I inherited a tank and would like to change the lights

Hello everyone. I am not very well versed in fish tank nomenclature, so bear with me.

I have a 24 gallon salt water tank with 1 anemone, 2 corals, lobster and a crab, and 5 little fish. This is an old tank so I think some stuff is outdated. Chiefly, I am concerned with the lights. There is a purple and a white bulb that sits probably 1 inch off of the water because the bulb holder is built into the top of the tank as a cap/lid. Is this a metal halide system? The built in fans on this lid are dead.

My local fish store guy was trying to sell me a clip on LED light for $90 that had a separate computer fan and the system looked very slick and well lit. My system overheats, probably uses too much power, and is old.

Therefore, I am interested in replacing my lights but I would like to know the following:

What does a decent LED system cost for my size tank? I have a 24 gallon that is roughly in the shape of a cube, so its equally sized on every edge.

Where do I get this?

What specs do I need?

What is the primary function of the light; is this a "grow light" like I am familiar with in gardening?

Thank you so much for replies.

 

Most likely the light is a power compact bulb. You should be able to find fans to replace the dead ones and bulbs to replace the current ones if you choose. I do not the think the LED will be enough for the anemone as the price seems a little low for what I would expect.

BTW welcome to 3reef.

Manufacturers and models of all of the equipment in question will go a long ways to us helping you.

 

Hi,

I can't find any manufacturer information. The lid has 3 switches on the back, two fans that don't work, and its black. I've attached a picture resembling the logo on top of the lid.

 

that symbol is a current symbol. Is the bulbs long single thin tubes, long fat tubes, or are the bulbs curved and comes back to one plug site?

A metal halide bulb has 1 bulb with a glass covering it and surrounded by a metal type of reflector

As far as the LED light, I would say as above probably not enough light for an anemone based solely on the price.

Yes, basically the light is just like gardening lights. Most of the corals (not all) will get much of their nutrients from the bulb itself. Just like a garden, though, plants (coral) like to be fed additional stuff. Some of the corals will filter feed (means pulls out junk in the water) and eat off them, some will be fed by their fish (ie anemone will be fed by clown waste and the clown itself will feed it) and others requires specialized feedings.

What I would recommend is looking at replacing the bulbs you have in your system right now as you will not know how old they are. When bulbs age, they loose their abilty to grow the plants (corals) effectively. The spectrum changes and becomes less effective. PC bulbs and T5 bulbs last about 1 year before htis happens. MH shorter periods of time. Most people when they start thinks that the light is good until it burns out...........which is not the case.

Perhaps post a picture of your set up and we can help you a little more!

 

Mr. schackmel, thank you for your reply. Because of your response, you have caused me to find the maker of my system! It is Aquarium Lighting, LED Aquarium Lights, Complete Aquariums - Current USA. The bulbs are purple and white/yellow. I was then able to find my system exactly at this link Current USA 24 Gallon AquaPod with Compact Fluorescent Lighting.

My lights are indeed MUCH older than 1 year so they should be replaced. My girlfriend would like an LED setup with a protein skimmer, so this would (it seems) necessitate removing the lid and adding new components....which is fine. However, I do not know what I need for that tank. Suggestions, clues?

Thank you all very much.

 

Some things would help;
a pic of the tank
what leds you are currently looking at
your budget
and your stocking plan!

also visit some sponsor sites, rapidled, reefbreeders, boostled, etc have some great leds for you for cheap, 2X par30's/38's will work, or one of the basic fixtures from any of them will work as well, about $200, but you should do alot of reading and finalize what you're gonna want in the tank for sure before buying a lighting system

 

Dear Cosmo, I don't have the ability to take a picture of the tank but have attached a picture from a manufacturers website, which is the same one. The second link I posted in my previous post has the picture and tank details as well.

As for contents of my tank, we have two anemones, 4 little clown fish, 1 purple lobster, 1 crab, 1 angel fish, 1 dorey fish (little nemo), 1 small purple fish with a yellow tail, and 1 small black fish with white spots. We also have 2 corals.

$200 is within budget if it is worth it. What I am looking for is a clean setup, no lid, LED lighting, protein skimmer, and obviously the correct lighting. I would be happy to get it from the site sponsors if I knew what range of products to look at. But alas, I am not well versed in this area. Perhaps someone could provide further assistance, I would be much obliged.

 

I don't intend to sound mean, so don't take this the wrong way, but your tank is already way overstocked "Dory" is actually a Blue Hippo Tang, which requires a 180 gallon+ tank! See here for more info: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Blue Tang

I am no expert, but I don't know how well 4 clowns would do in a small tank. 2 would be fine though.

What kind of angel? Hopefully a dwarf.

The purple and yellow is probably either a Royal Gramma or a Bicolor Dottyback. Take a look at each to confirm.

No idea on the black fish with white spots. Do you have a picture?

 

Checkout reefbreeders 120 bridgelux value fixture! $200 shipped and you're fine for anything
And please listen to what Marshall said! Those 4 clowns are gonna pair up into 2 and then kill the other 2! The tang is gonna outgrow that tank ASAP! I'm guessing the black with spots is a domino damsel! No offense meant, but that's WAY too many fish and is only gonna lead to deaths, ich and a lot of wasted money for you! I'd start a stocking thread and get down to about 4 fish for that tank!

 

The title says he inherited the tank. I don't disagree with any of the stocking advice; that tang will not be happy long term. Before we go pulling clowns out though, how long have they been in there? If this is a long term happy population, we may want to reconsider the ID's. A picture would really help.

That said, for a tank that size, its a lot of fish and probably problems in the end.