Incandescent?

[chargerfan]

I just finished setting up a 10 Gallon kit that I'm planning to set up as a Nano tank. However, I'm a little worried that the type of lighting it came with, won't be enough to run a Nano.

It has a standard hood that will hold two incandescent lights. I'm planning to add soft corals only. Will two incandescent lights be enough to support my soft corals? Plus, it is only 10 Gallons, so I'm pretty optimistic as to how far two incandescents can go.

As far as filtration, I understand that live rock and live sand will do the job, as long as I have good mechanical filtration to back it up. In fact, I'm planning to purchase an AC-Mini, or even an AC-300. I notice that the AC's have pretty big chambers which can be used as small refugiums to put macroaglae in.

So basically, I'd just like to know whether or not the two incandescent bulbs will be enough for my 10 Gallon, and anymore helpful tips you can give. Thanks.

[tabwyo]

You can get PC lights that fit the mogule sockets in that incandescent hood. They are a wal-mart and you can find them at liveaquaria.com. That will be more than enough light for softies. They will crank out roughly 2 watts per gallonn.

[tabwyo]

Plus they are only like 9 bucks.

[jdbassin]

Pet solutions I believe carrys some of the screw in pcs that are 20w each instead of just 10


jd

[chargerfan]

Ohhh... I see... For some weird reason I thought PC lights were for hoods with flourescent fixtures.

Anyways... About live sand... how essential is live/aragonite sand to a nano reef system? I've been thinking about adding LR and corals with some colored gravel instead of sand. It's totally achievable.... and I know many people here will discourage me from doing it since live sand seems to be the way to go... but really, how would replacing live sand with gravel affect the nano-reef?

[jdbassin]

The colored gravel avail at petstores iks made for freshwater fish only, I would do nothing to help buffer the ph and there may be various dyes or minerals namely silicate that would obviously adversly affect your reff aquarium. Most so not for saltwater use right on the package


jd

[chargerfan]

Oh okay cool... Actually I asked because I bought a bag of colored gravel at Petsmart and it said "Safe for Freshwater AND Saltwater use"... and of course it had the usual "epoxy coated...blah blah". So immediately I thought, why not just use gravel instead of the sand?... and of course you just told me why lol.

Okay... so got my lighting questions and gravel questions out of the way... How about filtration?

Like I said earlier, I was planning to simply run a Modified AC-300 on my tank. Will that type of filtration be enough to keep the water clean in my 10 Gallon? I know that a skimmer isn't necessary, but I was thinking, if an AC-300/Fuge along with weekly water changes can keep my tank sparkling clean, then I don't see the necessity for investing in a protein skimmer. Then again, my first two theories on the lighting and gravel have been corrected lol, so again I'm looking to see if my plan for filtration will hold up against the experienced reefer minds here hehehe.

[jdbassin]

I've been curious about the aqua clear fuge thing. It seems to me it should work great but I have no personal experience with it. With diligence in changing water a protein skimmer prob wouldn't be necessary but sounds like a good opportunity to experiment with a DIY nano skimmer project . I'm not gonna say yea or nay on the aqua clear fuge thing. I'm very curious though if others have had sucess with this type of filter as I'm thinking of doing a nano soon myself


jd

[darthteddy]

Any one else thinking ac-300 skimmer mod. Thatd be the best way to go.

[chargerfan]

That AC300/Skimmer Mod you're talking about, is just the AC-300 with the Surface Skimmer with it, right?... Or are you talking about something else? If you are, please fill me in hehe.

About the lighting (again)... I looked up those PC Lights that can be screwed in to fit the mogul sockets... in fact, I was surprised I had some of em' lying around the garage. But... Those lights are pretty ugly... I mean, theres a yellow cast that I think will contribute to algae growth. Yes, it may be pushin 2 Watts per gallon, but its that ugly yellowish pee light.

I've looked around and haven't really seen where those Screw-in PC lights come in bright white/bluish color that would imitate an actinic blue. They all seem to be that yellow pee-looking shade when they hit the water.

Can anyone confirm that I'm stuck with the lemonade, or are there more options?

[jdbassin]

not the common ones you buy at wall mart petsolutions.com has them in 6500k, 50/50 and 10 and they are by no means yellow

jd

[tabwyo]

WWW.liveaquaria.com

55/50 10k & 03 blue product #ma-15494

That should do ya just fine.

[chargerfan]

Thank you!!!

I'd give you a hug, but you might file a restraining order.

Thanks again!

[Rick O]

I seriously doubt you'll be able to sustain any photosynthetic corals under 20w of lighting. You may be able to get some mushrooms to live but even those I have some doubts about.

Coralife makes a PC fixture that has a 96 watt quad bulb that you can get for $90.
http://www.reeftanklighting.com/

[tabwyo]

You put a 96W over a 10g and you got light enough for almost anything. 2 10w pc's will keep softies and non light demanding critters. Get the 20w pc's and you are lookin at low end inverts like shrooms and lower light LPS.