Help with lighting for 29 gal

[gotseamonkey]

My tank is 21" tall... about 24" in legnth. I was thinking about getting the sunpod for it. Not sure whether to get the 150w or the 250w. How many watts per gallon is better for this tanks depth?

[charlie]

With any kind of halide, you are going to be looking at major heat issues with that size of tank. Why don't you do a little research into a T5 setup? You can grow just about anything with a T5. JMHO

[charlie]

Oh, one more thing, watts per gallon is pretty much useless anymore, look are the PAR value of the lamps.

[gotseamonkey]

I like the shimmering effect that the halides gives off. I was planning on getting a small chiller too. But i am going to look into the t5 and par value, whatever that is... thank you.

[charlie]

I like the shimmering effect that the halides gives off. I was planning on getting a small chiller too. But i am going to look into the t5 and par value, whatever that is... thank you.

PAR value............something you should be familiar with if you are gonna do this for a while, here's some reading:

Aquarium Lighting; Kelvin, Nanometers, PAR, Bulb, Watt, MH, LED, light basics.

[reefplayground]

150w will be more than enough. But do get a an aquarium chiller. T5's will work great too.

[asting]

an aquarium chiller isn't a requirement with mh, it varies case by case. If you get the MH and find it's too hot, then yes add one, however if you run your ac/ambient temperature cool enough you could get by without one. I would wait and see where you are before you go and waste a few hundred on a chiller which you don't know if you need or not.

[reefhead728]

I would run T5s on a 29 just becouse of the heat issues with the MHs would put off

[Pworld]

Hello All

I just recieved my new ligths.

Coralife Lunar Aqualights Compact Fluorescent Strip Lights 30" for my 29 Gal tank.

How should I set the light cycle?

how long should the white lights be on?
How long should the Blue lights be on?

How long should the moon lights be on?

I do not have coral in the tank just yet, getting ready to buy some mushroom frags and other leather frags this weekend.

I have two fish right now going to get more also this weekend.

Thanks
Dean

[charlie]

Here is an example of how I have my lights:

Actinics: 10-10
MH: 12-8

As far as the moonlights go, run them maybe an hour or two after the lights go off til an hour or two before the actinics come on. I don't know, never had them.

HTH

[asting]

Charlies schedule would be pretty accurate. Just adjust for when you can view them best. For instance, I run my from 7:45-7:45 for actinics and 8:15-7:15 for 10k bulbs because that's when I can look at the tank nearly every day.
You may need to cut your time down for algae issues, etc (I'm about to do that myself).

And also, as far as moonlights go, they're for aesthic purposes. I know people that don't bother with timers and just run them 24/7. During the day it's not going to be noticeable (it'll be overpowered by the 10k and actinics).

[charlie]

You may need to cut your time down for algae issues, etc (I'm about to do that myself).

Algae issues = nutrient issues.
You need to find the root of the problem before you start blaming on too much lighting.

[asting]

Algae issues = nutrient issues.
You need to find the root of the problem before you start blaming on too much lighting.

No I know, I just switched to RODI water, which was the root of the problem (I hope). Just saying that sometimes cutting back lighting can help.

[charlie]

I hope for your sake you are right.

[asting]

you and me both. Doing my second 5 gal water change with RODI today.
On an unrelated note, my hammer coral was really po'ed before and now looks fantastic again. I thought it was dying :/

[Pworld]

Thank you for the info.

Just to make sure I have this correct.

Actinics: White Lights run them for about 12 hours a day?

MH: Blue lights run them for about 8 to 10 hours a day?

Moon lights don't matter.

[asting]

No, other way around.
The MH bulb is the white light. The most intense part of the day should have this, IE it runs shorter than the actinics.
Your actinics are the blue. They coem on earlier than the MH to simulate a dusk and dawn.

[Pworld]

Ok thank you.

[Breathe13stars]

i would go with T5'S ,if not 150HQI and plan on adding water everyday due to evaporation

[Hudini]

I have a 29 gal with a mixture of t5's and vho's. I replace about a gallon of water every 3 days. So with a MH it would be alot more quicker