Trautman Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 hi there. i have a biocube 29, and i need to upgrade the lighting to get it lookin' better, and so i can put the beautiful chalice coral that i just won (you rock stylaster) in the tank. what i have right now: bio cube 29, standard. what i need: enough lighting for the chalice to be thriving. open to any and all suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 most chalice are low light so i am thinkin you should be alright with power compacts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 [ most chalice are low light so i am thinkin you should be alright with power compacts? SHHH-he is asking about my MH-(laugh) Power compacts are “good” bulb to start out with; they have their limits- On a serious note and Lewis has seen my tank, I run dual 250 MH bulbs w/2 54 watt actinics. Yes some chalices like lower light but I have plenty on the sand bed in direct light- With chalices as acans and certain pieces "low light" is preferable but if you want say a clam or SPS or a nem-IMO Metal halide is the way to go. Regardless if I sell you the light or not-MH would be my suggestion, but then again some folks will chime in saying T5 is the way to go-its a never ending opinionated debate it is is personal preference. Funny thing though, I see the T5 crowd always justifying the T5's as you can grow anything under a T5 as you can with a Metal halide-so that in itself speaks volumes. Read between the lines...(laugh) I have yet to see the thread were someone says "I can grow it under a T5 do think I can with a metal halide"-(clap) You wont find that thread(nono) That should start a debate:eek: Anyway Not trying to sell you my MH light, its there if you are interested, if not it will sell easily enough, I just dont want you thinking you don't want a halide-I've owned T5's and every tank I have pulled them and went to MH-(laugh) Heck if you want I have a 24 inch 4 bulb T5 fixture as well with Moon Lights seperate timers and individual reflectors- They dont call me junkie for nothing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackaninny Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 The stock Biocube 29 has 2*36W PC bulbs. The stock bulbs can be replaced with 3rd party PC bulbs (just make sure the pin configuration is correct). You can also find some retro kits that will allow you to put larger wattage bulbs in there such as: http://www.nanocustoms.com/index.php?cPath=2&sort=&filter_id=2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 The stock Biocube 29 has 2*36W PC bulbs. The stock bulbs can be replaced with 3rd party PC bulbs (just make sure the pin configuration is correct). You can also find some retro kits that will allow you to put larger wattage bulbs in there such as: http://www.nanocustoms.com/index.php?cPath=2&sort=&filter_id=2 That’s not the debate I am looking for-DOH! PC is for "political correctness" it (they) has no place in reefing (not a real reef anyway-:eek:) (whistle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackaninny Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Here is a link to a 3rd party bulb company which I've been told will put out about 15-20% more light than the stock bulbs of the same wattage. http://www.nanocustoms.com/index.php?cPath=29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 its time for a "thats what she said" 30% more than !%@$# is still !!%@$# Just kiddign people, I am just biased (among other things) power compacts have their place in hobbyist reef tank, They just wont work for what I have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 if i get a metal halide, will i still need actinics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 [ Read between the lines...(laugh) I have yet to see the thread were someone says "I can grow it under a T5 do think I can with a metal halide"-(clap) You wont find that thread(nono) I thought about starting that thread myself....(laugh) I've always heard you can have clams under T-5's and not halides.(whistle) Well at least I'm covered I have T-5's and Halides!!!(clap) But in reality I would have to swing towards what Brad has been saying. I went through the what should I get for my tank and decided that go big or go home mentality. If you get halides you know that everything will always have a chance, where as with T5's you just never know if you get something that might just not make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 if i get a metal halide' date=' will i still need actinics?[/quote'] They are nice for a visual and the "dusk to dawn" effect. Presently I have just a halide over the 40 gallon but I run a phoenix bulb which is rather blue. To answer the question-no you dont have to have or "need" actinics-IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 okay cool, will i lose color though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackaninny Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 That's not the debate I am looking for-DOH! PC is for "political correctness" it (they) has no place in reefing (not a real reef anyway-:eek:) (whistle) Doing this from memory but a 400W MH is about 35% efficient so around 140W. MH have to be replaced about every 8-10 months and generate more heat than a T5. A MH fixture does penetrate deeper into a tank and gives off a "shimmer" effect. A T5 VHO is about 60% efficient so a 54W is about 33W which means a 6 bulb fixture would give you about 200W total - so you get more light output per watt from a fixture. T5 can go 18-24 months between replacement and run cooler so energy bills and maintenance is less expensive. T5 does not have the "shimmer" of a MH but you can find a wider variety of colors to tweak the look of your tank with a multi-bulb fixture. As mentioned above T5 do not seem to penetrate as deep into a tank which might be of concern if you have a tank deeper than 24" with certain corals. Pretty sure my numbers are correct but someone step in and correct me if I'm not. I know 'Junk is spoiling for a fight so I tried to word this post as neutral as possible. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 LOL-not really (a "fight" that is), its just the T5 vs MH question that comes to mind-its all up to the individual, each has its advantages its just personal preference IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 WHAT HAVE I STARTED!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Alright IMHO I think that traditional florecent are the best. not compacts just good old fashioned florecent lights................ Ok but in reality you will get answers from both sides. I have seen some amazing tanks with T5's but I have also seen some amazing halide tanks as well. It's a tough decision but if you don't buy Brad's light you might be missing out. Not sure what his price is on it but I just might look into it myself if you choose not to get it. The other advantage of halides is you don't typically need to run a heater in your tank as it keeps the water temp up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 haha oh jeeeze ... time for a new debate.... you don't need a heater! (at least thats what i have heard) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 oh man maybe i shouldnt of said anything!!. i would defiantly get metal halides if i was buying them or a 8 bulb T5 fixture. all i was really trying to say is that i dont think you need a metal halide for the chalice that you got. And Reef is right he has many chalice under metal halides and they do well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 We started with PCs then upgraded to HO T5s and now we only run MHs. With each upgrade, we noticed a big difference. I even ran some high end 3w CREE leds for a while. But to be honest, we get better growth and color from our cheap 250w 20k ebay bulbs and they last about 8 months. A single 250w MH over your 29g would be enough light to grow anything. We have a 4' cube running 4 250w MHs and a 20" cube running one 250w MH on the same sump, and we dont have any heat issues. If you ever come up this way, you're welcome to check out our set up. We've gotten better growth and color using MHs and they make more sense for us for cost efficiency. So we have to replace 5 MHs every 8 or so months for a total of about $55 with shipping. If we we're to switch to T5s it would cost much more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 WHAT HAVE I STARTED!!! Dont read into it, you have not started anything, we are just sharing info-text is black and white and everybody chiming in all know each other-(laugh) You are merely getting some info-its all good. I think what you can take away from this is there are many ways to skin a cat or more to point "light a tank"-:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 okay, good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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