I Think I Am Finally Ready.

[guidedbyechoes]

I started on this side of the forums about 3 years ago. I came here asking about an anemone and when I found out about the requirements to keep one, I decided to go to the fresh side. Throughout that time I have kept and bred several different species. I currently have a 55 gallon(208L) tank with african cichlids in it and while they are quite a treat to behold they still aren't what got me into this whole aquarium hobby.

The fish that started it all was the Amphiprion ocellaris My older brother had one nothing to do with finding nemo.I sat and watched it for about 3 hours straight. I also am quite fascinated by coral and only today found out at what point you can add them. I plan to keep maybe 5 species of those in this tank.(frogspawn, xenia and 3 other softies) I don't think my lighting and space would allow anymore. I also want a few inverts if space will allow.


The tank is a 25 gallon US (95L) tall. I plan on drilling it for a sump which will be a 30 gallon long. Don't scratch your head. Space is an issue currently and I wanted to get a smaller tank established before I move to another 55. So I can save for lights for the bigger tank as well. The 30 gallon will become the sump for it. The 25 will then be used as a quarantine/ hospital tank so the inverts and corals aren't nuked.

I do have some questions regarding my setup. Normally how many wpg are required for low, moderate, and high? This of course is regards to T5s. Also the bluer lights do not add anything but aesthetic appeal? Also what amount of light would I need to grow chaeto algae in the sump?

There is probably more but my brain is tapped atm.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I do have some questions regarding my setup. Normally how many wpg are required for low, moderate, and high? This of course is regards to T5s. Also the bluer lights do not add anything but aesthetic appeal? Also what amount of light would I need to grow chaeto algae in the sump?

There is probably more but my brain is tapped atm.

WPG generally isn't used in marine circles (unfortunately! while it isn't 100% accurate it would be a hell of a lot easier to get to grips with when you are new to the hobby).

Generally how much light you need is dependant on what corals you are planning to keep and the depth of your tank.

For the soft corals and LPS you have mentioned I would recommend X4 T5 tubes with at least 3 of them as "whites" (6500k or 10K)
Maybe X2 10K Tube, X1 14K Tube, X1 Actinic Tube This should be fine for soft corals and LPS.

If you can get more tubes on there then great but the above will sustain softies and most LPS. In my cube tank at the moment (almost 2ft deep) I have mushrooms and xenia that are being kept under 2 crappy T8 tubes (which are also REALLY old). While neither the xenia or mushrooms are growing rapidly or look as good as they do in the higher light of my main tank they are still doing "ok".

In short most softies can survive without massive amounts of light but to really get them at their best you want to add as much as possible (in general).

Regarding Cheato. I have mine under an old 24W power compact. However they will grow under pretty much anything that has the right light spectrum (around 6500K is best). You can get energy saving bulbs which work very well and don't cost as much to run (also cheaper because they use standard light fittings).

To "try" to clarify the low, medium and high light.

Low light is generally considered anything running a couple ofT8 tubes or just a couple ot T5's or PC's.

Medium light is considered around 3 or 4 T5 tubes or single lower powered MH units.

Highlight is 6-10 T5 Tubes or higher powered MH.

Its not quite that simple (have to take water depth into consideration, what kind of reflectors your are using, etc, etc) but the above guide works for me.

On my 100g tank (around 2ft tall) I have x6 54W T5 tubes (X4 10K tubes, X2 Actinic) and this works for me (I keep softies and LPS). I would be happy to keep some less light demanding species of SPS corals under this as well.

Actinic lights do not really add anything to coral growth. The lower the colour temp the better it is for coral growth but the more "yellow" the light looks. For example 6500k looks very yellow but puts out a lot of useable light. 14,000k is very blue but doesn't put out as much light. 10K is the middle ground and is personally what I tend to use over display tanks (in frag tanks I use 6500k for fast growth).

Its all personal preference though and the best thing about T5 lighting is that you can mix and match different tubes to get the results that you want.

 

[seffieuk]

back Guidedbyechoes (oh how I love that name)

Seffie x

 

[guidedbyechoes]

Well first off I feel quite foolish because I thought t5s were a type of power compact and t8s we the same but larger bulbs.

I currently have power compacts. I have a luminare that is 2x65 and one that is 2x55. I might need to buy a new fixture when I get the larger tank. I don't really want the super electricity sucking MHs. I was looking at LEDs as an option. But I don't know if they penetrate the water as well. I know they give off the shimmer effect like MH but thats the least of my requirements.

Thanks for the rundown Barney

Thanks Seffie. I quite like it too. Its part of my own little philosophy.

 

[seffieuk]

Dont go with LED, they really are not all they are cracked up to be and they are hugely expensive - the T5s are fine for most things, even some types of sps

Seffie x

 

[Craig B]

Great post xxBarneyxx regarding the lighting requirments

Are actinic's used just to make colours look more vivid then?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Great post xxBarneyxx regarding the lighting requirments

Are actinic's used just to make colours look more vivid then?

Thanks and welcome to the forum Craig

Yes pretty much. There has been some anecdotal evidence that suggests some corals (mainly SPS) do get better colouration when there is some high spectrum light over them but generally Actinic's are just there to make things look pretty

I would always recommend Actinic's that can be run independent of your "white" tubes as some corals do look really amazing under blue lights and really glow.

@guidedbyechoes
Technically I think power compacts are classed as T5 tubes (confusing I know). The difference is Power compacts are "twisted or looped" tubes (in the aquatic world normally two tubes joined together), whereas what we consider T5 are just straight tubes (which look the same as T8 but smaller).

I would agree with seffie about skipping the LED's at the moment. LEDS are perfectly capable of replacing T5 and to an extent MH lighting, the problem being though that to do this you need a LOT of them.

IMO I don't think the technology is quite there yet. The LEDS are still over priced and under powered. That being said however I do plan to do a DIY job on some LED fittings some time soon to supplement my T5 lighting (mainly for the shimmer effect and to create one or two very high light spots without using MH). Until they are cheaper or you don't need to have as many LEDS though I wouldn't recommend for main lighting (unless you have a TON of money to throw at them).

 

[guidedbyechoes]

Great post xxBarneyxx regarding the lighting requirments

Are actinic's used just to make colours look more vivid then?

Thanks and welcome to the forum Craig

Yes pretty much. There has been some anecdotal evidence that suggests some corals (mainly SPS) do get better colouration when there is some high spectrum light over them but generally Actinic's are just there to make things look pretty

I would always recommend Actinic's that can be run independent of your "white" tubes as some corals do look really amazing under blue lights and really glow.

@guidedbyechoes
Technically I think power compacts are classed as T5 tubes (confusing I know). The difference is Power compacts are "twisted or looped" tubes (in the aquatic world normally two tubes joined together), whereas what we consider T5 are just straight tubes (which look the same as T8 but smaller).

I would agree with seffie about skipping the LED's at the moment. LEDS are perfectly capable of replacing T5 and to an extent MH lighting, the problem being though that to do this you need a LOT of them.

IMO I don't think the technology is quite there yet. The LEDS are still over priced and under powered. That being said however I do plan to do a DIY job on some LED fittings some time soon to supplement my T5 lighting (mainly for the shimmer effect and to create one or two very high light spots without using MH). Until they are cheaper or you don't need to have as many LEDS though I wouldn't recommend for main lighting (unless you have a TON of money to throw at them).

I had to set up a board that ran leds in an Electronics class a few years ago. Only issues would be water proofing them and finding leds that emit the correct light spectrum.

Great post xxBarneyxx regarding the lighting requirments

Are actinic's used just to make colours look more vivid then?

Thanks and welcome to the forum Craig

Yes pretty much. There has been some anecdotal evidence that suggests some corals (mainly SPS) do get better colouration when there is some high spectrum light over them but generally Actinic's are just there to make things look pretty

I would always recommend Actinic's that can be run independent of your "white" tubes as some corals do look really amazing under blue lights and really glow.

@guidedbyechoes
Technically I think power compacts are classed as T5 tubes (confusing I know). The difference is Power compacts are "twisted or looped" tubes (in the aquatic world normally two tubes joined together), whereas what we consider T5 are just straight tubes (which look the same as T8 but smaller).

I would agree with seffie about skipping the LED's at the moment. LEDS are perfectly capable of replacing T5 and to an extent MH lighting, the problem being though that to do this you need a LOT of them.

IMO I don't think the technology is quite there yet. The LEDS are still over priced and under powered. That being said however I do plan to do a DIY job on some LED fittings some time soon to supplement my T5 lighting (mainly for the shimmer effect and to create one or two very high light spots without using MH). Until they are cheaper or you don't need to have as many LEDS though I wouldn't recommend for main lighting (unless you have a TON of money to throw at them).

Ah so I was right well pretty much.


I had to set up a board that ran leds in an Electronics class a few years ago. Only issues would be water proofing them and finding leds that emit the correct light spectrum.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

The high output LED's are a bit different to standard LEDS. For one thing they are not as forgiving with fluctuating current so you need to get a decent driver for them. Also they chuck out a lot of heat so you need to make sure they have heat sinks and cooling in place.

Last problem is they cost a load (like £2-3 per LED) and you need a load of them to work as your main lighting. I was looking at doing a DIY setup to replace two of my T5 tubes and that would have cost me close to £300.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

The high output LED's are a bit different to standard LEDS. For one thing they are not as forgiving with fluctuating current so you need to get a decent driver for them. Also they chuck out a lot of heat so you need to make sure they have heat sinks and cooling in place.

Last problem is they cost a load (like £2-3 per LED) and you need a load of them to work as your main lighting. I was looking at doing a DIY setup to replace two of my T5 tubes and that would have cost me close to £300.

Well looks like t5s will be a good compromise. It would be nice to have something with the penetrating power of MH but without the extra heat and strain on the electric bill.