Lighting for Cardiff question

ashell · Jan 30, 2012

Hi all,

My wife and I are getting into this hobby, and are looking at some different options for tanks. The current cardiff has really caught our attention, and seems like the size and look would be a good fit for us. We are interested in having coral, inverts(starfish, urchins,etc. if possible) and a few (2-5) small fish. I have noticed that the cardiff is available in several options, and was wondering which would serve our pupose best? The tank is available with an HQI (Metal halide?), Flourescent lamp, or no lamp. The HQI lamp option has the highest price tag.

My questions are which would be best for the setup we are thinking of?

Is the Flourescent lamp (PC 55W 10000K Daylight/460nm 2C) option any good for coral?

Is the HQI option a good idea, or would it be better to purchase the tank without a lamp, and buy a separate clamp-on MH lamp?

I apologize for all the questions, and appreciate any help or experience that you could share.

P.S., we are also considering the Red sea Max 130D as an alternative, if any one has any experience with that set-up.

Thanks again

screefer · Jan 30, 2012

The HQI is a good option and will support about any coral. I opted to not purchase the light and went with a Aqua Illumination Nano and it works great.

ashell · Jan 31, 2012

Thanks for the info. I'm trying to learn as much as possible right now, and am trying to understand how the lighting options stack up. From what I can tell, MH, and the sophisticated LED systems, are the top of the list for the largest range of coral.

How do the flourescent set-ups, like the one mentioned above compare to a MH or good LED? Will a flourescent lamp greatly limit the types of coral you can have compared to the MH or LED?

Thanks again,

ashell · Jan 31, 2012

After some more research, I see that the color and intensity of the lighting is most important. I've read that most corals require 3-5+ watts per gallon. Do I understand that this is calculated by taking the combined wattage of the bulbs and divide it by the water volume to determine watts/gallon? Does this hold true for LED's as well?

jws0318 · Feb 1, 2012

screefer said:
The HQI is a good option and will support about any coral. I opted to not purchase the light and went with a Aqua Illumination Nano and it works great.

+1 - I just set up a Cardiff and went with the AI Nano. It fits perfectly with the included mount and provides more light than you will ever need.