Light for Mantis/Macro/Mangrove Nano

[Steve Erekson]

I'm in the process of getting together an equipment list for my Wennerae Mantis tank I'm looking to build in about a month. It's going to be a small tank like a 10g or 15g. I won't really be growing any corals beyond whatever comes in on my TBS rock, but I really want some macro algaes that come in on the rock to thrive as well as any others I throw in there. Also I'm going to grow a bonsai mangrove out of the tank and above it.

So I need one or possibly two pendant style lights that ideally can have some flexible mounting options so I can point them at an angle. This is going to be a very shallow water look, if not a downright freshwater look. I don't want to spend a ton of money especially one a fixture that has a bunch of blue LEDs that I'll barely be using, so no $500+ fixtures meant for traditional reefs. Does anyone know of some decent cost Par38 bulbs or something similar that is mostly white LEDs? I still need decent PAR for growing macros and the mangrove. At this point I'm even considering throwing a 150w halide above it with a 10k bulb.

 

[Spare time]

Mybe something like this

I have a comparable one and it looks nice. The only problem is that it doesn't stand up the best as the lights can fall over from the weight of the bulb.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Mybe something like this

I have a comparable one and it looks nice. The only problem is that it doesn't stand up the best as the lights can fall over from the weight of the bulb.

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[Spare time]

Image appears to be broken

Sorry I meant to place a link. Its called Bozily aqualium light and is a dual bulb clamp light. However, I think any light will be fine. Getting a coral-ish light (meaning decent blue, since thats what plant use best) will help the mangroves grow better.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Sorry I meant to place a link. Its called Bozily aqualium light and is a dual bulb clamp light. However, I think any light will be fine. Getting a coral-ish light (meaning decent blue, since thats what plant use best) will help the mangroves grow better.

Might have to agree to disagree there. I've run plenty of T5 Bulbs and your standard Blue plus might grow corals like weeds but can't grow macros like a traditional white 6500k can. You gotta have those red peaks and carotenoid peaks too.

Honestly at this point I'm leaning to stealing one of my Reefbrite 50/50 strips off my 20 long and attaching that to a 2x24w T5 unit running a Coral Plus (or maybe Purple Plus) and a 6500k Geisemmann Midday. So many of these lower priced LED units I just have no clue what the coloration is going to be. At least I know what different T5 bulb combos do from experience.

 

[Spare time]

Might have to agree to disagree there. I've run plenty of T5 Bulbs and your standard Blue plus might grow corals like weeds but can't grow macros like a traditional white 6500k can. You gotta have those red peaks and carotenoid peaks too.

Honestly at this point I'm leaning to stealing one of my Reefbrite 50/50 strips off my 20 long and attaching that to a 2x24w T5 unit running a Coral Plus (or maybe Purple Plus) and a 6500k Geisemmann Midday. So many of these lower priced LED units I just have no clue what the coloration is going to be. At least I know what different T5 bulb combos do from experience.

Mangroves are plants not macroalgae have Chlorophyll A and B and, and Zooxanthellae has Chlorophyll A. Cholophyll A peaks at around 460nm. White is consistent of a wide spectrum of colors, much of which is useless for the typical green plant.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Mangroves are plants not macroalgae have Chlorophyll A and B and, and Zooxanthellae has Chlorophyll A. Cholophyll A peaks at around 460nm. White is consistent of a wide spectrum of colors, much of which is useless for the typical green plant.

Not all white lights are the same. The 6500k T5 bulbs have three major peaks. One around 450nm (A), one at 550nm (carotenoid), and one around 650nm (B). There are others in between but these three spikes are the vast majority of the energy and still result in us seeing white light. These bulbs are often called "triphosphor" bulbs as they use three different phosphor coatings to achieve these three peaks.

Red light is very important for terrestrial plants and macros as well as blue which is why most macro setups and horticultural LEDs are a mix of red and blue, often much more red than blue. But because visually I don't want to see my growth under a red or magenta combo I choose a full spectrum T5 which hits all the important spectrums while also looking visually pleasing.