Need Lighting Help

[TaylorS]

I have 10 gallon tank with two clowns, 1 carpet anemone, 1 red chili coral, a shrimp, and some random clean up crew members.

I recently bought a glass top for my tank rather than using a hood that has white LED lighting installed in it and was looking at a new light setup for when I switch to the glass lid. I've been looking at the 20" Aqueon LED Aquarium Light Fixture that has space for 3 LED lamps.

The unit comes with a built in Moon Glow accent light and one Day White LED leaving 2 spaces for the Blu LED and a ColorMax.

Would this be a good choice of lighting if I'm planning on putting some more corals in? It seems very affordable and I'm not wanting to spend an arm and a leg.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[mcarroll]

I think I'd consider the submersible Tunze 8850 LEDs. Magnetically mounted, full spectrum/adjustable.

@rvitko at [HASHTAG]#tunze[/HASHTAG] can confirm if you are curious, but I think you'll need one or two.

 

[TaylorS]

There's nothing more affordable than that?

 

[mcarroll]

You've got an unusual use-case with your cover glass. It's going to kill the intensity from most reef lights, so you're not going to have the same room to "skimp" as you might on an open tank.

The Tunze's are the only light I know that works with your "limit" of having the cover glass without affecting its performance. You might be able to get away with a single unit, which is only $150....which seems fairly affordable for what it is.

The most affordable LED option I know of is to build your own GU10-based fixture. It's really ideal for a nano tank like yours, but it can be scaled up to about any tank. For your tank (20 inches long?) it would cost between $30 and $60 in parts.

Check this thread out and let me know if it looks interesting. (It's a huge thread...if you're short on time, at least check out the first post....lots of detail there.)
http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/267432-gu10-led-build-thread-chinese-ebay-lights/

 

[scranton]

Just curious why the glass lid?
Bang for the buck I love mars aqua leds off ebay

 

[TaylorS]

Just curious why the glass lid?
Bang for the buck I love mars aqua leds off ebay

I'm fairly new to the reef world and liked that I could see through the top. It's currently not working well with my filter in the back though. Easier to not have a lid at all?

 

[jsker]

Think of putting a lid on your tank, like putting a lid on a pop/soda/soft-drink bottle. 1. with time the gasses build up and the Co2 builds up. Water is cheap with evaporation and fish and coral get expensive.
take the glass off, and if you are concerned with the fish jumping out get some egg crate light covers and place those on the tank, also your light will shine through better. :) and you might have a better result with lighting