I have a 40 gal tank with 1 96w Pc 10k bulb with two 40w NO Actinics. I will be adding 2 more 96w bulbs shortly, and removing the NO's, because of space. Anyone have some recommendations on a good mix of bulbs for the best look and the best coral growth?
PC Lighting suggestion?
- Thread starter tonyodino
- Start date
I am certain that someone will tell you to skip the PC's and get metal Halide.
I would get 3 more PC's and have to 10K and 2 actinic. I have 4 PC's on my 55 set up this way, has a great look.
Just my opinion
David
(But if you can afford Metal Halide, I think it would be worth it!)
I would get 3 more PC's and have to 10K and 2 actinic. I have 4 PC's on my 55 set up this way, has a great look.
Just my opinion
David
(But if you can afford Metal Halide, I think it would be worth it!)
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by cvarcher:
<strong>Mickav8,can youy tell me what brand the light is that houses 2-28watt pcs in a hanging pendant?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Its one of these.
One of the ballasts gave out about a year ago and I haven't gotten around to replacing it, so we just run two bulbs instead of three.
<strong>Mickav8,can youy tell me what brand the light is that houses 2-28watt pcs in a hanging pendant?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Its one of these.
One of the ballasts gave out about a year ago and I haven't gotten around to replacing it, so we just run two bulbs instead of three.
Heres my setup:
tank 6'x2'x2'
4 rows of PCs, from front to back:
4 x 6500K, 4 x blues, 3 x 6500K, 3 x blues
all on electronic ballasts...
Been running for a year now... switched from NO actinics to PC blues... it really brought out the greens beautifully, when combined with the 6500Ks... the blues alone do not bring out any flourencent, just turns everything blue...
My corals include: a pink bubble, an green octopus, a green galaxy, 2 kinds of leather, a cup, a green favia, 2 sea whips, a red chili, a brown snake-skin clam, 2 BTAs, GSPs, and mushrooms of all colors...
All doin fine so far, n im pleased with the colours... MHs r the way to go but its too expensive n runs too hot, n the electric bill would take-off, plus a chiller in my tropical country... woosh!!! way too much moollas...
Growth... well the bubble has doubled in size, the BTAs r bubbling... dunno wat else to say about growth rates... i guess im just happy the corals openning up, n none r dying...
HTH...
tank 6'x2'x2'
4 rows of PCs, from front to back:
4 x 6500K, 4 x blues, 3 x 6500K, 3 x blues
all on electronic ballasts...
Been running for a year now... switched from NO actinics to PC blues... it really brought out the greens beautifully, when combined with the 6500Ks... the blues alone do not bring out any flourencent, just turns everything blue...
My corals include: a pink bubble, an green octopus, a green galaxy, 2 kinds of leather, a cup, a green favia, 2 sea whips, a red chili, a brown snake-skin clam, 2 BTAs, GSPs, and mushrooms of all colors...
All doin fine so far, n im pleased with the colours... MHs r the way to go but its too expensive n runs too hot, n the electric bill would take-off, plus a chiller in my tropical country... woosh!!! way too much moollas...
Growth... well the bubble has doubled in size, the BTAs r bubbling... dunno wat else to say about growth rates... i guess im just happy the corals openning up, n none r dying...
HTH...
I hear get metal halides all the time, but I'm not worried about having sps' yet. Down the road I may kick myself for not getting them, but I got the money
or I wouldn't be in this hobby. Just sticking with softies and whatever else looks good in my tank for now.
Wanting SPS or Clams does not automatically mean you need Metal Halide.
Lighting is purely a factor of intensity not type of bulb. Intensity is a factor of pure energy plus the depth of the water column.
The above pics are of a Montipora capricornis in our 10 gallon Nano reef on our counter here at the store. I originally placed it in the tank approximately 6 months ago as a 1" square chip from Greg Hiller. It is now approximately 6" in diameter and 3" tall. It is approximately 2" from the water surface and is lit by 2 28W PC's which are in a pendant 6" above the water surface.
The key to this success is relatively intense lighting for such a small tank, but as you can see SPS do just fine under Fluorescent as long as you can provide the proper intensity.
If this is a 40 gal breeder (i.e. 36"x18x16") 3-4 96W PC's will be just fine. I would suggest two to three 10K's and one blue.
Lighting is purely a factor of intensity not type of bulb. Intensity is a factor of pure energy plus the depth of the water column.
The above pics are of a Montipora capricornis in our 10 gallon Nano reef on our counter here at the store. I originally placed it in the tank approximately 6 months ago as a 1" square chip from Greg Hiller. It is now approximately 6" in diameter and 3" tall. It is approximately 2" from the water surface and is lit by 2 28W PC's which are in a pendant 6" above the water surface.
The key to this success is relatively intense lighting for such a small tank, but as you can see SPS do just fine under Fluorescent as long as you can provide the proper intensity.
If this is a 40 gal breeder (i.e. 36"x18x16") 3-4 96W PC's will be just fine. I would suggest two to three 10K's and one blue.
MickAV8r- That is a beautiful coral. When my lights get here they will be 6" from the waters surface and my tallest perch is 4" below the surface, do you think that with 3 96w PC's that I could have the proper intensity to grow something that beautiful in my tank? AND yes it is a 40gal breeder.
I would recommend power compact lighting more light and does not get as hot as mh also longer lasting. go to www.aquarium-design.com look under lighting and it will give you some pretty good info on pc lighting good luck.
Here's my 2 cents worth.
I have a 55g that I am using 4 55w pc bulbs that are 6700k and actinic 03
I am wanting to change the 6700k to 10,000k because I look a bluer white look than the yellowish look of the 6700k
The 6700k looks to me like the shallow waters on a reef. Not displeasing really, just sorta yellowish when viewing the tank from the side.
I can speak from personal knowledge that the 4x55w pc's WILL support sps but don't jump up and down yet, My sps frags of acropora are only 2" below the surface of the water and they are surviving ok but don't have a look of a brilliantly florecent coloration under this setup.
I have included a pic of my tank under the 2-6700k and 2-7100k setup for youy to see exactly what to expect. It looks nice and white in the photo but rest assured, in person you would say the water looks kinda off white towards a hint of yellow.
In my humble oppinion, go for the pc's if you like them, but I would have to say go with 10,000k bulbs and your actinics for best coloration. and as far as sps are concerned, you may have better luck with the 96w bulbs compared to my 55watts. I am about to test this theory this weekend by adding 4 more pc's to mine for a total of 8 and will be at 440watts total.
We'll see.
Hope this helps your decision.
Here's the pic
I have a 55g that I am using 4 55w pc bulbs that are 6700k and actinic 03
I am wanting to change the 6700k to 10,000k because I look a bluer white look than the yellowish look of the 6700k
The 6700k looks to me like the shallow waters on a reef. Not displeasing really, just sorta yellowish when viewing the tank from the side.
I can speak from personal knowledge that the 4x55w pc's WILL support sps but don't jump up and down yet, My sps frags of acropora are only 2" below the surface of the water and they are surviving ok but don't have a look of a brilliantly florecent coloration under this setup.
I have included a pic of my tank under the 2-6700k and 2-7100k setup for youy to see exactly what to expect. It looks nice and white in the photo but rest assured, in person you would say the water looks kinda off white towards a hint of yellow.
In my humble oppinion, go for the pc's if you like them, but I would have to say go with 10,000k bulbs and your actinics for best coloration. and as far as sps are concerned, you may have better luck with the 96w bulbs compared to my 55watts. I am about to test this theory this weekend by adding 4 more pc's to mine for a total of 8 and will be at 440watts total.
We'll see.
Hope this helps your decision.
Here's the pic
Custom Sea Life used to put out this information about all their bulbs and metal halide, however in the true spirit of modern aquarium misinformation err marketing I do believe they have ceased to publish these figures. This is unfortunate, I guess following the Marc Weiss standard is percieved as the only way to make money in this business. However ever since CSL started importing Chinese bulbs their quality as a whole has been going into the toilet.
Lux meters aren't all that expensive I highly suggest all aquarists get one.
IIRC a 6700K 96W PC put out 8350 lumens, while a blue 96W outputs about 2100 lumens. This three to 1 ratio is quite common when comparing daylight to blue bulbs. A 5500K 175W was in the 14,000 lumen area.
I'm not sure exactly what distance this is because lumens fall off as you move away due to dispersion. For instance I can get something like 150,000 lux from a 400W at the envelope but move the meter 8 inches away and you are at 35,000 lux.
[ December 01, 2001: Message edited by: MickAv8r ]</p>
Lux meters aren't all that expensive I highly suggest all aquarists get one.
IIRC a 6700K 96W PC put out 8350 lumens, while a blue 96W outputs about 2100 lumens. This three to 1 ratio is quite common when comparing daylight to blue bulbs. A 5500K 175W was in the 14,000 lumen area.
I'm not sure exactly what distance this is because lumens fall off as you move away due to dispersion. For instance I can get something like 150,000 lux from a 400W at the envelope but move the meter 8 inches away and you are at 35,000 lux.
[ December 01, 2001: Message edited by: MickAv8r ]</p>
Here are some of the lumen ratings from an older CSL catalog...they list the same lumen output for different color temp MH bulbs which is false since lumen output definitely changes with color temp.
<ul type="square">[*]28W 6700K Daylight - 1970 lumens[*]28W Actinic - 600 lumens
[*]55W 6700K Daylight - 4230 lumens[*]55W Actinic - 1300 lumens
[*]96W 6700k Daylight - 8100 lumens[*]96W Actinic - 2480 lumens
[*]175W 5500K Metal Halide - 14000 lumens[*]250W 5500K Metal Halide - 21000 lumens[*]400W 5500K Metal Halide - 36000 lumens
[/list]
[ December 01, 2001: Message edited by: MickAv8r ]</p>
<ul type="square">[*]28W 6700K Daylight - 1970 lumens[*]28W Actinic - 600 lumens
[*]55W 6700K Daylight - 4230 lumens[*]55W Actinic - 1300 lumens
[*]96W 6700k Daylight - 8100 lumens[*]96W Actinic - 2480 lumens
[*]175W 5500K Metal Halide - 14000 lumens[*]250W 5500K Metal Halide - 21000 lumens[*]400W 5500K Metal Halide - 36000 lumens
[/list]
[ December 01, 2001: Message edited by: MickAv8r ]</p>
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