kwirky
07/14/2006, 01:04 AM
I've taken a 33 gallon tank (36"x12"x18" high), and divided it in half for a 16 gallon nano (18" high), and a 16 gallon sump area.
Currently I'm using two coralife aqualight mini fixtures. They're 9" each, and run two 9 watt bulbs each, one 10000k one actinic in each fixture. Total wattage is 36 watts.
I have a two common toadstools (sarcophyton sp.), and an echinophyllia, and they're all RIGHT at the VERY top, VERY close to the light because they don't do well any further than 4" from the low wattage PC lighting.
So I need to upgrade my lighting, as I want to have soft leather corals and LPS corals from top to bottom in the aquascape.
The tank's dimensions is 18" long, 12" deep, and 18" high, so it's fairly deep for a 16 gallon nano, which makes me think I'll need MH lighting.
Problem: I live in Canada. 70w MH is not available here without lengthy special orders; I don't think the 70w would really be enough in case I decided to try my hands at a single sps or something down the road.
So I've decided on 175 watt MH (due to cost vs. 150w HQI), a single XM 14000k bulb, with a PFO 15" parallel reflector. The reflector can take 28w PCx2 if I need to supplement with actinics down the road. I forsee a problem with standard reflectors being improper for the small footprint. Anyone know of solutions for this, as I don't want to cook my corals.
Is this lighting choice overkill for what I want to keep? I know heat will be a slight issue, but it's 28 celcius (85F) outside today and the basement where the tank's kept is at a room temperature of 22 celcius (72F). I'll just need a fan, I think, no chiller nessesary for the hot summer.
Currently I'm using two coralife aqualight mini fixtures. They're 9" each, and run two 9 watt bulbs each, one 10000k one actinic in each fixture. Total wattage is 36 watts.
I have a two common toadstools (sarcophyton sp.), and an echinophyllia, and they're all RIGHT at the VERY top, VERY close to the light because they don't do well any further than 4" from the low wattage PC lighting.
So I need to upgrade my lighting, as I want to have soft leather corals and LPS corals from top to bottom in the aquascape.
The tank's dimensions is 18" long, 12" deep, and 18" high, so it's fairly deep for a 16 gallon nano, which makes me think I'll need MH lighting.
Problem: I live in Canada. 70w MH is not available here without lengthy special orders; I don't think the 70w would really be enough in case I decided to try my hands at a single sps or something down the road.
So I've decided on 175 watt MH (due to cost vs. 150w HQI), a single XM 14000k bulb, with a PFO 15" parallel reflector. The reflector can take 28w PCx2 if I need to supplement with actinics down the road. I forsee a problem with standard reflectors being improper for the small footprint. Anyone know of solutions for this, as I don't want to cook my corals.
Is this lighting choice overkill for what I want to keep? I know heat will be a slight issue, but it's 28 celcius (85F) outside today and the basement where the tank's kept is at a room temperature of 22 celcius (72F). I'll just need a fan, I think, no chiller nessesary for the hot summer.