I am going to be building a canopy for my 30 gallon soon, and trying to decide what type of lighting to provide, I currently have a power compact fixture on it now, but from what I keep reading, it's not really all that great, so I am going to upgrade my lighting, should I go with MH's or T5's?
Have a lighting question?
- Thread starter reefking
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What kind of PC fixture do you have on your 30? I have a 30" 65x2 PC setup from Aquatraders on my 20g long and it's very bright.
If you have a 36" tank, I'd advise building a setup from AH Supply with one of their "beasts." It's a 96w PC with a specialized reflector. It requires some DIY, but it puts a serious amount of light in your tank without the annoying fans of the typical PC fixtures. I have one of their 55w kits over my 37 and it's very impressive.
If you have a 36" tank, I'd advise building a setup from AH Supply with one of their "beasts." It's a 96w PC with a specialized reflector. It requires some DIY, but it puts a serious amount of light in your tank without the annoying fans of the typical PC fixtures. I have one of their 55w kits over my 37 and it's very impressive.
if you are looking for better lighting, MH and t5s with both blow PC out of the water. I have MH right now, and woudl like to eventualy go to t5. i like them better. but before you dish ou tons of money, what are you lookign to keep?
I would like to keep anything I can, my plan was to put the MH in the middle of the canopy, two t5's one in front and one in back (actinic and daylight), my question is would that be too much light for a 30 gallon? I have a current pc fixture right now and want something stronger when I build my canopy.
I think my lfs told me for my size tank, that a 175 would be perfect, what do you think? Would this setup really heat up my water?
175w + 36W+ from the T5s = 211W of light = 7 WPG, enough light for any thing, but you can never have too much light.
But having a 30 gallon would this type of lighting make my tank too hot, because I don't have the kind of money for a chiller? Someone told when I build my canopy if I keep the lights about 8 inches above the water that I should be ok, does this sound right?
you should be fine about heat depending on wher eyou live. Up here in CT, we have a window AC to keep me AND the fish at the right temp. But we are in the hottest room in the house.
you can also make sure you are fans in your fixture, and even a fan pointing at the surface of your water. It will cause a lot of evaporation, but that evaporation will also remove heat.
and a 175 watt halide will let you keep jsut about everything as long as you have yoru rockwork high. But a 250 will let you keep anything jsut about anywhere.
you can also make sure you are fans in your fixture, and even a fan pointing at the surface of your water. It will cause a lot of evaporation, but that evaporation will also remove heat.
and a 175 watt halide will let you keep jsut about everything as long as you have yoru rockwork high. But a 250 will let you keep anything jsut about anywhere.