is it enough?

[txgulf]

Does anybody have any experience using the screw in 9 watt 50/50 PC's from coralife? I have four of these over a 20L and am wondering what they will support.

 

[Anonymous]

Greetings, and welcome to reefs.org, tg.

 

[Anonymous]

Mainly polyps and mushrooms, you might get away with some softies and/or LPS maybe...SPS is outta the question...

 

[Anonymous]

Leathers (Sarcophyton spp.), maybe some Trachyphyllia, Tridacna derasa, green star polyps fo' sho'..

But, the question remains, has anyone else used these screw-in bulbs from Coralife?

 

[Anonymous]

I have in my 2.5. Things are doing well. But I'm not sure of the wattage.

 

[Fozza]

I used the 10watt versions in my 2.5.

I have 2 of them. Don't have any corals in there at the moment though, so can't say what its capable of keeping.

 

[Anonymous]

SM you really think a T. Derasa is ok under only 36W of PC? even if placed at the top do you still think it would be okie dokie?its a 20gal Long...most corals except polyps and shrooms would have to be placed relatively near the surface...

 

[Anonymous]

It's not the wattage, Nik, it's the intensity and PAR that matters. I know that T. derasa can be kept under normal output fluoros because I did it, and with good growth (til the mantis took him out :evil: ). It is not one of the tridacnids that requires high intensity light, much like Hippopus hippopus (but lots prettier!).

As I recollect (because txg started this off with an email to WWM), he's going to have some 10K in that mix. A 20 long is shallower than a 20 tall. Also, he's fitting these bulbs into a hood made for the tank, I'm thinking these bulbs are going to be fairly close to the water.

I'd advise going easy on the hermatypic and other calcium-requiring specimens, so that he can keep things on the cheap, but what I've listed are all specimens I've kept myself under a bank of mixed NO bulbs.

 

[txgulf]

If I use 3-5 watts as a basic rule of thumb, I need 60-100 watts, min. SM is right on two counts. With PCs, it's intensity not watts. 10 watts PC can equal up to 75 watts NO. And the bulbs will be about 3" from the surface. So it figures out to at least 200 watts NO. Not bad for $5 in hardware.

 

[Anonymous]

What really counts is color temperature (measured in Kelvin) and intensity. You said these bulbs are 50/50s, are all four the same? Are those the only screw-in bulbs Coralife offers in the PC format?

 

[Anonymous]

I know its the intensity and another thing too..SM you are a more seasoned hobbyist if i am not mistaken? Its one thing to keep the inhabitants alive, but for them to live and thrive is a whole other story...I wouldnt recommend keeping any clams or sps with that lack of intensity in a tank of that size...down size the tank and you should be fine with those kind of corals, on the other hand if you want to attempt keeping some of the more light demanding species with your current setup, its your money i guess...so like i said some LPS, softies, polyps and shrooms look like the canidates

 

[Anonymous]

Started as a hobbyist, ended up working the trade.

I never advise people on just how to keep animals alive, that's just not good enough. However, there are clams that will do well under the lighting that is not as intense as what we normally want for, say, T. crocea.