Help with lighting!

[Buddyboy]

Hi all,

Just wondering if a 192W (2x96W) Coralife fixture would overheat a 30G tank (36"long x 12"wide x 16"tall"? No canopy, just the fixture on the legs. Anyone have any experience? Thanks!!!

Bud

[kwirky]

what are you planning on puting in for livestock?

I'd go with HO driven T5's. You could put four 39W bulbs over it with clip on reflectors. You'd be happy you did. I love my T5's. I've got 8 over my 120 gallon 4'x2'x2' tank and it's BRIGHT. I have to be careful I don't bleach corals. PC lights are so inneficient. Cramming those big tubes so close together makes for ZERO reflection.

My personal opinion is coralife lights aren't that great, too. If you REALLY want to go PC, get hamilton technology lights or a PFO retro kit.

As for heat, either way you go, I'd just run a fan blowing air across the surface of the water. Put it on a timer with multiple on-off points and you can run it 15min on, 15min off, 15min on, 15min off, while the lights are on. Saves on evaporation. Just figure out the right timing scheme for your own needs.

Or you could look into 70W MH lighting. the bulbs clip right into halogen worklights (only cost $12 each, those fixtures), so all you need is the bulbs and the ballasts. And Iwasaki makes a 14000k 70W DE bulb now that actually has a proper PAR rating for it's wattage. People on nano-reef.com run 70W MH lighting with just fans for cooling.

[DanG]

I ran 2x96w PC's in a fixture with just the legs over my 40G and never had a problem with heat.

[Buddyboy]

I already own the fixture so going with T5 or another fixture is not an option.
The 40G breeder is a wider tank with a greater water volume so it might not be a fair comparison? Just don't want to get the tank, drill it, etc. and then find out I have to turf the fixture! (or the tank) I'm still paying for it! Anyone else? Thanks in advance for your help folks!

[Buddyboy]

Oh yeah! It's mainly a softies tank, maybe with some LPS down the road. I have GSP's, leathers, etc. Maybe this would be too much light for them anyways???

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I had a 33g tank with a 96w PC & 2 T5s & heat wasn't too much of an issue. You can always position a fan if you need to, which I had to in the summer, but that was when the temp in the room was getting up there & not just from the lights.

Best thing to do is just set it up & test the temp. We don't know what is the ambient room temp or any other details, so you can answer this question best yourself by plugging it in & checking with a reliable thermometer.

Anthony

[fortheloveofcrabs]

I had a 33g 36" Hagen with that exact fixture over it. No heat problem at all from the lights. It was the pumps that got me.....

[kwirky]

i don't think it's too much light. Tanks that small, you can't go watts per gallon. With PC's, try to think of how many bulbs you have over it, and the depth of the tank. It's more subjective than objective.

[Buddyboy]

Thanks everyone for your help! Lots to think about.