Gwen's 12 gal Nano Nonsense

[Casey]

No I do not recommend the 20k's for her or you .Stick with what you have Rog or you will lose your color's,my coral's are use to the low par and my wife and I love our color's and do not want them to change,so I can't change bulb's to get better growth like going to a geisman 13K they are awesome and bring out the pink's and blue's but I just can't change.I have good growth but not like I would with 10k and in my show tank I really dont care about growth,I just love the color's I have.Now my frag tank has 10k I want growth in it and in a few month's I will see if it is working or not.For Gwen I would go with the 10k some people just dont like the blue with 20k,with my VHO's my tank does not look blue it is a crisp whiteish blue I call it.

[yardboy]

Thanks Casey, I'd really been scratching my head over that. I do like the looks of your tank and have been very perplexed about why the 15000K didn't work in my nano (though the difference in PAR between a 175 and 250 is substantial, even with the same K temps., and the 15000K is lower than the 20000K, for some reason)

I am slowly moving that light down toward the surface, but I'll have to remove the mangrove soon, as it's getting too close. I may bonsai it to keep it low.

[gwen_o_lyn]

I do want blue so that is why I am thinking of going in between 10 and 20K and getting the 15K, and then maybe the next year change to 20K. Purple is ok too.

[Casey]

15k will work great for you then just remember the par is low on this bulb even the 20k I use has more par,I love the blue look my self but not to blue and the xm 20k is not to blue.

[gwen_o_lyn]

Originally Posted by Casey

15k will work great for you then just remember the par is low on this bulb even the 20k I use has more par,I love the blue look my self but not to blue and the xm 20k is not to blue.

Am I better off with 20K over 15K?

Will this light be ok for SPS, anemones, and clams? I am thinking in terms of watts/gal and it seems like plenty, but maybe I'm not thinking of lighting the way I should.

[yardboy]

Before the advent of so many different types of metal halide bulbs, watts/gallon was the only way to go for determining how much light you were exposing your corals to. Now, with PAR measurements, you have a better idea, and with the nearly three-fold difference between a 150W 10000K vs. 15000K, the Watts/gallon is almost worthless. As for whether it'll be enough? With the 15000K, my BTA climbed right to the top of the tank and stayed there until I got a 10000K, then he moved down halfway. The sps corals slowly faded and lost nearly all their color, weird considering that they grew quite well. Then a few died. So I changed the bulb and they all started coloring back up.
It's really iffy, considering that your fixture will keep the bulb close to the surface. We'll both see. I've got that 15000K bulb on my nano entry, about 4" off the water, no ones bleached from the intensity, but I've only got one sps in the tank, and he's at nearly the surface.

[Casey]

Gwen the 20k xm is to blue for me by itself,I use VHO white to balance it out,Im afraid to tell you to go 20k I think you will think it is to blue.I have everything (just about) in my tank but no anenomes and all are doing great.

[gwen_o_lyn]

So out of my options, the 10K is the best (strongest), right? Casey, you agree?

[Casey]

Yep it is.

[gwen_o_lyn]

I *think* someone asked for more pics of the doll room, well here they are:

[gwen_o_lyn]

A few more of my cuties...

[gwen_o_lyn]

There has been some changes- decided not to put the nano in the doll room- was gonna be too complicated. I like this plan much better- going in the fish/emmy & oscar's room. The nightstand gives me space to store tank stuff and the cords fit under the stand perfect.




My catfish, Oscar!!



So here we have the bed and nightstand. That's Emmy on the bed.



So here is the latest on the tank... Tried cleaning the water spots with some sort of acid and they wouldn't come off so I gave up. Rinsed the tank really well- soaked in water overnight too. Last night I added 13 lbs sand from Orient Beach, 10 gallons water, 5 cups salt, and a powerhead. Had my red sea crap skimmer going for a few minutes, but it was leaking water so I took it off. It will be after Christmas before I have anymore updates.

Still trying to figure out lighting and if what I want if enough light. Also gotta find a good skimmer too- need suggestions if you have any- leaning towards an AquaC Remora. Or post in this thread http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=62148

[Casey]

Cool that will look nice in there.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by lukegegory

Gee you do wan to spend (light) its great and simple for you as you don't want to DIY, so if you've got the cash get it.
However the tank is a nano and in all honesty you can keep the light fittings you have, just change the actual bulb(tube) to a reef one (the best brand you can find).

Sorry but I beg to differ , doesnt matter what tube you swap in, its still a 15w tube or so, the MH looks kewl, other choices would be a 96w quad PC tube

[TalkingReef]

Originally Posted by Doug1

Sorry but I beg to differ , doesnt matter what tube you swap in, its still a 15w tube or so, the MH looks kewl, other choices would be a 96w quad PC tube

Gwen, Doug is right... a 15w bulbs is still 15w no matter how you slice it..

lighting is a touchy subject, you need to understand what you are keeping,and plan accordinly...


love ya Gwen