ok so here it is. my tank cover only has space for one light fixture..so wat do i do? i bought a coraline atinic light. its blue..is it ok to have this as my only light source? or is this just for at night? or should i have a regular. white - yellow light as my only light?
Corals do need the blue light(higher Kelvin) from what I am reading, but they will also require a decent wattage which an actinic may not be able to prode. Unless its a VHO actinic. It all depends on whetheror not you decide to keep corals and which types.
Blue actinics are o.k. for fish only tanks, fishes wouldn't care too much. But I'd highly recommend at least a 50/50 light. actinic/daylight. nice fluorescent combination, but it'll only gives you about 15-20 Ws per bulb. Also if you keep live rocks they would appreciate some good daylight source for successful coralline growing. + Whenever the coralline start to growing, you'll not gonna enjoy it without the daylight, because the deep spectrum of actinic would hide those deep purple, red, pink ( light pink can be noticeable with actinics only) coralline tunes. Actinic bulbs by itselfs are great to make a dust effect ( sunrise, sunset ), and then combined with a daylight bulb you have a greatly simulated daytime effect. If you like to keep your hood on your tank, just change for a 50/50 bulb. You'll notice the different immadietly.That's only an opinion of mine. Take Care and be lucky!
you will need both daylights + actinics for corals. you could also remove the lid on your tank then you can fit 2 or 3 lights on top, if you plan on fish that are jumpers i would recomend a canopy,do they sell a 50/50 bulb for your fixture?
Eazy,
My wife bought me my first set up for Christmas and the LFS basically sold her a frsh water tank and some salt RRRRRRRRRRRR - -but I have been upgrading filters, power heads and now I'm in the process of upgrading the entire system from my 20 gallon long to a 65 gallon w/sump - but i digress - I went from a single flouresent bulb to a power compact unit with a 10K "white, a blue actinic and an LED moon light - -this one is a satilite power compact system {very reasonably priced I paid 150.00 and seems to be a pretty good entry level lighting system - - I then built a custom wood box and resessed the light fixture into it and put an access lid to feed and check water condition - it keeps that glare from the underside of the lights you get when your sitting in the recliner watching TV too,lol -i do remove it to do maintinenece - -but it is working nicely - -just an idea for your tank
NOTE: use a good hard wood and good water resistant paint - - salt water is very caustic and the wood needs to be completly sealed or it will rot in the warm, wet salt environment
might be? this is 30" inches long 65 watt 10,000K white with 1 single LED in the middle and the actinic with a fan sucking air across it from an intake on the other side - - i love it
O.K, I see.. Yours the one with the single Sunpaq 50/50 bulb. Mine is the Satellite Dual. It has 2x40W. One of the is 6700/10000K combined and the others 460/420nm actinic. Only one moon led. You can't go wrong with these.. I think Currents are very affordable and high quality light fixtures. I hate to say that, but I think you overpaid for your system Snowboss. But the matter a fact is that you and your environmet are both like the new set up. It's like Coke.."you can't beat the feeling..":-)
I just went down and looked at the box - model #1014 dual current satilite power compact 6700/10000K 420nm/460nm actinic with Led moon phase light - - sounds just like yours no? and yes that was my last purchase from the LFS that sold my wife the original set up and I did pay to much but only 10-20 bucks and I didn't have to pay shipping so in my lil mind im even, lol - -but yeah the lights are great - hooked up a couple timers and the day was running - - - Snowboss {AL}
Nevermind about overpaying then.. You got the big boy!! The price wasn't too bad then. Good luck with it, I deal with Currents for approx 4 years now, and they never dissapointed me.
Very funny you guys brought this up as I was just at work an saw a current satellite. setup in my bosses office on his reef tank. I am going to order one tonight. I was thinking
Dual Daylight 6,700k/10,000k
Dual Actinic 420nm/460nm
LunarLight & Moon
the price is 169.99 and total watts is 192 (saltycritter.com)
Im wondering if one 10,000K and one 460nm would suite my needs with a total watts of 92. I haven't even added fish but i know down the road im going to purchase corals. Should I just get this purchase over with lol
I love my satilite PC lights - - my tank is only 12 inches tall to your 22inches - -i think i would ask around about corals - -might need a higher powered light to get through 22 inches of water - -that light is an awsome set up and tou may be fine with it or just have to stick to certain types of corals - -or set them up higher in the tank - 169.00 is getting to the max, watch your shipping - -check ebay and google current satilite lighting systems - -might be cheaper to buy direct - - i paid 150.00 for mine at a crappy LFS because he had them sitting on the shelf for a long time - - -LMAO and the 150 was 50% off - -so be careful
groovy....i know im working with a deep tank but i was housing cichlids before the sw game, I will make sure my rock work takes it into consideration, I would have loved a longer shorter tank for free swimmers but ill make it work.
