Too much light on a nano?

I'm thinking about setting up my 16g bowfront as a salt tank (fresh right now). I'd like it to be different than my 40g tank which is mostly LPS and was thinging about stocking it with just a few prize pieces of sps from the LFS I work at (ORA german blue digitata, sour apple acro, plum crazy, purple plasma, ect.) and possible a mandarin of some sort. My question is, what is the best way to light this tank to grow sps successfully. I've never gotten it to grow successfully in my 40 under t5s and have pretty much given up on having sps in that tank without replacing my entire lighting system. Will a single MH pendant be overpowering for a 16g nano? If yes on MH what wattage should I look for? Will LED be suffecient to grow sps? Any advice is good advice right now. Thanks 3reefers!

 

Please don't put a Manderin in a 14g tank

As for lights how bout Exotic 38Par

 

+1 on no manderin. It can be done in a tank that small but it is very unlikely for it to survive.

 

I'd seriously look into other reasons why sps won't grow under T5s for you. Many people keep them successfully under T5s. You can check out John's 75g reef here:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-of...pdated-12-10-11-new-pics-page-93-a-81680.html

He has excellent color and growth with only 4 T5 bulbs.

A MH pendant would probably work, but you might need to light-acclimate some corals.

 

The mandarin will be the only fish in the tank and I plan on having a large fuge on the tank. I have access to live copepods at work as well as established sand and live rock from my other salt tank. Does that make a difference in whether or not you feel comfortable with me putting one in a 16g?

 

No, not even close, at least unless you plan on using a 100g fuge and putting the mandarin in it. Estimates of mandarin feeding are often in the tens of thousands of copepods per day. There is no way you can support that kind of population in a little tiny tank, for any sustained period of time.

As to the light, you didn't mention what kind of MH. 70W, 150W, 250W?
Anything over a 70W would probably boil that small of a tank, without the heat, it could probably handle up to about a 150W though, but in reality, the heat would be too much. T-5s should work fine. If you were having trouble with them, I'd agree, there probably were other issues going on with your system. Lighting is one small component of coral growth. There are lots of other environmental parameters that are just as important. If you get them right, you can use somewhat lously lighting and get SPS to grow... everything is very synergistic.

 

Okay forgetting the mandarin part of the equation and focusing just on the lighting aspect, does anyone have an opinion on the Fish Need It brand? I found this 70W Metal Halide Pendant Lights on their site for a reasonable price and would like to know if its worth it or if I should spend more on different brand?

Also the heat issue. that pendant comes with a mounting arm. If I was to use that versus hanging it above the tank am I going to boil the water?

 

Are you opposed to led? First thing that comes to mind is 2 or 3 boost par30 bulbs

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I'm not opposed to LED if it will result in sps growth in a nano tank. Just about everyone I work believes LEDs are only good for softies and lps and says there is no way sps will ever grow at the rates you see with MH under led lighting. If it will grow however I'd rather do led than the super hot, energy guzzling MH

 

Then I wouldn't listen to the ppl u work with. That's just false information no matter which way u slice it.

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