Newbie with lighting questions

[bgray]

Greetings all and thanks in advance for entertaining my questions! I'm in the planning stages and have a few basic questions (many more to follow, I'm sure). Anyway, from what I've read here I definitely need to move up from my cheesy petstore hood with a single fluorescent bulb and was thinking about power compacts. My questions aren't about wattage, bulb types, etc. (as there seems to be alot of excellent advice here regarding these issues), but more along the lines of the physical set-up, such as:

How are light strips installed? Are they mounted in a canopy in a hood? Do they rest across the aquarium, sit on a glass cover? How high above the water? Do you protect the lights with some sort of lens or glass cover on the aquarium (they are awfully expensive)?

Thanks again. I'm glad I've found you!

[FishDaddy]

Hi Grit,

Lighting is a very critical part of a reef aquarium system and you are apt to get many different opinions and preferences for light choices.

What kind and how much light depends on what you intend to keep. If you are planning to keep soft corals and some less demanding LPS, VHO and PC are very good. If you plan to keep more light demanding corals, such as SPS or clams, the consensus is that metal halide lighting is best.

I prefer VHO over PC's as you have a wider choice of bulbs. I use the Ice Cap 660 electronic ballast, which will also drive PC or even normal fluorescents.

What size is your tank and what do you plan to keep? This info will help us in discussing more specific lighting.
Again, welcome to The Reef Tank!
Dick

[bgray]

Thanks Fishdaddy,

I have a 20gal long (and a 20gal high) tank in my office that I'd like to get some live rock going and see what happens. Eventually though, I'd like to get things stable enough to have a few mobile inverts such as starfish, shrimp, etc. Maybe a clownfish or two. As for the sessile inverts, something easy, maybe a mushroom or two? Still researching requirements and compatibility....a long way to go. Guess that's why I'm here!

Thanks

[mikeMersot]

I am sure I will catch some criticism for this, but it has worked very well for me in a similar size tank I recently set up for light experimentation purposes. If you dont plan on keeping any high light corals, and you dont want to spend a lot of money, build your own standard flourescent lighting. I have a 29 gal running for about 3 months with 2 20 watt standard flourescents, one 10k, one 50/50 on an Advanced Transformer ballast. The set up without the bulbs cost me about $20. You can set the bulbs right on the glass, although I recently built my own plexiglass hood since the old one restricted the light from reaching all corners of the tank. I have some different mushrooms and polyps in there and they are doing very well. I do feed them often though. If you would like instructions on what parts I used or how to wire the ballast email me at verbotenkaiser@hotmail.com
Mike

[fsa]

Grit, check out www.ahsuppy.com for diy compact lighting. Good prices and they answered my e-mails in just a day or two when I had questions. They also have a link to a diy hood with good pictures. With the compacts that I got from them, the ballast is mounted to the wood hood by screws. The lights themselves are held by two clips that screw onto the top of the hood. The endcaps hang free and are not touching the hood. My hood sits on top of a glass top.

[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: fsa ]

[Reefer94]

I believe a 20long is 36"?? If that's the case, you can buy 36" twintube ballasts at home depot for 15 bucks. I have two of them over my 30 gallon on a makeshift canopy... 2 super actinics, 2 actinic whites. 120watts total. I've kept a number of thing alive from porites to soft corals to mushrooms. If you have a canopy, home depot standard flourescent ballasts are the way to go. Of course, you'll still have to spend the $$ on bulbs.

[Reefer94]

You can click on my signature to get a larger picture of the tank I keep with 120 watts. If you only want mushrooms as you say. get one ballast. Add another if you decide to upgrade!

[Doug1]

My original reef was a 29 with a pair od dual 20watt NO lights. I would recommend the PC at www.ahsupply.com

[Junkzoo]

Welcome!! all i can say is : i have a 75 with 2-400W 10K MH's with 4-55W PC actinics.get the MOST "sun" you can in your tank, and avoid upgrading in the future, and enjoy! best part of upgrading to these lights is the fun of having all the good stuff, and not wondering later if you have enough!wait it out until you can get the most light for your buck!you will never regret it!get it now, or when you can afford it, and enjoy!
just my 2 cents,,,,

[bgray]

Thanks everybody. This is a great start.