Some questions of a new guy

[alargoen]

Still, the screen is only 15cm wide. That is too narrow for a reflector. Spotlights work best on small screens.

Here is my sketch，I think it's something like SM100.

here is the lights i choose.
Sorry for my poor English
Thanks for more advise！

[SantaMonica]

Yes it is basically a SM100, but you will need more light than 24 watts on each side. Use 48 or 72 watts on each side.

But, how much are you feeding?

[alargoen]

Yes it is basically a SM100, but you will need more light than 24 watts on each side. Use 48 or 72 watts on each side.

But, how much are you feeding?

It's two tubes of 24 watts on each side, total 48 watts on each side. Do you mean each tube should be 48 or 72 watts? Since my tank has not been set up yet, I think i would keep very few fish at first, then depending on the quality of water, I will increase more alives and feeding.
BTW, my tank is 60cm*60cm*55cm.
I read ”Goondoo's "Santa Monica 100 Acrylic Scrubber" Customized” on this forum, It's quite similar size and lighting.
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...hlight=Goondoo


Thank you again for your quick reply and taking your time to answering my questions！

[SantaMonica]

Ok so it is about 100 total watts, which can handle up to 10 cubes once it's growing in 3d.

What's the most cubes you would feed?

[alargoen]

Ok so it is about 100 total watts, which can handle up to 10 cubes once it's growing in 3d.

What's the most cubes you would feed?

I have no idea about how much to feed yet, as I mentioned I would try from less to more, meanwhile pay attention to water quality. Is that Ok?
And I plan to start with about 25 kilograms live stones. How much time should I run the system before the water become balanced?
Should I put fish in at first or after the water getting balanced?
Thanks a lot, SM.

[SantaMonica]

You want to start with how much you will be feeding, and build it to fit that. Figure out how many, and what type of fish you will have, and figure out how much they eat.

And instead of water quality, you can just look at the scrubber growth: It it's growing green, water quality is good.

For a new tank, it is not "balanced" that you want. It is low ammonia that you want. So test the water for ammonia when it is new. After the ammonia reads zero, put one fish in.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Hey alargoen, why don't you just get 2 of the e-Shine fixtures? They're made in China so I would think you would not have a problem finding them. T5HO is a waste of money anymore, in my opinion. Also you could DIY LED if you have the skill. Just thought I'd throw that out there!

[alargoen]

Hey alargoen, why don't you just get 2 of the e-Shine fixtures? They're made in China so I would think you would not have a problem finding them. T5HO is a waste of money anymore, in my opinion. Also you could DIY LED if you have the skill. Just thought I'd throw that out there!

hi Floyd, thanks for your suggestion. Because I am a layman of lights and my English is also poor, I don't very understand what kind of lights the e-Shine fixtures is. I also considered LED, but I don't know how to DIY and the products are very expesive. I choose the t5 products because they are very thin and looks not too bad

[kotlec]

www.eshinesystems.com

[Floyd R Turbo]

Compare the cost of a T5HO fixture and the cost of lamp replacement for a year to the cost of an e-shine fixture. they are close