[TheApprentice707]

Hey there, I got a glass 29 gallon tank and I wanted to get some lights on it for some corals. It is 30 inches long I believe.

Any suggestions on a lighting system that wouldn't cost TOO much?

What is the difference between power compact and t-5?? What are both of those?

THANKS!

[Poseidon]

T5 is much better then PC, mostly due to the individual reflectors that are possible with T5 bulbs. Do a search here, or just start reading in this forum thread by thread, and you will find answers to most of your questions.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by TheApprentice707

Hey there, I got a glass 29 gallon tank and I wanted to get some lights on it for some corals. It is 30 inches long I believe.

Yes, it is 30" long. This is a difficult size to light because fluorescent tubes are sized for 2' or 3' tanks, not 2.5' tanks. An easier 30-gal tank to light would be a 30-gal cube because it has more front-to-back space relative to length. Another nice size, although a bit larger, is the 40-gal breeder. Your tank is approx. 30"L x 12"W x 18"H. That's not a good size for a reef tank because the height is 50% greater than the width.

What is the difference between power compact and t-5?? What are both of those?

THANKS!

Power compact and T5 tubes are both 5/8" in diameter but power compacts are double lamps and T5's are single lamps. T5's are much more efficient than power compacts watt for watt, especially when equipped with individual reflectors.

[TheApprentice707]

Do you think with T-5 I would need 3-5watts per gallon still? So no less than 90Watts? What would you recommend?

[Ninong]

"Watts per gallon" is not now, nor has it ever been, a useful way to measure lighting. Watts measures power consumption, nothing more.

The only thing that is important is the amount of PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) that reaches the surface of the various corals in the aquarium. Water volume has absolutely nothing to do with any of this but the distance from the lamp to the corals has everything to do with it, regardless of the water volume. For that reason, when lighting smallish tanks, it is always better to choose a tank that is at least as wide (front to back) as it is tall. That allows more room for placing the lighting tubes above the tank. It also allows for more surface area for air exchange.

Your tank is about 18" tall. It can easily be lit using T5 HO fluorescent lamps but you do have two significant problems because of the dimensions of your tank: (1) These lamps come in either 2' or 3' lengths, but not 2.5' lengths. (2) Your tank is only 12" front-to-back.

That means that the longest T5 lamp you could use would be the 2' length. You can probably fit four of those with individual reflectors over the top of your tank but that would still not be a lot of light. With something like a 40-gal breeder that is 16" front-to-back, you would be able to use 3' long lamps and go with 6 of them if you wanted to, and the tank is shorter than your 29-gal tank.

Anyway, getting back to what you have, you may want to consider a single 150w metal halide lamp supplemented with one or two 2' T5 HO actinics. The 150w metal halide could be one of the double-end HQI types or it could be a medium base lamp. The spread from a 150w metal halide lamp covers an area approximately 22"x20", making it ideal for one of the 30-gal cube tanks but not quite ideal for a 29-gal tank. You would have more than enough front-to-back coverage but you would end up with about 4" on each end of the tank that would be not covered much. This can be overcome by simply placing corals that demand more light closer to the middle of the tank and using the ends of the tanks for low-light softies.

Another problem you will have with a 30" long tank is that there aren't all that many ready-made fixtures that are 30" long and the ones they do offer are not all that great. Fixtures come in even sizes: 2', 3', 4', 6'. There are a few 30" and 60" fixtures but they are few and far between. To save money, you may want to consider one of those clip-on fixtures that hold a single 150w HQI DE lamp. You can get by without actinic supplementation. A 10,000K lamp would provide more PAR than a 14,000K lamp but the 14,000K lamp would be bluer. I would probably choose the 10,000K lamp myself. I would avoid a 250w metal halide lamp over your tank because that will just heat up your water more.

[Ninong]

Assuming you decide to go with a 24" T5 HO fixture, I found an Aqua-Medic 24" Ocean Light with four 24w T5 HO lamps for only $139.99 here. That's a nice fixture but unfortunately it uses a single reflector. That fixture would not provide a whole lot of light for your particular tank's dimensions but it would work it you're interested mostly in softies.

There are very few manufacturers using individual reflectors for the smaller size fixtures. Here's one manufacturer that uses individual reflectors for all of their T5 fixtures.

Aqua-Medic also makes a 24" Ocean Light 150 Plus that comes with one 150w HQI DE lamp plus two 24w T5 HO actinics, but it runs over $300.

[TheApprentice707]

wow Ninong thank you so much for all of your help. I REALLY appreciate it!

I am mostly looking to get softies. I like the harder too, but I really like anemone, algae, mushroom, and polyps.

Do you think the light for 139.99 would work for species like those?

What is the best way to tell the PAR of lights in stores?

I have an all glass top. Would I just sit this light on top? Would I be able to secure it at all?

Thank you so much for your help. I wish this forum had "reps" because I would make sure that yours was good!

Thanks again,

-JONATHAN

[TheApprentice707]

with a 24 inch fixture I would just need to have my corals set up just under the light then. That isn't too much of a problem for me.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by TheApprentice707

I am mostly looking to get softies. I like the harder too, but I really like anemone, algae, mushroom, and polyps.

It will be adequate for most softies. It won't be adequate for an anemone and you shouldn't be thinking about an anemone anyway. At least not yet.

Do you think the light for 139.99 would work for species like those?

I mentioned it mainly because of the price. It's a bargain. It will work for most softies.

What is the best way to tell the PAR of lights in stores?

You can't. They don't advertise PAR.

I have an all glass top. Would I just sit this light on top? Would I be able to secure it at all?

First off, you shouldn't keep a glass top on the tank. Second, you shouldn't place the lights directly on top of the glass top even if you did have a glass top on your tank, which you shouldn't. That particular fixture would have to be suspended above your tank one way or another. You have a problem: Your tank is 30" long. If you want fixture that will fit on top of your tank with legs, it will have to be 30" long. There are only a very few 30" long fixtures with legs.

These lamps (T5 HO) should be at least 3" above the surface. That's assuming that the fixture has a splash shield on the bottom, which almost all of them do have. If it were a metal halide fixture, it would have to be higher above the surface.

Here is an example of 24" and 36" T5 HO fixtures with legs. They don't make a 30" size.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by TheApprentice707

with a 24 inch fixture I would just need to have my corals set up just under the light then. That isn't too much of a problem for me.

A 24" fixture will work over a 30" long tank but it works better over a 24" long tank, just as a 36" fixture works better over a 36" long tank.

It's a pity you already have this 29-gal tank because it's not a good tank for a reef tank.

[Ninong]

A standard 30-gal glass tank is 36"L x 12"W x 16"H. That would be easier to light than your 29-gal. A 30-gal breeder is 36"L x 18"W x 12"H, which is a bit short but it does have a nice front-to-back dimension: 18" compared to your 29-gal's 12".

A 40-gal breeder is an ideal small tank for a reef aquarium: 36"L x 18"W x 16"H. It's easy to light with fluorescent lamps (either T5 HO, VHO or Power Compacts) and it has a nice 18" front-to-back dimension. The 36" length makes it ideal for ready-made fixtures. It's always better for a reef tank to be at least as wide as it is tall.

[TheApprentice707]

yeah, well I am looking to have some corals, but not too many advanced ones. I just want a couple fish and a couple corals like polyps or mushrooms.

I have a cat too and he is a little bit sneaky. I assume that the glass top will just take away from the lighting PAR? I do need some sort of top though for the cat do you think there are some that will work better. Ideally there would be no top, but with the cat i have to make sure he doesn't fall in! haha

[TheApprentice707]

Oh another thing is that the depth of the tank is PERFECT for the countertop that I have it on. It looks great where it is. I will get some pics to show you.


How should I get my light to fit???? Im scared now!

Would it damage anything if I had the light sitting on the glass or would it just diminish the PAR?

[TheApprentice707]

Thank you for your help.

If this was the only tank that you could have what would you do to light it?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by TheApprentice707

I have a cat too and he is a little bit sneaky.

I guess that depends on just how sneaky your cat is and how easy it would be for the cat to get near the top of the tank. I had no problems with cats as far as my tank was concerned but there was no way for them to get at the top of the tank. They did have a nasty habit of chewing orchid leaves until I sprinkled cayenne pepper around the area. They hate cayenne pepper.

I assume that the glass top will just take away from the lighting PAR?

The glass top will reduce the intensity of the light by about 15% but a bigger problem will be that it will trap heat and interfere with good air exchange at the surface.

I do need some sort of top though for the cat do you think there are some that will work better. Ideally there would be no top, but with the cat i have to make sure he doesn't fall in! haha

You might need to consider a canopy for the top of your tank if the cat persists in trying to go fishing. In my experience they limited their curiosity to just looking.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by TheApprentice707

Oh another thing is that the depth of the tank is PERFECT for the countertop that I have it on. It looks great where it is. I will get some pics to show you.


How should I get my light to fit???? Im scared now!

What do you mean by "fit?" Is the space above the tank limited? You will need enough room for the light fixture above the tank and enough room to easily reach into the tank to clean algae off the glass, etc.

Would it damage anything if I had the light sitting on the glass or would it just diminish the PAR?

Whether it damages anything or not depends on the intensity of the heat. You could never do this with metal halides because they would get too hot and the glass might crack. The glass used on the bottom of metal halide fixtures is tempered to make it more heat resistant.

I don't have any experience with placing fluorescent tubes that close to a glass top but I know that some people have done it with regular, normal output fluorescent tubes and with power compact fluorescents. They placed a fixture holding the fluorescent tubes directly on top of the glass top. Again, this would be rare in the hobby because most people would not want to keep a glass top on their tank to begin with.

You can probably get away with it with T5 HO tubes but I guess you would have to be the judge of that. The other problem is that placing the lights that close to the surface of the water will reduce the spread of light from the fixture. In other words, the ends of the tank will be noticeably dim compared to the middle.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by TheApprentice707

If this was the only tank that you could have what would you do to light it?

I would probably choose a fixture like Aqua-Medic's Ocean Light 150 Plus. It has a single 150w 10,000K HQI DE lamp and two 24w T5 HO actinics. I would suspend it about 9" above the water's surface. There are different ways to "suspend" a fixture above a tank. The most obvious is to use the steel hanging cables that come with the fixture because that way you can adjust the height of the fixture whenever you need to change it. Another way would be to attach it to wall brackets.

If that's more than you care to spend on a light fixture, then you could go with the $139.99 Aqua-Medic fixture with just four 24w T5 HO tubes. The fixture with the metal halide lamp would run more than $350.

Don't forget, any fixture with a metal halide lamp will have to be placed higher above the tank than a fixture with just fluorescents.

P.S. -- Another option would be to make a canopy for the tank (which you may need anyway because of the cat) and customize it for the exact size of your tank. You would want two fans (3" diameter would be sufficient), one at each end. You could stagger the placement of the T5 HO tubes so that the full length of the tank would be covered. You might be able to get more than four tubes in the canopy. You don't have to use T5's. You could also consider VHO or power compacts. This option may be out of the question depending on your DIY skills and access to necessary tools, etc.

[TheApprentice707]

I have about 6 feet above the tank! haha. I guess thats a ton of space.

I don't think that my cat will be bad enough to fabricate a canopy.

I see what you are saying about the glass top. Would you just recommend having nothing on top once I get a light and get it suspended on top?

Thanks for the help!

[Ninong]

Yes, I would recommend nothing at all on top if you're going to suspend the light fixture.

Don't forget that a completely open-top tank means that you must exercise care in the selection of your fish. Jumpers are out of the question!

Rather than list all the different fish that are notorious jumpers, it would easier if you would just ask about a fish before buying it and we can tell you if it is a known jumper or not. For starters, fairy wrasses and flasher wrasses would be out of the question.