How low can you go?
- Thread starter dz6t
- Start date
NateHanson
Non-member
Hmm. "Low-light" and "reef" seems a bit paradoxical to me, since the latter typically refers to photosynthetically based communities. May I ask why you're interested in this?
ScottM
Non-member
i have had a low light tank with high light corals and they survived.
i have a high light tank and those same corals thrive.
each type of coral is going to need a specific amount of light to thrive and grow in a closed system. corals that get deprived of light can sometimes be maintained by target feeding (i really think BTA's will grow in the dark if you keep feeding them) but i really think they suffer in the long run.
your coral coloration will be a tale tell sign f your not providing them with the proprer lighting
you have so many choices
VHO, T5's, PC, MH......
i really think a good mix of light intensity and color (spectrum) is the key.
(water chemistry aside)
VHO provide the most effcient Phosphor for actinc 420nm and it only gets better as the bulb gets longer. but the Wattage is high. a 48" bulb is ~110w
T5's offer a similar output but it appears brighter. the Actinics seem to be much dimmer. go down to CRA in seakonk. he has T5's and VHO 10k's side by side. T5's look much brighter in white. T5's are very effcient and a 48" is ~54w (i think)
PC's are a much shorter bulb and seem to have the same intensity of a t'5 but it takes 2 bulbs at 48" for ~110w. the 96W are 36"
MH is the common Lighting choice. They provide the best depth penetration and more often than not take less Wattage to get the same visual appearance as the others. the downside is heat and the lack of a bulb that provides a 420nm spectrum (actinic)
when sanjay was here last someone asked him "what is the ideal lighting for your tank"
his reply was "what ever works for you"
i believe thats the best answer for all of us.
i think alot of people strive to keep a little bit of everything with lighting requirements from low to high and expect 1 bulb type to do it all. coral placement can only go so far....
whatever you choose, get a good mix of color temps 6500K-10k, 13-20k, and 420nm actinic and you can't go wrong.
heres a great example of a PC/NO lit tank
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.htm
i have a high light tank and those same corals thrive.
each type of coral is going to need a specific amount of light to thrive and grow in a closed system. corals that get deprived of light can sometimes be maintained by target feeding (i really think BTA's will grow in the dark if you keep feeding them) but i really think they suffer in the long run.
your coral coloration will be a tale tell sign f your not providing them with the proprer lighting
you have so many choices
VHO, T5's, PC, MH......
i really think a good mix of light intensity and color (spectrum) is the key.
(water chemistry aside)
VHO provide the most effcient Phosphor for actinc 420nm and it only gets better as the bulb gets longer. but the Wattage is high. a 48" bulb is ~110w
T5's offer a similar output but it appears brighter. the Actinics seem to be much dimmer. go down to CRA in seakonk. he has T5's and VHO 10k's side by side. T5's look much brighter in white. T5's are very effcient and a 48" is ~54w (i think)
PC's are a much shorter bulb and seem to have the same intensity of a t'5 but it takes 2 bulbs at 48" for ~110w. the 96W are 36"
MH is the common Lighting choice. They provide the best depth penetration and more often than not take less Wattage to get the same visual appearance as the others. the downside is heat and the lack of a bulb that provides a 420nm spectrum (actinic)
when sanjay was here last someone asked him "what is the ideal lighting for your tank"
his reply was "what ever works for you"
i believe thats the best answer for all of us.
i think alot of people strive to keep a little bit of everything with lighting requirements from low to high and expect 1 bulb type to do it all. coral placement can only go so far....
whatever you choose, get a good mix of color temps 6500K-10k, 13-20k, and 420nm actinic and you can't go wrong.
heres a great example of a PC/NO lit tank
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.htm
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reefsmurf
Non-member
I have a small cube that has a nice hood that comes with it. Because of clearance and heat and space issues, it doesn't leave much choice for lighting. I'm going to try the CSL 32W 50/50 retrofit kit and I think it might be enough for low light things like shrooms and maybe zoos. I did a bunch of searches on nano-reef.com but mostly everyone talks about hanging 150 and 250W DE pendants over their little tanks, which is not what I want to do.
OP
OP
dz6t
Acro Garden, BRS Sponsor
The reason I asked this questions is:
There are many times people visit me and look at my reef tank and like it.
Then aways came the same question: how much was it cost?
It seems that people don't mind the cost of the tank but can't make sense of the cost of the light and electicity.
There are many times people visit me and look at my reef tank and like it.
Then aways came the same question: how much was it cost?
It seems that people don't mind the cost of the tank but can't make sense of the cost of the light and electicity.
For about $100 you can get a 96 watt pc 50/50 light. Fits real nice over a 10 gallon and you can keep all types of mushrooms, zoanthids and other softies. You don't need to spend $1000's on lighting but you need to know what can be kept in the tank.
If someone comes over and loves that SPS you got sitting right under 400DE bulb and thats why they want a tank but they only want a 10 gallon and spend $100's on some PC bulbs it isn't going to happen.
Choosing a lighting scheme for yourself has a lot to do with knowing what you want as far as livestock. Answer that question first, then choose your lighting. It doesn't have to be expensive.
If someone comes over and loves that SPS you got sitting right under 400DE bulb and thats why they want a tank but they only want a 10 gallon and spend $100's on some PC bulbs it isn't going to happen.
Choosing a lighting scheme for yourself has a lot to do with knowing what you want as far as livestock. Answer that question first, then choose your lighting. It doesn't have to be expensive.
