Lighting Question for New 29g Setup

thatdog2202

thatdog2202

Small Fish
#1
Mar 19, 2006
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#1
Okay still being a newbie I am trying to make sure I have the right lighting setup for the fish package I plan on getting. Could some one please tell me what they think. Here is the beginning package that I am looking at purchasing which includes fish and corals.

Red Fromia Starfish 1.5-2"
Royal Gramma .75-1.25"
One (1) Small Ocellaris Clownfish .75-1.25"
One (1) Medium Ocellaris Clownfish 1.25-2"
Long Tentacle Anemone 3-5"
Cleaner Shrimp .75-1.25"
Yellow Polyps 3-4"
Fluorescent Green Star Polyps 3-4"
Crocea Clam 2-2.5"

I currently have a light fixture with 2 55w power compacts one is a 10k and one is a actinic blue. The depth of my tank is ruffly 16-17" any help would be greatly appreciated.

Personally I'm thinking this won't be enough lighting for the clam, I'm thinking I might have to go with a metal halide, if that is the case does anybody have any recommendations? The width of my tank is 30 inches, so I'm assuming I might have to either lay a 24" fixture on top of the glass cover or possibly try to mount some sort of fixture to my canopy.
 

SALTY WATERS

SALTY WATERS

Large Fish
#2
Feb 6, 2005
893
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47
Waterloo, ON Canada
#2
When you say "beginning package" it kind of scares me...I hope you don't plan on adding these all at once, or even anytime soon???

From what I recall, your tank is a 29g w/10g sump and has been up and running for approximately 2 weeks now. This would mean in about another week or two; as long as your water perameters permit, you will be ready to add in a clean-up crew (ie. snails & hermits etc...). Then in a few weeks following you will be ready to start stocking your tank "SLOWLY".

Your lighting is not to bad, but I would say you are correct in that it will not be enough to support the Crocea Clam; although you may be able to get away with it if it is place near the very top of the tank.

The other thing to consider is that the Long Tentical Anemone can grow quite big; approximately 1'8" so a 29g tank is going to be tight and limit what else you can add to the tank in the future. As well a deep substrate of approximately 4" is suggested in the aquarium to provide for this anemone.

Here is a 24" 1x150 watt 10,000K MH lamp, 2x65 watt True Actinic 03 Blue PC lamps, 2x1 watt Lunar Blue-Moon-Glow LED lamps that would be sufficiant.
But with that hood you have on your tank you will be limited in your mounting opptions.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=30708&category_id=1863&pcid1=1843
 

thatdog2202

thatdog2202

Small Fish
#3
Mar 19, 2006
20
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#3
Well let me assure you this is just purely the "planning" stage. This package is what I found on vividaquariums.com for a good price of $154. It was what was considered a good package for a "nano tank."

Basically I'm using this as kind of my blueprint. I want to make sure I have everything I will need to be able to maintain this kind of lifestock. My tank is still cycling, and I definitely know that the clean-up crew is the first set of critters to hit my tank. Again for me the "planning" is crucial. I want to have enough time to figure out exactly what lighting I need, budget the purchase of it, and then figure out how I'm going to install the thing in my canopy.
 

thatdog2202

thatdog2202

Small Fish
#5
Mar 19, 2006
20
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#5
dbacksrat: Couple of questions for you. Does the fixture reach across the
30" width of your tank? Second, how high does it sit above your tank because I have a canopy I have to worry about. Thanks.
 

SALTY WATERS

SALTY WATERS

Large Fish
#6
Feb 6, 2005
893
2
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47
Waterloo, ON Canada
#6
Good to hear your going to take your time and by the sounds of it your putting a lot of planing into it *thumbsups. So many people make the mistake of rushing things at the begining, but PATIENCE is the key!

I know you spent all that money on the hood, but would you consider going hoodless? The reason I say this is you will have more options for mounting your light system and as well it will allow for better gas/oxygen exchange which is quite important; especially if your not running a skimmer!
 

thatdog2202

thatdog2202

Small Fish
#12
Mar 19, 2006
20
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#12
I hoping to be able to keep my canopy and just remove my glass top that I currently have on it, which supports the light that basically lays on the glass right now. I've only got so much room between the tank and the canopy top, that's why I was asking how tall the fixture stood.


For those that are worried about the about of oxygen, once I have something to suspend my light, I should be able to remove the glass cover I've currently got on it and additionally the canopy is completely open in the back... shouldn't this be enough?

So everybody knows what I'm talking about here is a picture of the tank.

 

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A

aresgod

Superstar Fish
#13
Jan 14, 2004
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#13
where do you live? and is your house air conditioned? you will have serious heat issues with your tank in the summer....I wouldnt worry about gas exchange, esp if you have an open sump and protien skimmer, heat will be the main issue here. You might need to invest in a chiller...which is a serious expense.
 

thatdog2202

thatdog2202

Small Fish
#14
Mar 19, 2006
20
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#14
I live in California it tends to be hot during the day but tends to cool down at night because I'm out in the desert. I don't think it should be an issue I usually keep the house pretty cool during the summer.
 

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dbacksrat

dbacksrat

Superstar Fish
#15
Jun 3, 2003
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Glendale, AZ
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#15
I forgot to mention that the Orbit fixture I have cannot be used with a full hood like that. I have serious heat issues here in AZ, and I have an open top. I can't imagine what it would be like with a hood...probably a fish and coral fry in my tank.
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#16
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
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#16
I would use a single 10K metal halide - whether or not you use actinic supplementation is up to your tastes.
i would not mount it closer than 9 inches to the water. It will cover 30 inches. Any closer it may not cover 30, will increase water temp too much and you risk splashing the bulb and it exploding.
I would not have a cover glass, and would not expect to use a full hood.
 

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