30G PC lighting question.

[tuthelimit]

I have recently decided to venture into the saltwater realm and I have a question concerning lighting. I was given one of those brand new Oceanic 30 gallon cube tanks, which is too small for any of my current fish. The dimensions are about 20.5 x 18.5 x 21.5 inches.

What are my lighting options? I use power compact lighting on my terrariums and would prefer that to using a MH fixture. Oceanic does not make a PC light that size (20”). The two light fixtures I am interested in are: the Custom Sea life PC moon light and the Coralife Aqua light. I never have used custom sea life PC before. It is advertised to have 2 x 40W bulbs plus the moon light feature, which I find very cool. However, on custom sea life’s website they advertise the fixture to have 2 x 32w bulbs. Does any one know which it really comes with? I have used Coralife’s PCs before but I don’t really get the feeling they reflect light as well as some of the more expensive fixtures on the market. The particular model I am considering uses a single 96w bulb.

This is where I am clueless. I really don’t have a clue which one to buy. Maybe to help the board out, I plan on simply keeping live rock with fire shrimp and some purple fire fish. I realize they don’t live in EXTREMELY bright environments, but I would like to keep my options open if I ever decided to add some sort of soft coral.

Thanks,
-Richard

[H20cooled]

I have a 37 gal tank and I will be adding lighting to mine soon. I plan to add 1 250W MH retro kit to the tank. I will probably get the kit from DyiReef (http://www.diyreef.com/shop/index.php?cPath=39)

Rich

[tuthelimit]

Maybe MH is the only way to go. I don't have a cap for this small tank so I believe my only option would be one of those hanging pendants. $200 bucks is about the cheapest I can find them...

-Richard

[H20cooled]

Where did you find a hanging pendant for under $200? I was considering one but they all seem VERY expensive.

Rich

[tuthelimit]

Well they are all really expensive. The one I am referring too is $200 everywhere. I know that Petsolutions (http://www.petsolutions.com/cgi-bin/cgiitmls?m=ThisP&p=1045.130000&l=29) has them, but they are pretty simple. The advantage to the more expensive hanging fixtures seems to be that they lay the bulb horizontally and usually contain a couple actinic PCs.

Maybe I should lower my standard going back to my original question... would those two PCs I mention supply enough light to grow coralline algae??

Thanks

[Wazzucycler]

Originally posted by tuthelimit
I never have used custom sea life PC before. It is advertised to have 2 x 40W bulbs plus the moon light feature, which I find very cool. However, on custom sea life’s website they advertise the fixture to have 2 x 32w bulbs. Does any one know which it really comes with?

I just got the 20" custom sea life moon light for my 10 gallon nano-reef yesterday actaully. I LOVE IT! It has 2 40watt bulbs. I was suprised by this too as I saw it advertised as a 2 x 32. The moon light is very cool. Im not sure if its gonna give you enough light all over the 30 gallon but the light it will give you is awesome. The reflector is very good, the cooling fan works great! The water temp is actually cooler than the stock 15w bulb. I got my from Dr. Foster and Smith for like 110? Anyway thats my sales pitch! Gonna get some corals tomorrow!

Jeff

(saw the later post) The light will provide plenty for coraline algae. Its Awesome!