Nano lighting

dabandit · #1 11-19-2008, 12:38 AM

Inspired by the contest I missed here at canreef,im building a 10gal budget reef and was curious do I need mh lights on a 10 gal to grow successfull sps? or will a t5 do the trick.

hillbillyreefer · #2 11-19-2008, 12:44 AM

I'd go with the T5's to avoid the heat issues. There are lots of successful SPS tanks with only t5 lighting.

dabandit · #3 11-19-2008, 01:12 AM

what wattage t5 would you suggest on a 10g sps tank?

hillbillyreefer · #4 11-19-2008, 02:22 AM

As much as I could stuff over it. Current makes the Nova Extreme Pro in 20" 6 bulb 108w fixtures. Other than that finding a t5 fixture short enough for you tank is going to be a problem. I've never seen any other short fixtures in T5, maybe someone else can chime in here. Most of the T5's are 24" and up.

dabandit · #5 11-19-2008, 05:02 AM

Holy crap I checked that light out 419$ for a 20'' t5 thats a bit much for a budget 10 gal lol not to mention 120$ to replace the bulbs on a used unit.
For that price I should hope you can keep sps with it lol I found a 175w mh for 100$ you guys think I'd need actinic suplement with a 14000k bulb?

lorenz0 · #6 11-19-2008, 05:27 AM

sadly i have that light. before our dollar dropped it was $320. still i think thats a it of a hawl for 10gal lighting lol. It does the trick for keeping SPS (ones that don't require intense lighting btw) but i wish there was more bulb support for it. only bulbs that work are from current USA

But lighting isn't your biggest worry. in a 10gal your parameters spike so easily. Run a sump if you plan on keeping sps and you need to watch your parameters every odd day. i slipped up and am now dealing with a spike. my new frags had polyp extension in the bags but the second they hit my water it was bad news.