Nano lighting question....

For all you lighting Pros out there....

Whats the strongest halide you would suggest over a nano reef thats 12 inches in depth (bottom of tank to water surface) for a serious SPS or Clam(Crocea) tank?

I mean, I really dont buy into the watts per a gallon formula, but is bigger always better. I mean surely you would reach a point of insanity real quick with a halide on this shallow of a tank. Some how I can not picture a 1000 watt or even something as "small" as a 400 watt being a reasonable lighting fixture for a tank like I have suggested above.

I am thinking that 70 or maybe even a 150 watt Halide at the outside would be more than reasonable when suplemented with Actinic lighting.

Can somebody set me straight on the nano lighting issue if my line of thinking is off target here...

[nanoman123]

how long is the tank?

[Condiman]

I would go with a 150 watt hung over the tank and maybe go with 15k or 20k. That way you dont have to worry about supplementing with acintics on the side.

For the sake of arguement...lets say 20(or even 24) inches long nanoman.

You know condiman...I could buy off on a 150 or 175 watt 14K or better as being this side of resonable especially with no actinics. Since the higher you go in Kelvins rating the less intese the light reaching the bottom of the tank is, that would seem intense but still reasonable and sane.

I ask mainly becuase I have seen threads else where, where many felt that 250 and 400 watts was reasonable. But this is a fairly shallow tank for something that intense in my opinion. I mean I know how bright 2 x 250 watts look over a 75 gallon tank thats 48 x 22, and I think thats plenty bright. Now I havent herd of anyone using a 1000 watter over a tank that shallow but...I am sure someone out there is going to tout that as the best in their efforts of one ups man ship! Its just enevitable... Now if 250s on a 75 can create over heating issues I just wonder how hot a nano would get with 250 or 400 watts...yet another aspect that makes me question these being reasonable on a nano tank. I mean a chiller aint cheap as anyopne who has priced one can vouch for.

Thanks for providing the feed back fellas

[Condiman]

I never really seen the sence on puttin a 250 over a 15 gallon or less tank. Just never seemed right to me.

I agree with you there!

I have 120 in PC over my 10 gallon nano and its seems pretty bright. As such I just think that maybe anything above 175 is just getting a little too far gone. I am kinda turning over the thought of substituting one of the 40 watt PC's with a 70 watt halide though later down the road if I add SPS or maximas/croceas to it. But maybe getting a 150 and chunking the PCs aint too bad an idea either...

[nanoman123]

i was just curious about the legth because if it was like a 55 or a 75 gal, one 150 probably wouldent be enough to cover the rest of the tank. i actually plan to get a 150 watt MH for my 10g soon too.

I hear you.

I'm a metal Halide junkie, Ill admit it. I like them and think they give off some great light and like the fact that I can use different temp bulbs with more selection than florescent. But I am sorry I just think that a 250 on a 10-15 gallon tank is way too much!

I started this thread to see if my opinions were too conservative per chance I missed something in my research/learning about reef tanks. I saw a thread last night where some poor guy got absolutely "pile drove" for suggesting that anything over 175 watts was "outta control" in so many words for a tank that small and shallow. I kinda agree with the guy but man did he get "flamed" bad for speaking his opinion!!! It was pretty brutal.

I have to be honest too, I have seen a couple of tanks that small with 150 DE 10K halides and man thats bright in no uncertain terms. As such I kinda agree with the guy that got flamed that much more is insane bright. As Condi' mentioned, 15 or 20K would be signifagantly less intense becuase of the higher bulb temp, so I can kinda respect that line of thinking with prehaps something like a 175 watt halide or less.

Just kinda thinking out loud here.....sorry

So whats your take on this nanoman?

[gman0526]

Yup that would be like using a 300,000 BTU BBQ Grill when all you cook is grilled shrimp. It'll work but do you really need that much? I think if you wanna go on the high end of things you can always use 175w/14K and supplement with actnics, just for the heck of it.

And I hear you on the chiller bit, they're pricey and some times they just go kaput and corals bye, bye... beleive me from experience.

Okay cool, its good to know I havent lost my mind, but I will still ponder this thought a bit more....Thanks to all!

[nanoman123]

for my 10 gal im getting a 150w 20k. its one of those things that you hang off the ceiling (i forgot the word) so the intensity should be a little less.

my take on the 175 or higher being "outta control" is that the guy over reacted a little, but he didnt deserve to get flamed about it. i actually think like a 20k 175 watt on a 15g would be fine. mabye on a 10g too if you have a nice high canopy. im a MH guy too, even though ive never had any lol. my friend does though and ive been to his house alot and his tank is amazing, until he had his major tank crash. if i were you i would proably get a 150w 15-20k and i think that would be fine. JMO.

BTW your 10g is looking REALLY NICE. you have GREAT aquascaping.

~Matt~

I agree, 175 with a high Kelvin bulb should probably qualify as a reasonable max on the lighting issue.

Said guy wasnt really tripping about going higher just suggested that was getting a bit carried away. I agreed but as hot and smokey as that thread got I didnt dare get involved and comment. But anyways I just wanted to kinda "check" myself more than anything and see if maybe I was off base in my thinking.

Its funny, I avoided halides for the longest time due to heat issues and such, but now that I have them I love them to no end. Wished I would have went that route from the start! I would have been money ahead since I knew from the start I was going to freak over SPS and Clams. Sometimes learning is a slow and legthy process...

Thanks about the tank, but honestly it was more chance than skill :lol: . It just kinda came together for me good on the first attempt while "slapping" things together just to get it in there. I was actually kinda thinking about playing around with it but guess I will leave be. Its a lot more open rock arrangement than the pic would lead one to believe. I am hoping it will really come together and develop for me as it matures over the next year or so. Might add a small Tonga Branch or two, to it later to get another pound or so in there without creating a "rock wall/pile".

[nanoman123]

all that rock in there will look even better when its covered in coraline, and hopefully not cyano :wink: :)

i did some looking, and theres a 50k MH bulb. thats kinda cool, but i wonder what it looks like........?

~Matt~