Help with ideas on HEX 5 Lighting.

Gambit

Hello, not new into the fish scene i have had my share of tanks salt and fresh with live plants typicaly 10 gal- 55 but i moved and decided to get a small freshwater live plant setup going in a 5gal hex. The thing here is the lighting is soooo pathetic in these its not even funny not to mention the space that is limited.. im trying to shoot for 5 wpg or higher because eventuly it will be converted over to a Saltwater nano.

Ok so here is the low down on what i have now witch is just silly. I cramed an extra light socket in the poor hood and got a blue colored 25watt indecent in one part and a 15 watt white indecent in the other. The poor thing got so hot it melted the back side so i added a computer fan to the inside of it to keep it cool. Its been working great but i just am not satisfied with the color yellow overwhelming the tank. Is there any ideas you can throw out at me?

I looked into the 10w 50/50 mini compact lights but would two of those be good enuff to grow high watt plant? or even keep a saltwater nano reef stable?

iamntbatman

You don't want 50/50 lights for plants, as those aren't the ideal color temperature for plants.

If you're talking about these bulbs, you want the Colormax, not the 50/50.

Of course, you'd want to ask our saltwater experts over in the saltwater section of the forum, but from what little I know I think two of those 50/50 lights over a 5g hex might be enough for soft corals but might not be intense enough for stony corals. But then again, you'd have to ask the experts over on the saltwater end of things.

Gambit

so from what your saying 50/50 is more ideal for saltwater then fresh water and the colormax is more sutable for the plants... hermm

Well any ideas on how i could get a diffrent lighting set up over the top of this tank? or im prety much stuck with a mini compact socket florescent?

iamntbatman

Well I think two of those bulbs should be more than enough (maybe even literally too much) for a planted tank, but you might need more intense light for some of the more demanding stony corals.