What should I do? (1 Viewer)

[djreef]

I've just inherited a 12 gallon nano - bone dry - on the stipulation that I take some misfit corals off of a friend's (Jeff, for those of you who know him) hands. The corals have been residing in his sump (something kicks the crap outta them in the main tank) for the past year, or so. The corals are 2 Trachyphyllias, and a Blasto. All are awesome looking corals. My dilemma is this. Do I try to mod the canopy, in order to add more PC lighting (which is prob only going to be another 13 watts), which would be more than adequate for these guys as long as I feed them regularly, or do I spend the extra 300 bux and drop a 250 watt 20000K HQI pendant over it so that I can add other things - like a small T. crocea, and acros. Oh, BTW for those that don't know me - my middle name is Overkill. I really want to trick this out, but I'm on the fence about dropping $300+ on a hand me down system. I have a feeling that this is going to get outta control again, regardless what I decide.

DJ
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[monica]

I would say go with the MH. That way you can convert it to a new tank when you out grow that one.

 

[sultros]

Sounds like a bit much to be throwing into a 12 gal nano

Overkill I guess

How big are these Trach's? Radiata or Geoffryi?

 

[imsuperjp]

you should have been at aquatic center earlier today. Kenny gave away a 250W ballast and pendant for free.

 

[fishcraze]

I saw a lot of people on nanoreef retrofit a 70w or 150w HQI bulb to their 12gal nano cube.. and that should be enough for you to keep those stuffs you want. In fact, I ordered a 70w HQI feature for my fuge last weekend .. and should receive it this week. You can stop by to check the light out if you want. The whole system (ballast, bulb, reflector.. all wire up) costed $155 shipped.

 

[Guest]

quoc, what bulbs are an option to the light system you ordered? only 10k's?

 

[tvu]

drlamps on nano-reef.com sells mh lights for nanos. matt gecko builds the special hood/canopy to house the lights. only problem is it will cost you around $300. You probably won't be able to mount MH into the factory hood without melting it when turned on.

I have a moded hood on my nano cube which has 2x24w of pc lighting and 6 moonlights(from marsh)but I only keep zoas, xenia, gsp and other not so demanding corals. There are others on nano-reef that have 24w + 32w pc or 3x32w pc of lighting. There are many options you have for mods. Just check out nano-reef.com.

also, you'll need to install a fan into the canopy for heat issues.

Best of luck,

tvu

 

[fishcraze]

Invinc., i think you can get the 20k for 70w & 150w. the one i get is 10k ushio. I ordered it directly from Dr.Lamp as tvu mentioned.

 

[Guest]

I want to see pics quoc

 

[fishcraze]

Here you go, invinc. the pendant is just a cheap, retrofit halogen flood light that you can get from Home Depot. If you want a nice HQI pendant, they have it to but it would get expensive ==> ~$240 for the system. I'm going to use this system for my fuge so i can careless about the look if it saves me $100

 

[Guest]

Why does one put such strong lights on a Fuge? What grows there that needs SPS levels?

 

[fishcraze]

i'll split my fuge to 2 sections: one for macro and the other for frags since my fuge is pretty large (55gal). don't want to keep the frags in the display tank. also, 70w is not really super strong light. i intended to order the 150w for stronger lighting but afraid the heat issues and more duty on my chiller. The 70w doesn't put out much heat as I see it from a friend's system.

 

[djreef]

Thanx guys,

I plan on taking the hood completely off of it for heat issues, if I go the pendant route. Less than 10gallons of actual water is going to boil with the lighting right on top of it. And the canopy would definitely catch fire. The tank is going to be sitting on my bar. There are cabinets sitting directly behind that I can suspend the fixture from. I already have a fan located on the end pulling air across the bar, plus a ceiling fan in the dining room above.

If I go 10000K, then I'll feel safe with 150watts over a T crocea, 20000K I think I'm going to have to step up. I'm still undecided as to what color temp I'm going to go with. If I hang the pendant, I'm not going to be able to do actinic PCs so the color temp is kinda important for the look I want.

Sultros - they are radiatas, both are sweet. This will actually be my second time to own the orange one. I gave him to Jeff about a year and a half ago. I'm also concerned that I may burn them with too much PAR, so I'm going to have to shade them some how. I may only be able to take one as they're both pretty good sized.

imsuperjp - that's my luck.

Let me know if you guys run across anymore real good deals. Something like that might force my hand one way or another .

fishcraze - how much was the HD setup total?


DJ
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[tvu]

djreef, are you also planning of setting up an auto-topoff? You may need to think about it since evaporation in a small nano can be a huge swing in salinity.

 

[fishcraze]

The HD setup is $155 shipped. if you don't use the hood and have a small fan to blow across the top, the 70w shouldn't put too much heat on your nano.

 

[djreef]

tvu -yea that's one of the logistical details I'm sweating right now.

DJ
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