halogen bulbs???

[reefs4life1]

hello, i have a 29 gallon aquarium and was wondering if i could use halogen bulbs instead of metal halides or flourescants to grow macro algae and coral???

 

[WhoDey]

The spectrum on halogen bulbs is way off I think. It needs to be at least in the 6500k range.

 

[reefs4life1]

if i can find one in the right spectrum range would it be good????? im actually trying to grow seagrass

 

[reefs4life1]

cause ive seen some grow lights for plants but they are all halogen bulbs???? if seagrass are plants shouldnt a plant grow bulb work for them???

 

[Anonymous]

Halogen bulbs are very low Kelvin, but if you can find one in the 4000K range or higher you can use them for sea grasses.

 

[Anonymous]

There's nothing about any particular type of bulb that makes it special in the reef setting, the only issue is color temperature, halogen bulbs simply are not made in appealing color. Now ones used for plant growing typically are low kelvin, so if you want to grow sea grasses they'd be more than adequate, however they most likely will make everything look overly yellow, and also will be a primo spectrum for algae that you probably don't want.

 

[Anonymous]

I would use LED Plant grow bulbs from a plant grow sites.

 

[Anonymous]

There's nothing about any particular type of bulb that makes it special in the reef setting, the only issue is color temperature, halogen bulbs simply are not made in appealing color. Now ones used for plant growing typically are low kelvin, so if you want to grow sea grasses they'd be more than adequate, however they most likely will make everything look overly yellow, and also will be a primo spectrum for algae that you probably don't want.

Not really, PAR is a big deal as well. A bulb can be the perfect color and still not give you any decent PAR.

 

[reefs4life1]

ok i just went with the 20 watt life glo flourescant bulb and two 60 watt grow bulbs that a fellow saltwater aquarium hobbyist said he would recomend for cheap lighting that will get the job done. so in my 29 gallon tank i have a 4 inch sand bed in front increasing to a 5 and a half inch sand bed in back which i think would take up about 5 gallons or so, so i am estamating that i have about 22 gallons of water or so left with 140 watts of lighting with my seagrasses i bought. do u think that this will be ok??? and i have a question? I have a stocking list i would eventually like to have and i want ur opinion on whether or not you guys think that it would work out eventually.
here it goes
-a pair of banggai cardinals (i have one now and i will stay with only one if i have to)
-a yellowhead jawfish (i currently have also)
-a pistol shrimp and shrimp goby ( if u have any suggestions for a mach let me know )
-an anemone porcelin crab ( will they live in a sand anemone or do they need certain kinds)
- i doubt this one is possible and i know that if i wanted it i would have to eliminate some of the other things on this list to prevent an overload! but a sailfish scorpionfish (Amblyapistus taenionotus) alsop on liveaquaria
-and last but not least this is the fish i want the most!!! a bristle tail filefish ( on liveaquaria.com they are listed as matted filefish and it says that they only need a 30 galloon tank)

ok thanks and let me know if u have any comments or critism


after the water clears up ill post a pic

 

[Anonymous]

Another thing is the extra infrared (heat) from the lower kelvin bulb, such as halogen. What type of bulb is the pair of 60W grow bulbs? If they are halogen, most of the electricity goes toward keeping the tank water nice and warm.

As for the stocking list, I don't have much comment, other that to say that you need to make sure you can manage the temperature of the tank before putting sensitive livestock in there. Seagrass, I think, is pretty forgiving when it come to light spectrum (it need mostly red and blue light) and temperature, but you can keep a fish quickly if you keep your tank too warm.

 

[Anonymous]

reefs, I would limit it to the two Bangaii cardinals or the filefish, and hopefully they're captive bred & raised. However, have you done much reading on the fish themselves?

General Husbandry: Temperature range of 72 - 82°F (22 - 28°C). Their natural diet consists of plant material and any associated invertebrate they can find. Requires a varied diet of meaty and marine algae with numerous feedings per day. Should have an environment with lots of seagrass or at least macroalgae. Not suited for the invertebrate aquarium or often seen in the trade. To discourage predators they can raise their first dorsal fin and/or grind their front teeth, i.e., incisors, producing a low-pitched growling sound. They are slow movers, do not do well in aquariums with swift water movement, and have extremely abrasive skin. They are sometimes called "leatherjackets" because of their skin texture.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/filefish.htm

 

[reefs4life1]

ya i read that an i had a question if the crab is in an anemone shouldnt it be fine and if the shrimp s in the burrow with the goby souldnt it be safe???

 

[reefs4life1]

or could i just not have the cardinals (ill put the one i already have in my 45 reef tank) and have the filefish, my jawfish, the scorpionfish and well id like the goby and the shrimp in the burrow but idk if the would be safe from the scorpionfish even with the burrow and id still like the crab butits not lookin like its possible from wat ur sayin?????? is this possible????


the grow lights arent halogen they are just standard lightbulb grow lights

 

[Anonymous]

ya i read that an i had a question if the crab is in an anemone shouldnt it be fine and if the shrimp s in the burrow with the goby souldnt it be safe???

You have to count on these fish going at inverts and these soft-bodied Ctenophores I think. It appears that they require a high variety of foods as well. Being only a 29 gallon tank, I'm not sure you can provide the variety without giving up the specimens you actually paid for. I think your fish count is too high. The pair of Bangaiis would be it, and the only other fish I would try to add to the group would be something that stays very small such as neon gobies. You can't put many saltwater fish into a 29gal tank for very long, especially if they're larger and more active. I think if you kept the Bangaiis by themselves they'd not only be happiest, but you wouldn't have to worry about stuff like getting out the fish they decide they won't tolerate. Either way, whatever specimens you do decide on, your list needs to be trimmed in my opinion.

"Grow lights" can be many, many things. For growing houseplants? If so, probably pitifully low lumen output/PAR for growing seagrass. You may find it just fails to live, let alone thrive. If that is what happens, then consider the CFL or T5 bulbs I mentioned in your other thread.

 

[reefs4life1]

by lumen output u mean the brightness right???? if u do these bulbs are very bright! much brighter than any flourescant bulb

 

[Anonymous]

Sort of. Lumens is the brightness that the human eye can perceive, so that's one measure. You said you went with something else... fluoros, yes? But it's grow lights of some sort. You might want to tell us about these lights so we can tell you how effective we think they will be.

 

[Ben1]

by lumen output u mean the brightness right???? if u do these bulbs are very bright! much brighter than any flourescant bulb

Can't really judge that since the halogen is one spot light and the flourecent tube is spread out. How would it look if all the light in the flourecent tube was concentrated to one spot, I'd be it looked super bright also.

 

[reefs4life1]

Can't really judge that since the halogen is one spot light and the flourecent tube is spread out. How would it look if all the light in the flourecent tube was concentrated to one spot, I'd be it looked super bright also.[/quote]
no the grow lights arent flourescants they are actually like the regular old lightbulbs everyone used in their house before the florescants

on the package it says GE lighting plant light 60 some of their plant lights are halogen but this one isnt this is what it looks like

http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:BTZ ... AA280_.jpg

 

[Ben1]

Incandescent grow bulbs won't be effective for aquarium use, they are not very powerful to begin with and won't penetrate the water as well. Plus they spread will look goofy. JMO

My comment still stand though if you are compairing any type of spot light to a light thats emited through the length of a tube. If you condensed the like in a long flourcent tube to one spot it would be very bright, looking at it spread over a length it appears less bright then any spot bulb halogen or otherwise. I am not trying to be defensive I am just trying to help. I would be more apt to use a cheap flourecent fixture then an icandescent.

FWIW I used this over a 20 gal tall refugium and it grew macros fine. http://www.amazon.com/Lights-America-92 ... 220&sr=1-2 Something like that seems a bit safer since its enclosed.

 

[Anonymous]

You should try to avoid incandescent light as much as possible. Both halogen and your grow light are of this type. They make reasonable good heat lamp if you want to keep a piece of rib eye steak or your lizard warm, however.