coralife 96W quad lamp on my tank b4 i went to a 150W halide... it was nice and i got good growth out of it but IMO it was too white for me so i went with a 20K lamp.

[nUgZ]

You should go with the Current Orbit 20" 2x40w for the light. It has a separate actinic bulb, and two moonlights. There are three different power cords so you can do a dawn/dusk setup. Best light for a 10g in my opinion unless you are willing to do a high-end t5 system or a MH. As far as cycling and then adding your LR.....when you add the rock there will be some cycle. It may be extreme or it may be mild. Either way you should go ahead and do that now instead of dragging the process out even further. I would take the clowns out untill after the cycle has completed. I know it sucks but patience is the key in reefing.

P.S. I forgot...NO ANEMONE IN A 10G!!!

[1jared1]

I don't have any other tank set up right now to put the clowns in. My thought was to add the dead rock that I have and maybe a couple of new pieces of live rock. I understand the risks of having an anemone in such a small tank, but would the 2X40w light from current be enough for the anemone and most corals to survive. I read on another thread that someone who had a 2.5 gallon tank didn't feed any of the corals he just made a 50% water change once a week to add the trace minerals they needed. I thought about giving this a try. What do you guys think?

[Synergy]

How do you have it set up? Open top or in a canopy? How does is fluctuate the temperature and what do you do if anything to keep the temp stable? I was considering putting a 150 MH over a 10 or 15 gallon Any tips appreciated.
Oh also what light are you using, and what are you keeping in the tank?

Thanks,
Chris

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6575134#post6575134 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rockindacheeks
150W HQI

EDIT:forgot to add that i have a 20K 150W halide over my 10 and it looks fabulous!

[rockindacheeks]

its in a 3 sided canopy the back being open. it sits about 12in above the tank and the shielding i have for it is the glass lid over my tank...temp has some stability problems. if its warm in the office the temp goes up. but normally it stays around 80. before summer starts again im gonna get an ice probe to cool it and add a fan to the canopy.

its an XM 20,000K on an ARO "E" ballast

i have a monti cap, xenia, some LPS, tons of zoos, ricordea and a crocea clam