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View Full Version : Biocube 14 lighting upgrade to keep SPS


trueshred
10/19/2012, 01:39 AM
I have a Coralife Biocube 14 and I would upgrade the lighting to be able to house SPS corals! I was looking at the fishneedit T5/HO fixture or the fishneedit MH 70w fixture. I need help deciding on which one will be enough to be able to keep 'em. :cool:

reeffreak75
10/19/2012, 01:45 AM
Get rapidled kit ...very cheap and it's worth every penny if u r really want to upgrade.

trueshred
10/19/2012, 01:51 AM
I looked at all of the biocube 14 kits and they aren't compatible with the coralife version, plus I am a moron when it comes to soldering stuff :headwallblue:

reeffreak75
10/19/2012, 02:02 AM
It's easy...u buy the plug and play kit the.my 10 year old kid can do it...lol,...IMHO there's no cheaper way to upgrade..LEDs will save u money and make ur corals grow...specially sps...

sponger0
10/19/2012, 10:06 AM
I had a fishneedit 24" T5 on my Biocube 29. Worked beautifully. It looked so much better and no longer had to worry about heat, but had to make sure my temp stayed up lol.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e209/sponginpunk/Biocube/IMG_0007.jpg

Just get better bulbs than the ones that come with it

trueshred
10/19/2012, 01:34 PM
That looks so beautiful! What bulbs do you recommend?

sponger0
10/19/2012, 01:35 PM
That looks so beautiful! What bulbs do you recommend?

Thank you. Sometimes I miss that little Biocube.

I used all ATI bulbs. 2 Blue Plus, 1 Aquablue special, and 1 Purple Plus

trueshred
10/19/2012, 02:06 PM
Thanks! But do you think that the 24 fixture would be too long for the 14g biocube? The biocube's lid is 15 inches long

sponger0
10/19/2012, 02:10 PM
That really depends on you. If it doesnt bother, go for it.

But Ive also seen people with the Fisneedit MH and used a 70w bulb

rovster
10/19/2012, 06:25 PM
I have a Rapid LED kit and have a number of SPS. I have a birds nest at the bottom that grows pretty fast. Acros grow a bit slower, but birdsnest ( have 3 different ), monti ( have 3 different ), and pocci all grow like weeds. Easy to set up, and keeps the temps down.

sponger0
10/19/2012, 06:44 PM
Isn't it funny how someone asks about a t5 fixture and its like they come out of the woodworks. LED LED LED LED LED LED. The guy asked about t5 or metal halide fishneedit fixtures. And I'm betting its budget. They are inexpensive fixtures but they work well.

rovster
10/19/2012, 07:18 PM
Isn't it funny how someone asks about a t5 fixture and its like they come out of the woodworks. LED LED LED LED LED LED. The guy asked about t5 or metal halide fishneedit fixtures. And I'm betting its budget. They are inexpensive fixtures but they work well.

My bad. I didnt read the post carefully....just the title.

sponger0
10/19/2012, 07:27 PM
My bad. I didnt read the post carefully....just the title.

Haha. No biggie. I just find it funny. Nothing wrong with any choice of light. Leds work, so do t5s. But metal halide is always an option. And with so many people moving away from mh, its becoming very affordable. Couple of people local to me were selling mh 3 pendants and ballast for $100

JAustin
10/20/2012, 01:41 PM
Do a 150w mh 20k. Would look sick over that tank.

sponger0
10/20/2012, 01:50 PM
Do a 150w mh 20k. Would look sick over that tank.

Dont you think that would boil the fish? That seems a bit much. Id go with 70w

tanked35
09/09/2013, 08:01 PM
I am new and only been at this 3 months so sorry if this is stupid question. I have coralife 29 and have the two bulb lights that it comes with and filled the remaining 5 slots with the blue LED strips you can buy for tank, now does that help grow sps corals or do I need to upgrade and if so what is a good astetically pleasing set up not to expensive

rovster
09/10/2013, 01:12 PM
If you are serious about SPS, then either get a full on retro LED kit, or go topless and get a halide or T5 set-up. If you go half way now, I promise you, you will end up going full on later, and probably end up spending way more than if you just did it right from the beginning. My suggestions is if money is tight, just Keep the PC fixtures and maybe dabble with a few easy SPS and mount high. I had a monti and pocci growing just fine under the stock lights in my BC14. Just my opinion!

bettahbehbeh
01/09/2015, 02:18 PM
that new light looks amazing