10 gal nano lighting
 

I have put water in a 10 gal tank...top is about 10"x20" about 12" deep and I need some lighting. T5s preferred, power compact fluorescent would do. I have put in the skeletons of my SPS that died after a high temp period:( Also has 2 pajama cardinals. Expect I will eventually add some leathers but will need some lighting. What fixtures are available for 20x10 tanks? I would like a fixture that can stand a few inches above the tank so condensation is not an issue. I don't like tank covers as heat doesn't dissipate well.
I stuck in a small pump and have air from a pump and the water moves about surprisingly well...also has a small heater.
This is a tiny tank but I think it could be very pleasing if I get things right.
Thanks for any and all suggestions.

PS..next year the room gets an air conditioner

I have the same size tank and had a really hard time finding a light that small that would handle the corals I wanted. Some of the coralife PC lights are 20" long but the highest wattage is 96. I have seen a 24" t5 on a 20" tank with legs. I don't know if that was stock or not but it is possible. The sunlight tek t5 is a really nice light but I think it has to hang.

I know heat is an issue but the jbj viper metal halide lights look pretty good. I was looking at that for my tank.

The coralife PC bulbs in my experience are great. My 12 gallon has 1 x 26w Actinic and 1 x 26w Daylight 50/50. These two little 13 inch bulbs are able to grow SPS Monitopra digitata sp. among other things quite well in my nano.

http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=55172

http://snaz.com/marine/digitata1.jpg

http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=55172

i will get you a pic of my 10g tommorrow when the lights come on. i use a glow HOT5 2x24w and a coral life NO t5 24"j (just under $200). i have also got a 15 g that i run 2 2x24w glo units (about $235).

PC bulbs do work this was on my 10G nano

50/50 96W coralife PC fixture
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/o.../Sept608-1.jpg

Thank you.13" bulbs would be great. What unit do you have them in and how does it attach to the aquarium. Could you put up a tank view and where does on get the balast, stand and bulbs.

Is the sunlight tek 5 20" or shorter? I have a 24" new wave on a 30" tank..it is designed to hang but it was easy to make a support with egg crate.

don't waste your money on any 20" lighting. there are no bulbs out there. have you considered upgrading your tank to a 20 gal tall?

+1

My lights are the stock Aquapod hood. Nanotuner.com sells parts and upgrades so you can build your own fixtures easily enough. Look especially at the AP upgrade packages, they offer PDF files with great instructions on how to wire up the ballasts etc.

http://www.nanotuners.com/advanced_s...x=0&search.y=0

My 10 G tank

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...8/10Gaug20.jpg


THe lights

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q.../10GLights.jpg

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...withlights.jpg

Thanks for all the info and pics. I am no do it yourselfer so putting together lights seems a huge thing to me..I may burn down the house. It seems J&L have the 20" coralife fixture,bulbs 96 watt 50/50 and legs.
Some seem to think these will do OK (others feel they are useless). I set this up just because I had the tank already..sitting empty. I also have a 120 gal, a 29 BioCube and 30 gal glass tank. I thought a tiny tank would be interesting to try:)

I have a thing for 10 gallon tanks (see my tank thread) and I've seen a number of really great ones on NR, I think with your planned lighting you should be okay for at least some SPS. Some people do well with PC fluorescents, others hate them... I prefer metal halide personally, though it definitely has its drawbacks.

What I like most about this [my 10 gallon] is all the really tiny stuff that you need to get close to see... you would never notice some of this stuff in a 120 :wink:

If you aren't growing any high lighting demand corals, try an incandescent hood with 2 of the coralife 20W 50/50 screw in PC lights. You may have to keep an eye on the temperature, but they haven't cooked my tank yet.

Why don't you go for a hanging halide pendant? You can adjust the height, so that heat won't be an issue, plus you'll be able to handle any sessile invert you want to throw in your 10gal.