Need help picking out TYPE of lighting

[191185]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting, I'm just starting out in the Saltwater Land and am trying to learn as much as I can ..


I have a 20G rectangle basic setup ..

I would like to keep all types of coral's and reef's .. ( I don't want to not be able to buy a certain reef because of my light )

My tank is 24" across, and I am not sure how deep, I would imagine 16" at most ?


I'm not concerned with having the best or most expensive, nor am in this hobby to save money .. I just want something that will get the job done, and not be a poor product..

I've been trying to understand T5, and MH lighting, but it all seems rather confusing , I've also been reading about LED's ..
From what I got out of it so far is, LED's are cheaper to run, more expensive up front, and sometimes aren't powerfull enough in certain situations with certain brands of LED's ..

[Original Fin]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting, I'm just starting out in the Saltwater Land and am trying to learn as much as I can ..I have a 20G rectangle basic setup .. I would like to keep all types of coral's and reef's .. ( I don't want to not be able to buy a certain reef because of my light ) My tank is 24" across, and I am not sure how deep, I would imagine 16" at most ?I'm not concerned with having the best or most expensive, nor am in this hobby to save money .. I just want something that will get the job done, and not be a poor product.. I've been trying to understand T5, and MH lighting, but it all seems rather confusing , I've also been reading about LED's .. From what I got out of it so far is, LED's are cheaper to run, more expensive up front, and sometimes aren't powerfull enough in certain situations with certain brands of LED's ..

We'd classify a tank that small as a nano. Nano's are more challenging than larger tanks because of the small volume of water. All of the potential things that can go wrong in a tank tend to happen faster in nano's leaving you less time to react.
If you are still in the planning stages, I urge you as a beginner to reconsider and get a larger tank, 75 gallons or more. Either that, or go for an all in one tank like the Oceanic Biocubes, or JBJ's, or Red Sea units. They have all the necessary filtration, heating, lighting etc built in and hidden from view.

A small glass rectangle by itself does not make for a good reef tank. You will need a place for your heater, skimmer, media reactors (if you choose to run one), flow devices, etc...the glass rectangle quickly fills up with stuff that takes away from the aesthetic of your display.
Most reef tanks have secondary "sump" tanks underneath in the stand to house all of this extra equipment, and often a place to keep a "refugium". Stay away from tanks that are shallow from front to back (like 55's) they really limit what you can do with your aquascape, and don't hav enough space below for a sump...at least, its a lot more difficult to do one. You'll come to see space is a really important consideration for keeping corals.

Anyway, if you do run the 20, the good news is it will be easy to light. The bad news is, the light you choose can have a profound impact on water temp and evaporation.
MH run the hottest, then T5, and LEDs run the coolest. If you choose MH, you may also need to run a chiller (a considerable expense) or at the very least point some fans towards the waters surface to increase evaporative cooling. This would also necessitate having an Auto Top off, which means you need a sump too. If you're going to do a reef, trust me, you'll want a sump anyway, it's just a lot easier to do on a larger tank.
T5s may need to be raised quite a bit off of the water's surface to keep from cooking the water, but this is not as much of an issue as with MH. LEDs won't contribute at all to overheating the tank, but they don't come cheap. I'd probably do a 2-4 bulb T5 on that tank, 2 for soft corals, more for SPS. If budget wasn't a concern, LEDs.

[191185]

WOW, lots of good info , thanks !

that makes me want to run out and buy a 300 Gallon ! (but I won't )

[chrisfont23]

FWIW, I run a Coralife Lunar Aqualight (T5) on my 29 gallon nano. I believe it's the 30 inch. It ran about $200. It provides enough light for all of my corals, including the 2 SPS corals I took a chance on. Everything is thriving and there are no issues.

The lights rest on the frame of the tank. I raised the lights approximately 1 inch off the top of the tank to reduce heat and to fit my HOB skimmer under the light. I am not running a chiller, originally due to budget but now I realize I don't have to. I run a 6 inch fan that blows diagonally across the water creating a much cooler env't. My evaporation is high, but I combat that with a JBJ ATO and a 5 gallon bucket I fill up about every 4-5 days. This is especially important as it maintains the water level in your tank which allows your skimmer to function properly. These lights are efficient to run.

The whole setup - light, ato and fan will run you about $250-$300.

HTH

[191185]

Is it safe to say ANY T5 lighting will work for reef's ?

How about these ?

Aqueon T5 High Output 48 Watt Double 24" - Lighting & Hoods - Fish

[chrisfont23]

Someone will probably have a better answer, but I would aim for about 4-5 watts per gallon. So based on your tank size and depth, my answer would no for that light. Here is the one I run on my 29g:

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...LAID=844856082

It's a killer light and for the price, does the trick and then some. The 30 inch gives me about 4.5 watts per gallon, which at the time, was the only rule of thumb I had. Coral type, depth, having a chiller (or not) etc., plays into this too.

[Reefing Madness]

Someone will probably have a better answer, but I would aim for about 4-5 watts per gallon. So based on your tank size and depth, my answer would no for that light. Here is the one I run on my 29g:

HO T5 Aquarium Light Fixture: Coralife Lunar Aqualight HO T5 Aquarium Light Fixture

It's a killer light and for the price, does the trick and then some. The 30 inch gives me about 4.5 watts per gallon, which at the time, was the only rule of thumb I had. Coral type, depth, having a chiller (or not) etc., plays into this too.

Bout sums it up pretty damn good.

[191185]

Well, I'm thinking of taking your advise and buying a much larger tank and using my 20 as a sump or quarantine tank..

I found a 75g with a stand for $100 ... The deal almost seems too good to be true... what do you think ? also, is the tank too "thin" ?

75 Glln. Aquarium w/Stand, Light, & Heater

We'd classify a tank that small as a nano. Nano's are more challenging than larger tanks because of the small volume of water. All of the potential things that can go wrong in a tank tend to happen faster in nano's leaving you less time to react.
If you are still in the planning stages, I urge you as a beginner to reconsider and get a larger tank, 75 gallons or more. Either that, or go for an all in one tank like the Oceanic Biocubes, or JBJ's, or Red Sea units. They have all the necessary filtration, heating, lighting etc built in and hidden from view.

A small glass rectangle by itself does not make for a good reef tank. You will need a place for your heater, skimmer, media reactors (if you choose to run one), flow devices, etc...the glass rectangle quickly fills up with stuff that takes away from the aesthetic of your display.
Most reef tanks have secondary "sump" tanks underneath in the stand to house all of this extra equipment, and often a place to keep a "refugium". Stay away from tanks that are shallow from front to back (like 55's) they really limit what you can do with your aquascape, and don't hav enough space below for a sump...at least, its a lot more difficult to do one. You'll come to see space is a really important consideration for keeping corals.

Anyway, if you do run the 20, the good news is it will be easy to light. The bad news is, the light you choose can have a profound impact on water temp and evaporation.
MH run the hottest, then T5, and LEDs run the coolest. If you choose MH, you may also need to run a chiller (a considerable expense) or at the very least point some fans towards the waters surface to increase evaporative cooling. This would also necessitate having an Auto Top off, which means you need a sump too. If you're going to do a reef, trust me, you'll want a sump anyway, it's just a lot easier to do on a larger tank.
T5s may need to be raised quite a bit off of the water's surface to keep from cooking the water, but this is not as much of an issue as with MH. LEDs won't contribute at all to overheating the tank, but they don't come cheap. I'd probably do a 2-4 bulb T5 on that tank, 2 for soft corals, more for SPS. If budget wasn't a concern, LEDs.

[Original Fin]

Deals like this come around more often than you might think. This looks legit, and the price is right. If you have a freshwater background, I'm sure you already know what to look for. If not, feel free to PM me for some pointers.

A 75 is 18" front to back. You can definately work with that, and the stand will be deep enough to keep your 20 (or larger) in. If you were to keep looking, you might want to hold out for a tank that is "Reef Ready". These will have an internal overflow (or two) built into them already and the plumbing will exit the bottom of the tank (So it is already drilled) which makes sump integration much easier, and lessens the potential for flooding from other "hang on the back" style siphon overflow boxes. That's another item you'd have to buy for the 75 you linked, plus the plumbing parts.


Not to steer you away from it, just something I wish I had done with my tank.

I have a 55 that is not reef ready myself, and I do run the HOB siphon box. I must admit I've had a few close calls. The old school box I have is held to the inside of the tank with 3 suction cups, and these occasionally wear out. When they do, the inside weir can become semi detached and hinge away from the bottom, which of course can break the siphon, which then equals a flood or a burned out return pump, or both.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are some tanks that can be brought up to Reef Ready spec if you have the DIY skills, but that would require drilling holes in the tank. That's not as much of an issue with acrylic as it is with glass. A lot of tanks in the size range you're looking at have tempered glass bottoms, and sometimes sides. Tempered glass cannot be drilled, it would shatter. By law, manufacturers must place a sticker denoting when glass is tempered, and most of the time you'll find this on the bottom side of the bottom glass if it is. Sometimes on older, used tanks, these stickers decay from humidity and fall off...then you're kind of screwed. It's not something you can tell just by looking at it.

It probably won't save you any money to do the reef ready mod yourself though, so to me, this option is only usefull if you have a unique overflow design in mind. Purchasing custom cut pieces of glass and acrylic from most glass shops is more $ than it's worth. Getting a reef ready tank to start with will save a beginner a lot of headaches, but it's not the only way to go.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I agree with Fin here. I personally think 75g (48x18x20) or 90g (48x18x24) are the perfect beginner tank sizes. Its going to cost considerably more for equipment and live rock/sand but its worth the investment, IMO. There must be hundreds of light fixtures for a 48". For the novice, reef ready is the way to go. I got my RR 75g AGA glass tank for about $325. If you're wondering about how much it would cost in equipment, PM me and I'll give you a breakdown of the prices and the equipment I use. Whatever you end up doing, don't go cheap on the lights or skimmer. Invest in an RO/DI unit too ( if it hasn't already been covered).

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Oh and be carefully when purchasing a used tank where the dimensions aren't listed. The 75g you linked doesn't look like a standard (48x18x20). It looks like the tall model which is 48x15x24. I could be wrong but it seems too slim.