[zook365]

Alright, so i have been going crazy reading threads and articles trying to figure out what i want to do to improve the lighting on my six gallon eclipse. But there are a lot of different opinions and i am very confused on what is right for my purpose and at a good price. I would like to keep some lps and even some sps coral in the tank but i still want the keep the existing hood. Metal halides are out of the question because they just run too hot and would never be able to fit in a eclipse hood. Every other light is welcome, i was looking at led lighting recently and have become very interested in Current USA PowerBrite LED lighting (probably two 50/50 strips). Some people say they are just for the look of metal halides, but other people say that they work fine alone to light a nano even for the corals that require higher powered lights. They are a little high in my price range but i would be willing to buy them as long as i dont have to change the bulbs for a long period of time, they evenly light the tank, and provide enough light for at least lps corals.

I also might be buying a twelve gallon eclipse tank from my friend and if i do, i will most likely use that instead of the six. But as of now im just looking for lighting for the six gallon.

All suggestions are welcome, thanks!

[BLKBRDTA]

If the length of your tank is around 16" then:

-9" Mini Aqualight CF 2X9W

Coralife Mini Aqualight Compact Fluorescent Fixture, 2X9W, 9 inch

-12" Satellite CF 1X18W

Satellite Single 18W Compact Fluorescent Lighting Current USA Satellite 12 inch Power Compact Light

Note: these lights will not fit in a canopy.

LED's are another option as well, but there is much controversy over that form of wave length supporting healthy corals and other species. I would only use LED's for Nocturnal lighting, rather than Diurnal lighting.

Let me know the dimensions of your tank though.

[zook365]

Alright thanks, The hood is irregular so i will post pics with a measuring tape for a better understanding of what room i am dealing with. The depth is two and one quarter inches in the front and two and a half towards the back.

[zook365]

Oops, it seems one of the photos i posted is of my bearded dragon. This is what is was supposed to be:

[BLKBRDTA]

Not a problem, cool dragon though. I used to have a fat tailed gecko and a chameleon as well. Anyways, If you are going to use the canopy over the tank, then you will have to go with a retro fit light (slimpaq style, I will attach more links of them.) Does your tank take on the same irregular shape as your hood does? I have a Bow front tank and finding a curved glass hood was quite a challenge.

Here are the links for the slimpaq lights that can go under a hood/canopy:

14" Nano Ballast 28W Power Compact Retrofit Kit - eBay (item 370051768409 end time Feb-07-09 22:41:28 PST)

Current USA Smartpaq Retrofit Kits 14 inch 1x32 Watt- ( - eBay (item 260346138470 end time Feb-11-09 19:01:08 PST)

Current-Usa 15" SunPaq Retrofit Kit 1-32 Watt SmartPaq - eBay (item 190251148790 end time Feb-07-09 12:07:04 PST)

15" Aquarium Light SunPaq Retrofit Kit 2-32 Watt - eBay (item 200253807351 end time Feb-08-09 05:19:19 PST)

To pull a few up.. Let me know if anything is helping zook.

[zook365]

Haha thanks, i have had him for awhile now. Reptiles and aquatic life are my passions. Yes i am getting lots of help, thank you. Here are some of the pics of the setup i currently am using the tank for.
I do alot of diving and snorkeling of of Cape Cod Massachusetts and just this summer i caught a VERY small snowy grouper and i have kept it in the eclipse since then. Along with the grouper i caught a quarter sized spotfin butterfly fish. I could not keep the butterfly fish alive because it wouldn't eat. . . anything. . . and i didnt have the proper setup for it. Thats the reason i have a small peace of live rock in it already because thought that it might have been able to feed from the organisms on it but that never happened and it died. The grouper eats anything and everything that fits in its mouth and it has quadrupled in size since i first caught it, i catch lots of other things too but thats for another thread if i wanted to list them all. Anyway, i will most likely remove the entire filtration system for a better one. But again im going to get carried away, so i will just leave it at that. You have given me some good ideas but i am going to have trouble with keeping something in between the light fixture in the hood and the water.

I have lots of room for moding failure with this hood because the one i am modding had a burnt out. . . whatever and i had bought a brand new one. So im just going to be moding the old one

[BLKBRDTA]

Thats a cool little fish you got there. He is for sure in the grouper family, you can just tell by his mouth. Snorkeling is a great hobby, I love going in Mexico, and Hawaii, the colors are just out of this world. And I will look for that thread you post about all the items you've captured. How did you end up capturing that grouper anyways? Alright, if you feel that modding your current light will be the best solution, then by all means go right ahead and do it.

[zook365]

Yeah it is a really cool fish, thats a bad pic though. I had just cleaned off the glass and it dulled it colors but it is usually a very dark black with very distinct white spots and a yellow tail. I think all of the tropical fish i catch came down as very small fish on the gulf stream. If you look hard enough and know what you are doing you find a lot of stuff. One time i found a big thing on unhatched squid eggs that i brought home and kept in a tank and they even hatched but died soon after The only tropical ones that i catch are snowy groupers and the butterfly fish, and i catch everything by sight and a small net in like six foot water (very hard, and its at low-tide with a strong current because its in a channel in a estuary) It is only one small area that i can find these fish and that is over a muscle bed, its like a nursery for juvenile fish. If i ever do get the chance i certainly will make that thread, i have caught a lot of weird stuff over the years, and if i hadnt caught and kept that grouper it would had died over the winter! I had a oyster toad fish for the longest time untill i had to release it, i have even had sharks and blue fish! And i keep it all in tanks until they get too big, thats when i let them go
I currently have some of the fish that i cauht this summer in a thirty gallon cold-saltwater atlantic shore style aquarium. It has a 7" fluke (winter flounder) and lots of black sea bass. I also had three small bluefish (only like four inches) and a juvenile northern king fish but those fout pasted away when my powere went out for five days
So anyway. . . i think i know what i want to do now, i will get a 30-40 watt kit to fit in the hood and add one of those led strips for the look if needed. The filtering will be custom for sure so if it is worth while i will keep you posted on what i do.

[BLKBRDTA]

Thats really cool man, sounds like a lot of fun catching all of them. And that sucks about the bluefish and king, my angel fish just passed away today from unknown reasons (parameters were fine.). Let me know how that lighting setup comes out, you should post some pictures of the finished product on this thread. Same thing goes with the filtering.. Looking forward to how it comes out, good luck with the modding too.

[zook365]

Thanks, i'll make sure i keep you/everyone posted. Sorry to hear about the angel fish

[zook365]

Oh i just found this, i have never seen or heard of this lighting but it looks kinda interesting and its the right size.

DIY LED Lighting Package for Aquarium Tank - eBay (item 310116112342 end time Jan-22-09 23:31:58 PST)


Tell me what you think

[BLKBRDTA]

Its is interesting, can't say I have ever seen one performing. But from what the specifications indicate, they throw off as much light as 4 T5's. I just dont know what the purple and red led's are for.. I think its pretty cool though if you want that look. Thank for the condolences about the angel too..

[zook365]

I'm not sure if i want to buy this item. . . the seller speaks little English and didn't understand my question i sent him i think. I asked the items width, general wattage, and if he had any pictures of it in use on a aquarium and his response was. . . "item is cannot using in usa"

[BLKBRDTA]

Hahaha, Oooo its one of them huh? Yea, I was just down that road too a couple weeks ago man. Usually, most of the LED items on eBay are sold as is and shipped from Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. I'm pretty sure what he means by that is the power adapter that plugs into the wall, is an Asian style 3 square prong adapter. I know they sell another adapter to convert this into an American outlet.. However I would be careful when purchasing items from people who post a sale in poorly written English. Trust me, I had a tough time finding LED Lunar lights that were not from overseas, and didnt require an adapter. Although the sellers name was Dong Bing and he lived on the coast of Cali... hmm... someone has ties to the family business back in Shanghai lol jk jk

[zook365]

Haha yeah i know, its kinda hard to find items that are at a good price that are not from across seas. I have made more plans for the custom filter anyway! I wen to a hardware store today and plexi glass costs a fortune! I also need to buy filter media, the bags that hold it, and two small 150 gph pumps along with other things but these are the important ones.
I also emailed the seller of the lighting more questions. . .
Like if he could list everything in the package and what i need to do in order use it with a usa style plug. . . i hope he understands me. . .

[BLKBRDTA]

Exactly, its like they know just what American aquarium hobbyists need and try to jack up the price because of it.. But your plans for the filtration sounds good to me. Are you constructing something along the lines of a nano sump with the plexiglass? And lets hope this guy understands you because if not then we may have an "American appliance, Europe outlet" incident which wont result in anything good.

[zook365]

Yes that's exactly what I'm doing, once i have the materials i will post the pictures.

About this light again though, it needs a 9 watt computer power supply and it doesn't come with one. I looked all over but couldn't find what i was looking for. . . or at least what i think im looking for It looks like it needs a 4-pin peripheral connector.

[BLKBRDTA]

Ok, yea thats cool then, best of luck with the construction on it. I saw that a computer power supply was needed, I will have to check out the auction more so see what is required to set this thing up.

[zook365]

Nah its fine, i doubt it will be very "safe" as i have already figured that out. I don't want to risk burning down my house anyway.

I think instead i am going to buy 2-32 watt sunpaq retrofit kit, a little pricey but it will be worth it in the long run

[BLKBRDTA]

Yea thats exactly what I was think. Plus I saw your other post, so I kinda figured you were dropping that idea. Thats good though Sunpaq Retros are worth the money, you will see a nice improvement on your nano..

[zook365]

Sorry i'm asking so many questions but do you think that a total of 64 watts over a tank that is only ten inches deep is too much? I mean i want to keep sps and have them grow fast and be healthy but i also like lps and softies.

Just checking. . i have been paranoid about this stuff

[BLKBRDTA]

Its not a problem Zach. I would rather you ask and not face complications later on, while not knowing what to do then. To answer your question in the easiest manner, it really depends on how you would judge too much.. The recommended amount of light for a tank starting at 10" deep would be 18W. However, at 12" deep the recommended power is around 40W, 16" would be 130W, 18" 234W, and it keeps going up the deeper it goes. So having said that, depending on how far your light will be from the surface and whether or not it will effect temperature, that would determine if 64W is too much. In my personal opinion I would go with a single 32W retrofit light that is compact to fit under the hood, and doesn't throw off a lot of heat. Im trying to find a light that will fit under your hood right now, but stick with fixtures along these lines:

Mini Aqualight 10K/Actinic 36W Nano Light Coralife 12" - eBay (item 290289046804 end time Feb-12-09 06:26:06 PST)


Mini Aqualight 10K/Actinic Nano Reef Light Coralife 9" - eBay (item 300286687299 end time Feb-12-09 06:11:06 PST)

8" NANO/REFUGIUM/AQUARIUM LIGHT HOOD SILVER 2 X 13W - eBay (item 230255449831 end time Feb-17-09 13:02:29 PST)

I'm not too sure about these lights going under canopy hoods, I have a similar light on my refugium and it heats up fast. Great light though. I will try and keep the options coming. However if you do decide to stick with the light you found from sunpaq, I am positive the do not recommend using the ballast over open water without installing the leg, meaning no hood.

[zook365]

Yes, i am planning on cutting a piece of plexiglass to size to fit directly in the hood. So i think i will just go with the 1-32 watt i guess? I really want to keep this tank compact and simple but still very functional so thats why im opting for a diy kit.

[BLKBRDTA]

Yea thats a good idea cutting plexiglass to fit the tank. you will be just fine with a 32W retrofit light, I know I have seen them on eBay, its like a slim single ballast and reflector that is compact enough to go in a hood.

[zook365]

Thanks, its better to be safe than regret it. I have just encountered a problem though. . . i had set up a five gallon nano tank, nothing special, not even a powerful light but enough to grow some coralline algae and keep the live rock in good condition. But, it had a small clown, a Bicolor Pseudochromis, and a blood shrimp. They got along great until the pseudochromis decided he was going to munch on the shrimp right after he had shed. . . . over night into the morning The shrimp died and i removed it when i was sure it had pasted away, i checked the parameters (they were perfect), and am now deciding what i want to do, buy another shrimp? Bring the pseudochromis back to the store? Or any other options. This is my mothers tank and she wanted goldfish in it in the first place but i wasn't about to let that happen and now she is getting very impatient. . . .

I loved that shrimp though lol