Regular flourescents will not provide enough spectrum to grow anemones. I would suggest going to drsfostersmith.com and taking a look at there T-5HO units. This will provider great lighting at very low temp and operating cost.
Woo! micro tank!
- Thread starter serafino
- Start date
i know petsmart carries the Hagen GLO t5's i got the 24'' on my 10 and my heater still have to go on, lol
it does look a little silly witht he extra 2'' on each side but if you suspend the light (a kit comes with it) it looks better.
it does look a little silly witht he extra 2'' on each side but if you suspend the light (a kit comes with it) it looks better.
I have some huge light strips meant for garages and large buildings I will probably buy some purple bulbs that contain the better wave lengths of light. Here is a funny story Tom Lang from the Aquarius Aquarium institute told me about the light he has for growing his corals. I believe he even runs a program with a college to raise corals. He did something with a police organization one of his programs and was talking to the police chief about breeding corals and lights for them. Earlier that week the police department had done a drug bust on a place that was growing weed. In that bust the police acquired I think it was 50 units of name brand lighting systems to grow plants with. The systems each cost a couple hundred dollars to purchase. So he received them absolutely free of charge. I mean top of the line coral/plant growing lights and many of them! Just thought I would bring that up I'm so jealous of him now. I'm sure I can find a way to light it I'm not too worried about it. So what species of coral should i bring in? I'm up for a good challenge which I why I decided on a nano/micro tank. If I'm not having to do something every day I'll get bored so the harder to grow the better. I do have a budget though. Most of the stuff I have were things left over from a feeder fish tank for my 150 gallon FW cichlid tank. I checked with my favorite LFS that has very reasonable prices and an awesome selection and great knowledge unlike many other LFS and I got an average guess of about 240 dollars so thats what I've got budget wise. What I already have going is bubbler, live sand, a heavy duty filter to move and filter the water extremely well, salt (I mix my own water although the same LFS has fairly cheap natural sea water which I might start using) Huge Huge lights I imagine I will need a new light tube though, heater, thermometer, hydrometer, testing supplies, the essentials basicaly I'm probably leaving some things out. The 240 dollars is for all of the living things corals, live rock, inverts, 1 fish lol!
So what is a good list of corals, and inverts for this tank that will stay within my budget?
Oh and I absolutely love dense reef tanks so the more in that my budget the better.
So what is a good list of corals, and inverts for this tank that will stay within my budget?
Oh and I absolutely love dense reef tanks so the more in that my budget the better.
well hermits and snails are like 1-2 bucks by me so i'd get like 8 of each?
if you can get premium live rock i suggest doing so, it's more expensive, but worth it IMO.
a cleaner shrimp (any kind really) and maybe the emerald/sally crab.
if you get t5 you could maybe keep SPS and nems/clams such, which are generally sonsidered the hardestb to care for. depending on the lighting you ultimately get...
xenia, hammer coral, torch coral, bubble coral, zooanthids, finger coral, cauliflower, devils hand, leather, cabbage, brains (open and closed, and differnt species of each) tongue, plate, acropora, millipora, montipora, stylopora, maxima clams, derasa, squamosa, crocea..
there's a GIANT ASS list... go to a trusted LFS and see what they can order...
if you can get premium live rock i suggest doing so, it's more expensive, but worth it IMO.
a cleaner shrimp (any kind really) and maybe the emerald/sally crab.
if you get t5 you could maybe keep SPS and nems/clams such, which are generally sonsidered the hardestb to care for. depending on the lighting you ultimately get...
xenia, hammer coral, torch coral, bubble coral, zooanthids, finger coral, cauliflower, devils hand, leather, cabbage, brains (open and closed, and differnt species of each) tongue, plate, acropora, millipora, montipora, stylopora, maxima clams, derasa, squamosa, crocea..
there's a GIANT ASS list... go to a trusted LFS and see what they can order...
start with lights though. Regular t-12 or t-8 bulbs which are common in warehouses and what not will not grow much more then mushroom corals. If you do not want the t-5 HO which is going to be your only real true light that will allow clams and SPS then get a nice set of Compact flourescents.
T-5 HO something as simple as this
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~2x~action~view~idProduct~CU01136~idCategory~FILTFIT5T5~category~18_inch_Current_USA_Nova_Extreme_2x20_watt_T5_HO_10K_460nm_%3c20in_Units%26vendor%3d~tab~2.html
--its only an 18" but has mounting bars that will give you a 24 inch total reach.
Compact Flourescents
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13637&pcatid=13637
T-5 HO something as simple as this
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~2x~action~view~idProduct~CU01136~idCategory~FILTFIT5T5~category~18_inch_Current_USA_Nova_Extreme_2x20_watt_T5_HO_10K_460nm_%3c20in_Units%26vendor%3d~tab~2.html
--its only an 18" but has mounting bars that will give you a 24 inch total reach.
Compact Flourescents
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13637&pcatid=13637
Ha lol I actually have something extremely similar to that first one you posted! (T-5 HO) Woo for existing stuff. It has been sitting around by my large freshwater but I'm replacing those lights with some other strips because I stopped growing plants in it. It is a 20 watt bulb but has an output of 70 watts and its a purple bulb. So that should be good for some and then I can put another 30 watt strip with a white bulb. Will that be sufficient?
No they aren't regular fluors. One has something extremely similar to the T-5 HO. Just in case I will buy the T-5 HO bulbs and replace the old ones with some new ones. To insure proper growth.
well if they aren't the right bulbs for the fixture you'll just be wasting your money.
i'd either
A) make sure the kind of fixture you have, or
B) just buy a new fixture. little t5 setups are only like $80, very reasonable for what they can do.
i'd either
A) make sure the kind of fixture you have, or
B) just buy a new fixture. little t5 setups are only like $80, very reasonable for what they can do.
it would also say on the bulb or the fixture what style of bulb it takes. Should read something like this:
example Coralife 6700K--F18-T5-Bpb
Post this and if you cant determine it then we might be able to.
example Coralife 6700K--F18-T5-Bpb
Post this and if you cant determine it then we might be able to.
