Matt's 20 gallon long

[Washburn82]

I also thought about this lil_fish but keep in mind how small my tank dimensions are. I thought 4 might fry my tank lol. 4 30' t5's on such a small tank seems like overkill. I could be wrong though. The beauty part is i could always buy another fixture and have 4 is the way i see it. But i really am hoping that 2 will be enough. i hope. Ill look into the 4 bulb fixtures and see how much of a difference there is in pice.

 

[Washburn82]

Not sure if there is such a thing as lighting overkill. But would love your opinions. I am now looking at the 30" Coralife Lunar Aqualight T5 HO is a high performance, energy efficient lighting fixture that is ideal for saltwater and marine aquariums. This sleek, high output fixture produces just the right balance of light for fish and corals with a combination of 2 - 10,000K daylight bulbs, 2 actinic blue bulbs and 2 LED moonlights. The lunar LEDs are directional and can be adjusted to give off a unique moon glow accent lighting throughout the tank. It features cooling fans with quick disconnect ballasts, LED transformer, individual power cords for the control of each bulb, an acrylic splash guard, 2 adjustable mounting brackets. 4x31watt.

My tank is a 20 gallon long dimensions are 12"x12"x30".My concern is my tank is only 1 ft deep, too much light? if theres such a thing for sw tanks.

 

[marcah]

I really believe there is such a thing as overkill for lighting, but that fixture remember the bulbs are obnly 24 watt each so you are looking at 96 watts of lighting which I believe will be fine over your tank..:D

 

[Washburn82]

Im actually getting the 30" model and it says the bulbs are 31 watts so im looking at 124 watts. Still ok? I read that watts are pretty much obsolete when it comes to tanks anymore and things like PAR (reflectors) are more important.

 

[marcah]

it will still be fine over the tank.. watts per gallon is fast becoming obsolete because of the use of LED's but those t-5's will be fine on your tank.. Just make sure you acclimate your corals when you get them...Starting from the bottom and moving them up into the placement you want..

 

[Washburn82]

Thanks for the advice. I basically want some lighting that will do for anything i might want to put in there, without having to upgrade again.

 

[marcah]

those will definately grow whatever you would want to put in there...:D

 

[Washburn82]

thats what i wanna hear!! ya! thanks Marach :)

 

[Washburn82]

I know there isnt much to see in my tank yet but heres a quick video. Please excuse my clown she always has to be center of attention :) Plus just got an upgrade on my phone and allows way better video capabilities. had to try it.

VID_20111214_070758.wmv - YouTube

 

[Washburn82]

So i kind of went on a spending spree today..oops. I got a firefish an anemone. For free my LFS guy gave it to me to see if i could handle it lol. I was very nervous about getting it.For the life of me i cant remember the anemones name. And my new coralife aqualight H.O t5's! wow what a difference. Went with the duel bulb. Illuminates my whole tank looks great !
My clown and firefish hit it off right away.

 

[Waddi]

That anemone looks very unhealthy too.

 

[Washburn82]

What makes you say that? im curious?

 

[ErinCahir]

How white it is...

 

[Washburn82]

Theres no such thing as a white anemone? I was told that is there colour

 

[Washburn82]

Some closer pics. My LFS owner has one of these in his tank for about a year now, and it looks exactly the same. So im kinda confused. This is about an hr after i put it in my tank.

 

[ErinCahir]

No... it should be more tan than white. There's no such thing as a white anemone.

 

[Washburn82]

Hmm i think im gonna return it then. Even though i got it for free i dont want a dying one in my tank. Thanks guys. Im assuming this is kind of like a bleaching effect? My first one ever dying would most likely ruin my anemone experience all togeather. Good thing i joined a forum lol. Thanks.

 

[ErinCahir]

That's a fantastic idea. You should also wait until your tank is more mature before you try adding another one.

 

[Washburn82]

Ya i hear that all the time Erin, but ive also heard of ppl adding them early and it works out. Its all on water quality right? Your right though i got caught up in the hype of a free one. He told me if i didnt want it to bring it back np so im off now to bring it back. Also with a white one like that is there any hope of bringing it back to great health? just curious

 

[ErinCahir]

There is hope of bringing it back.. it will be totally reliant on you to provide it the nutrition it needs, since the white color is caused by the lack of zooxanthellae, which is what gives it it's color, but also is what allows the anemone to turn light into energy.

And yes there are people that have added them early and it has worked out, but for the most part, it does not end well. It's all on water STABILITY. Older tanks, more established tanks have that over the new ones.