Lights....

[Enzo]

Hi,
I have been interested in building a nano, for about a year now, and have the money to do so(high school student). I was wondering if I could buy the "Mini bow" starter kit. It is a 5 gallon bow tank, which comes with a 15 watt incandescent. I am going to upgrade the lighting once I get money to buy a power compact. I am just wondering if I can use incandescent on it for a couple months. I have never heard of incandescent use so I am just wondering. I would just keep low light coral, such as mushrooms, and I would probably keep them towards the top. I would also have w hisper power filter and a powerhead on it, with live sand and live rock.... Thgank you for listening.
John

 

[brandon4291]

Hello there, I too have seen those bowfronts and I think they make great reef aquariums. When they are sparkling clean, the effect of the bow amplifies the viewing area and really makes it stand out. My LFS has one set up as a seahorse tank...

As far as using NO lights for the system, it may work for mushrooms and a few soft corals but even those guys love the extra output of power compacts or at least a better flourescent system. You may notice coloration changes in your animals as they adjust zooxanthellae to the new spectrum/intensity. Your mushrooms may extend quite a ways out and look like little trumpets during the day--if thats the case then maybe they arent getting enough light even at the top... those lights will work fine however while you are cycling your tank and while you are keeping a few simpler inhabitants. Look into a CSL brand (custom smart light) PC retrofit for your 5g, its a nice product and can be made in a day then you wont need anything else...

b429

 

[brandon4291]

Oh, you said incandescents, sorry I thought I was reading NO flourescents.

I dont know, never tried them on a reef. I dont even have a guess if they would have any valuable PAR or not for marine organisms---I suppose a little. Ill refer this thread to a guy who would know and we'll see if we can get him to post a reply.

 

[Enzo]

My LFS, seems to have the five gallon mini bow set up as a nano. I think the lights are small 15 watt flourescents. They are keeping PULSING XENIA... I thought they needed pretty intense lighitng... The tank looks much darker than all of there other "big" tanks. I am just trying to figure it out... They are pretty well experianced because they seem to have a huge variety of coral and they look very nice, and they seem to know a lot of stuff. They are not like other LFS's to, they care more about the fish and aquarium more than selling a particular item. They even have a Emergency Hotline, but I just don't understand how they did that....
John

 

[bdelaney]

Hey Enzo....here's an idea. Why not buy the tank now and fill it with live rock and sand and let it cycle until you can afford the new lights? This will give you an opportunity to figure out how the temperature, salinity and other params vary in a small tank. Upgrade the lights when you can afford them and then stock it with corals.

 

[Anonymous]

YOu can buy compact fluorescent light bulbs of a suitable color temp rating that screw into normal incandescent light sockets -- we have them all over the house. YOu can get them for as little as $2 sometimes.

 

[shalegac]

AotS, Where do you get those lights? Any details on the watts, color temp?

 

[Anonymous]

I was afraid I would get that question. I've bought them at Orchard Hardware Supply and Cosco. Not all of them have the color temperature printed on them, but some do, and if they have a display, you can definitely tell the difference between the "warmer" yellower ones that people like in their living rooms, and the ones that you want, that are sometimes described as "ice white" or some such thing. They look like they are somewhere between my 6500K and 10,000K compact fluorescents. I'm not sure they are as good as what we normally buy for our aquariums, but it would not come as a major shock to me if they were basically the same.

I think in general they use three different phosphors in these fluorescent lights, and it is the relative ratios between these three compounds that determines how blue the light appears. So my guess is that even if the color is slightly off, you are still getting light of the same three energies emitted with either kind of bulb. (The energies are determined by the wavelength or color of the light given off by each phosphor. The mixing of the 3 colors will look different for different ratios, but they will still be composed of photons having one of those three characteristic energies.)

I've got to go to the hardware store later today so I will have a look.

You can get them up to 25 Watts (which they claim is similar to a 100 W incandescent bulb, a dubious claim, but they are reasonably bright, so much so that we actually downgraded the ones in our kids bedroom.)

 

[Anonymous]

I just looked here and realize now that I might be giving some bogus advice.

I still think I remember seeing some of these with higher color temps at the store, so I will still look. Anyway the best one on this spec chart is only 4000K

http://www.nolico.com/saveenergy/specifications.htm

Keep in mind though you are fitting 3 spikes to a single black body radiation curve, so a little extra yellow light could really make a difference in color temperature but it could still be an acceptable light.

It certainly would be better than an ordinary incandescent.

I'll try to find out more...

 

[Anonymous]

Here are some 6400K ones (now I don't have to feel like a liar):

http://www.all-lights.com/IBS/SimpleCat ... 01465.html

 

[TheRookie]

I saw some 6400 K ones at K mart the other day. They were about the size and shape of regular incandecants. My GF has them all over her place.

 

[MiltonP]

I checked out www.all-lights.com and found some undercounter micro-fluorescents available in 6500k as well as blue and red colors. They are a little over 1" tall but start at 15" lengths. A little long for those Picos. Sorry Brandon

 

[littleprince]

There are CF screw in bulbs at 65k. I have a few. All glass also started selling some. Only in one size though. If your in Toronto I can point you to a store that has a bunch of different sizes.

 

[vulkum]

i think you should go with the minibow7 instead of the 5. i know they charge a bit more for them but there glass and you'll have a much better experiance cleaning it then the 5gal. your lighting should be a single 32w 50/50 bulb. you can buy the bulb and endcap from hellolights for under 20.00 and then pick up a fulham ballast for 20.00 and you have a new light. you can also find CSL retro kits for like 50.00. the problem with the screw in type bulbs is they are really just good for growing algae. the color is to yellow for a nano and will turn your corals brown. plus they make no actinic bulbs. heres the links for the ballast and bulb
ballast
http://www.aquaticreefs.com/
bulb
http://www.lampsnow.com/28w5050.html

heres a pic of my mini bow to give you an idea, first pic is a single 32w in the original striplight

 

[vulkum]

heres the same tank 3 months later with a 3x32w pendant over the top and a 5gal refugium behind it

 

[Enzo]

Blue Gravel!!! That's a first, I like it...

 

[vulkum]

its not blue, its a gray/black. its called calcite by seachem, a friend had half an extra bag when i set this up but i would go with aragonite if i did it again. calcite is a form of calcium carbonate but its minded inland instead of from the ocean. its a pure form and looks nice but the drawback is it doesn't desolve as fast as aragonite sand.

 

[Enzo]

oh my bad