What Lighting For A 2ft Tank?

[tat2life]

hey guys
what is the cheapest lighting i can get to keep some corals, i just want zoa's/polyps and anything else easy to keep. missus just had a baby so i cant go forking out a fortune on lighting. id need a 18" bulb so any ideas? thanks

 

[VictorMeldrew]

You could get away with T8 lighting but T5 would be better but slightly more expensive.

 

[tat2life]

cheers bud,
how many 18" T8's would i need?

 

[TigerIssey]

I had a 30" tank and used 24w. Similar ratio. I went for 2 white tubes and 2 blue.

 

[VictorMeldrew]

I have a six foot tank and have 4 x 58 inch tubes, 3 white and 1 blue, most softies are fine under them but to be honest I wish I started with T5's to save me upgradng, which I am doing as soon as I sell my motorbike, If you are not in a hurry I could sell you my T8 units if you like.

 

[tat2life]

wont your t8's be way to big for a 2ft tank? i cant fit 4 lights under my hood lol maybe 2 at the most. would 2 white t8 tubes be ok? or maybe 2 t5 tubes. how much are t8 and t5 18" tubes on average?

 

[VictorMeldrew]

the tubes would not be any good to you but the starters would be fine. If you only fitting two, than I would go for T5, I can not remember what I paid to be honest, sorry

 

[tat2life]

what are starters? the 2 leads that connect to either end of the light? i have 1 of them spare already. might go for 2 T5 bulbs then. would they be ok to keep anemones and polyps

 

[VictorMeldrew]

polyps (softies) yes most should be fine, as far as anemones are conerned I am not sure as i do not keep them. Yes starters are the units where you turn the lights on and off, the leads that connect o each end of the tubes.

 

[tat2life]

chers bud, how much you want for a starter then including postage?
would they be ok for T5's?
oh and would you recomend 1 white light, 1 blue light or 2 whites?
cheers

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Sorry mate, the starter is only for T8's, I will be asking about £15 per unit when I am ready to sell them which will not be for a month or two. If you get T5's 1 white and 1 blue would look nice, use both during the day a flick to to the blue in the evening, the blue light is really nice.

Hope this has helped

VM

 

[tat2life]

cheers buddy, i went to LFS today and they said id only need 1 T5 light to keep anemones etc etc. cost a tenner for a T5 tube to fit my tank.. surely that right? only a tenner to keep corals

 

[xxBarneyxx]

You need more than 1 T5 tube to keep nems.

I have kept soft corals under power compact tubes in shallow tanks (under a 24w PC and two 18w power compacts) and soft corals did fine (though they grew a LOT fast once I put them under strong light).

Have a look for second had 24w T5 light units or starters, also you will want some good reflectors for them as well. Ideally I would say you want at least 2 marine white tubes. The actinic lighting is mainly just for looks but I would say ideally go for three tubes, 2 white, 1 blue and you will be fine for soft corals and a few LPS such as torch corals.

Something like two of the below with some good reflectors and a nice mix of tubes would work well (can probably get a LOT cheaper second hand).

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hagen-GLO-T5-HO-Twin...:1|293:1|294:50

 

[tat2life]

cheers mate, thats alot of money just for a starter though..i have 1 already which i think fits T5 or T8 tubes..im gonna check in a min. i think il get 2 T5's i wont be able to fit anymore under my hood