the Newbies Adventures

[lilposeidon]

ok so i went and bought a T5 fixture that allows one bulb in it i took the bulb it came with out and replaced it with a T8 15 watt blue actnic bulb. i have blue mushroom coral, red mushroom coral, green flourescent mushroom coral and lavender mushroom coral what is my best option for lighting will it do damage if i only have the blue actnic. or should i switch it out for the power glo18000K light and just but a little led light shining in there. Money is a issue and i want the best for my tank
thanks guys

[lilposeidon]

i also have a bulb Anemone and hopefully my clown will befriend it

[Learner]

Oooh! show us please... :0)

[lilposeidon]

my pics are too big to put on here and i dont have a program on my computer to resize them

[lilposeidon]

ok i resized them and there in my gallery under a Newbies Adventures

[Learner]

Thanks, I love to see other peoples tanks as mine is sooo bare at the moment; nice pic'.

[lilposeidon]

if i cannot use just the blue actnic alone i'm going to return the bulb tomorrow and exchange it for a a regular one i'm wondering if it would be a good idea to maybe buy a small LED blue light to mount under the lid of my hood to have as well was the regular T8 light i plan on returning it tomorrow any suggestions on what i should do ???? 

[Bergy]

you can use any color you want... color really doesnt have that much of an affect...

except that the bluer the color, the less light is actually hitting your coral.

so if you have a 18 watt 20k bulb, it is like a 15 watt bulb

And yes jake, I know... there is a big discussion on this subject...


and lil.. you said it is a t5 fixture but you ahve  t8 bulb???

is that compatible???

also, t5 is great and all that, but wattage is everything...you want the most watts you can afford...


and 18w t5 is not as powerful as a 54watt power compact...


the t5 might be more efficient.. i.e. getting more lumens per watt, but intensitity is everything...

as for resizing... if you have photobucket.com  they have auto resize so you can bulk upload a ton of pictures and automatically resize them to 640x480


also,   if you puyblish the pictures into the gallery here, you can copy and paste the link and paste it into the message to show the picture here in the discussion...

[Bergy]

link to your picture

[lilposeidon]

so rule of thumb is 4.5 watts per gallon for tanks with coral right so i need roughly 45 watts of lighting power

[lilposeidon]

i found this unit here thats a reasonable price i was just wondering aboutit because it has got such low wattage
The Marineland Double Bright Lighting Systems are illuminated by energy efficient 1 Watt White LED's that provide higher output than typical fluorescent bulb lighting, and also include integrated 60mW blue lunar LED's.These components are housed in a sleek and stylish, low-profile fixture with specially designed polycarbonate lenses to ensure optimal light focus and protection. The intense light emitted from these innovative fixtures produces a beautiful shimmering effect that mimics the penetration of natural sunlight. Energy efficient and designed to last, these fixtures boast an impressive 17,000 hour lifetime, and never require bulb replacement! A rocker switch offers 3 modes: white & blue LED's for daytime, blue LED's only for lunar effect, and OFF. Lastly, adjustable mounting legs offer flexibility in tank sizes. This model is suitable for aquariums 18-24" in length. Includes 6 x 1W white and 3 x 60mW blue LED's (450 Lumens).

[lilposeidon]

ok ok ok i find my head is spinning out of control with this have decided now lol and final decision is to take back the fixture and bulb tomorrow to the LPS buy another power compact flourescent bulb with the two i will have at least 20 watts compared to 15 watts with the single T5 fixture. i will tough it out until i can get to a big city where i can buy a double T5 fixture and put a HO T5 bulb and a blue Actnic together to get the best of both worlds.
lol someone please tell me this s a good plan i'am flustered and my local fish guy is just urging me to buy a bigger tank sayin that i'm wasting my money on a small one but room is a huge issue for me right now.i apologize for this clusterball of posts but i just want to make the right decision and have nowhere else to turn i have read exstensively which is why i have made this decision on the lighting

[Bergy]

nothing wrong with waiting....

getting another cheapy cf fixture to buy you some time will be ok...

What size fixture are you lookint at btw


i might have something in teh bill haus o parts

[lilposeidon]

well the measurements are 20" x 10" but the bulbs for the T5 fixture were 18" so in the end i wanna have the double T5 fixture with mounting brackets instead of the whole hood. i would prefer to keep the bulbs above the water so i dont have to worry about the temp. spiking and i do not wanna buy a chiller.
i have decided not to put anymore fish in the tank and just stick with the two i got and just fill my 10 gal full of coral over a period of time.

[Bergy]

small tanks are limited for fish  and stuff, but you can still do it up with corals... great choice...


there are not rules/laws for the number of watts per gallon... although there are guidlines... but really, it makes a difference as to the size of the tank and depth is the most important.

as for t5 heating tanks.. yes that can be a problem, but typically t5 / flourescent isnt as much a problem as metal halide..

certainly a small fan will over come any issue caused by flourescent fixture...

if you dont have a fan yet, you should get one.. a small ten inch fan from home depot or someplace will be a great investment and insurance...