Light Setup for NEWBIE

Vleis Visagie

Be good or be good at it
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Hey guys,

So the light setup also scares me a bit, there are so many possibilities. CRAZY.

My tank is only 600x300x300 & ill prob have at most 3 fishies.

Not sure what corals im gonna get, but i like the one that "luminate" under purple light, but not sure if that light work with my small talk.

I dnt even know all the coral names yes. I did see one of the sponsors in cape town have a nice FRAG tank, ill try to familiarize myself with some of those,

What would be the best setup for me or how should i approach this?

Dankie

Vleis
 
Simplest and easiest way is to probably get some 24w T5's, 2 or 3 tubes would be perfect for that sized tank. Unless you want to go the LED route?
 
I would suggest starting with softies for corals as they are the easiest for beginners. As for lighting go through the For Sale section for a decent second hand unit. Most guys will start off with t5's but Led's are cheap for that size setup. You need to set your self a budget and work from there.
 
Will the T5's run day and night? Saw some people give differant light at night
No, well, depends on what/how many tubes you have. For example if you have one blue tube and one white tube then you can leave the blue tube on at night to see the luminous corals glow. During the day you will have both tubes on. Or if you buy an LED light then some of them will have a moonlight option which again is normally a few blue lights that stay on overnight.:)
 
as mentioned above, i would make a DIY T5 fitting with 4 24w tubes, only because most ballasts are dual.
2 blue and 2 12k
then start with softies as i mentioned in your other thread :)
 
@Vleis Visagie maybe start a tank build thread and have all your questions in one area. It can get confusing jumping from one thread to the other. Just easier for you and for us to keep track of what was asked and what answers you received.
 
You can also DIY a small moonlight to see the corals glow at night. Building it is fairly uncomplicated and quite cheap.

Personally I would go LED for this size tank and run with softies and eventually one or two lps for some extra movement on the reef.
 
Hahaha this is definitely the most confusing and scary part when you start out. Lots of "light reading" before bed time :tt2:

Agree with Superfrog - I would also go with LED.
 
Nice to see someone new in the hobby.
I would personally go the LED route . I orderd a custom LED unit from Improved Living PE . They will send you parts to DIY or they will build it for you. The pricing is very good , it also comes with a controller to simulate sunrise and sunset. Perhaps a get a quote and compare . IMHO if you buy cheap you will just end up replacing it later.
 
Nice to see someone new in the hobby.
I would personally go the LED route . I orderd a custom LED unit from Improved Living PE . They will send you parts to DIY or they will build it for you. The pricing is very good , it also comes with a controller to simulate sunrise and sunset. Perhaps a get a quote and compare . IMHO if you buy cheap you will just end up replacing it later.

I requested a quote. heheheh

Thanks bud
 
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On that size tank, 2 or 4 tube T5 24W or 39w would be more than enough.

As this is your first setup ever. Check the for sale section for a secondhand t5 unit. Can always later upgrade the light unit after a year. And believe me, if you really get stung by this hobby, you will upgrade your tank within a year to a bigger tank and then whatever LED option you got now will be insufficient anyway.

Can always keep this tank with T5 unit as a quarantine system later when you upgrade your display.
 
On that size tank, 2 or 4 tube T5 24W or 39w would be more than enough.

As this is your first setup ever. Check the for sale section for a secondhand t5 unit. Can always later upgrade the light unit after a year. And believe me, if you really get stung by this hobby, you will upgrade your tank within a year to a bigger tank and then whatever LED option you got now will be insufficient anyway.

Can always keep this tank with T5 unit as a quarantine system later when you upgrade your display.

Good idea, I already want a bigger tank & i didnt even start yet.

But the fund are low at the moment so a bigger tank will take time. Heheheh :)
 
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