# Lighting for a 24 gallon Nanocube



## Gollum (Dec 18, 2017)

I am setting up a 24 gallon nanocube and was wondering if the light I have is sufficient. I bought a coralife 24 inch dual fixture with a 14 watt T5 6700K lamp and a 14 watt Colormax T5 fluorescent lamp, my tank is 17 inches deep. Do you guys think this is sufficient? 

Thanks for any opinions and expertise on this.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

sufficient for what?


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## Gollum (Dec 18, 2017)

Growing plants.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Welcome to APC!

Do you have the very thin normal output Coralife fixture? I used to have several. Unfortunately, they are not good. If it is brand new, you might be able to return it. A good alternative would be the Finnex Stingray for low light, or the Finnex Planted Plus for medium light.

Tests with a PAR meter have shown that the Coralife Colormax tubes are almost useless for plants. If you can't return the fixture, replace the Colormax tube with another 6700K tube. That should give you low light, enough for undemanding plants.

Good luck!

DutchMuch, sarcasm is not helpful for a new member.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You will probably get about 20 PAR at the substrate with that light. That is barely enough light to grow low light plants, like Java Ferns, mosses, maybe vals, anubias, etc. The biggest problem with that particular light fixture is that it has poor reflectors, something you can't fix. If you trade that for a Coralife (now Aqueon) T5HO light, which uses 24 watt bulbs, you should get about 30-35 PAR, a much better light intensity for growing plants and a wider variety of plants.

If you don't plan to grow plants, other than mosses, 20 PAR will be very adequate.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Michael said:


> DutchMuch, sarcasm is not helpful for a new member.


Trust me it wasn't sarcasm, sorry if it came off that way.

Was having him answer that so other people can know what he was talking about, (high light plants, low light plants, medium light, etc you get the point)


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## Gollum (Dec 18, 2017)

So I think I am going to return the Corallife and go with Finnex RAY2.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Gollum said:


> So I think I am going to return the Corallife and go with Finnex RAY2.


NO! Sorry, I get emotional about lighting some times. The Finnex Ray2 is going to give you about 60 PAR at the substrate, which is high enough that you will need to use pressurized CO2, and get the CO2 bubble rate set at an optimum amount to get enough CO2 to support the fast growth the light will drive the plants to. And, you will have very little slack allowed with your tank maintenance. All of this to avoid continued algae attacks. If you have a lot of experience this isn't that hard to do, but if you haven't tried that much light before, you may find yourself so frustrated by the algae that you decide to change hobbies.

The Ray2 light doesn't have any good red LEDs, so it gives you a bluish light, which isn't the best for being able to see all of the colors of the fish and plants. Much better would be a Planted Plus, which does have good reds in the color spectrum of the LEDs, and it drops the light intensity down to around 45-50 PAR, which is medium light, so CO2 is not so critical.


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## Gollum (Dec 18, 2017)

Thank goodness for Amazon! I decided upon a Finnex FugeRay Planted Plus. Thanks HoppyCalif and Michael for your advice.


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