need your help... what lighting????

[clown25]

hey guys... i need your help... i have a 10 gallon nano.. im in the consideration to take care of some sps... right now i have a 96 w coralife and i want to buy a MH pendant and there are tons of pendants in the market... I would like to ask your professional opinion as to what lighting is best for me???? please put in the specifics... i really need your help on this. Thank you!!! ???

 

[concept3]

there are numerous ones out there, you're right. Question though: do you plan on staying with the 10 gallon nano for at least 1-2 years? SPS grow rather quickly in a year, and am afraid that you would either have to :
a.) get a larger tank
b.) frag like heck

As far as lighting, I would personally go with the Coralife aqualights for form, but they are soo pricey. I've been looking at them for a while now, but I can't see dumping $300+ for a PC/150watt halide combo when I can get a retrofit 250 watt halide and bulb combo for $160 (I just have to build a hood). For your 10 gallon, 150 watts of halides (especially double ended ones) should be sufficient since the tank is not all that deep to begin with.

 

[clown25]

im planning to buy a house soon which i will be buying a bigger aquarium... man i tell you this hobby is so addicting... anyway i was also looking at the aquamedic they are on sale at hellolights.com ... are they any good? which one is better 150 w or 250w they are only 20 dollars difference....Please let me know.

 

[concept3]

I would go 250 watt for future flexibility. A 250 watt fixture is enough for a 20-24" deep tank IMO, so you can get whatever size tank you want in the future. A 250 watt bulb is sufficient to light a surface area of 24" X 24" at 12" high above the water's surface in my opinion, but a 175 will lack the intensity the 250 will have at the bottom of the tank that high (although you can keep less light-demanding corals there). People have successfully kept SPS and such with a 175 watt bulb, the 250 just gives you a little more flexibilty for your future tank.

 

[Brian]

I would also say to get the 250 watter. I bought 175 watt MH system...4 months later I was upgrading to 250 watts... Luckily I was dealing with Premium Aquatics and they let me return my ballast and credit it towards a new one.

 

[clown25]

great!!! so i guess ill get the 250w ... i hope its not too much for a 10 gallons

 

[concept3]

Just move it up high in the interim.




or just get a 20 gallon tank.....  It's higher and has more space.... more space, more corals

 

[clown25]

if i get the 250w how many inches should i suspend it over a 10 g????? how about light spilling out of the tank????

 

[Brian]

maybe about 8 inches or so above the tank.
As far as the light spilling out..You will never avoid that problem unless you have a canopy. That's a problem you really can't avoid.